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Healey slams shutdown: ‘Washington needs to get back to work.’
Healey called Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem "a walking violation of the Hatch Act as are so many members of the Trump administration."
Governor Maura Healey urged federal lawmakers to end the ongoing government shutdown at a press conference on Tuesday, decrying its impact on federal workers and Massachusetts residents.
While the press conference was about energy costs, Healey was asked her thoughts about the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1.
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“We’re going into two weeks. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” Healey said. “Washington needs to get back to work.”
She continued, “We’ve got federal employees who are working right now at [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], at TSA, at the Social Security Administration, who are not getting paid. How are they going to pay their bills? How are they going to feed their families?”
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Healey visited TSA workers who are working without pay at Logan Airport on Friday. Before her visit, she released a statement calling on President Donald Trump to commit to providing back pay to TSA agents and air traffic controllers.
Beyond airport employees, the government shutdown is impacting other Massachusetts residents, Healey said.
The Social Security Administration stopped sending out certain payments to 12,000 Massachusetts seniors won’t get their checks because they receive them by mail, not by direct deposit, Healey said, adding that she learned of this on Tuesday.
“Do your job. Get back in there and reopen government, so that you know, people who are working right now can get paid, and so that the American people who rely on so many of these services from our federal government, federal agencies, … can get those services,” she added. “And it’s just, it’s disgusting to me to see this go on day after day.”
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Healey called Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem “a walking violation of the Hatch Act as are so many members of the Trump administration.” The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, instructs government employees to administer federal programs in a nonpartisan manner.
When asked about the Everett 7th grader detained by ICE, Healey said she doesn’t know the specifics of that case, but added: “I continue to say, though, that what I see out of ICE here in Massachusetts and around this country is is just wrong.”
She continued, “I’ve said I support any efforts to address public safety issues here and all across the country. I say that as a former [attorney general] and as a prosecutor, but you know, that’s not what we’ve seen.”
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