Gov. Maura Healey is calling for the federal government to refund Massachusetts residents for what they paid in tariff-related costs over the past year. But she acknowledged Wednesday she doesn’t think those checks will actually arrive.
“I don’t expect to be paid, but I am trying to make a point. That’s real money to people that they’ve had to pay over the past year,” Healey said during a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “And my point to the president was: ‘You did this. There was no reason to. You did this, it had a consequence — and give the money back to the American people.’”
Healey wrote Tuesday to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding a refund of $1,745 to each of the nearly 3 million households in Massachusetts. That dollar amount, her office said, is based on a congressional estimate of what Trump administration tariffs cost consumers between February 2025 and January 2026.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down the sweeping global tariffs that President Donald Trump put in place using emergency powers. The court ruled that taxation is up to Congress, not the president.
“Having unlawfully seized over $100 billion dollars from American people and businesses, the federal government must immediately take steps to pay full restitution,” Healey wrote. “In fact, a federal court has now ordered the Trump Administration to issue refunds for importers — but consumers need relief too. I urge you to implement a plan that ensures small businesses and families in Massachusetts quickly receive the money they are owed.”
Healey used her letter to Bessent to also ask that the federal government rescind the new tariffs Trump announced in response to the court’s ruling.
Separately, she joined 18 other Democratic governors in sending a leader to congressional leaders Wednesday, asking that they resist any effort to write Trump’s tariffs into law. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is also suing over the latest tariffs.
In her speech Wednesday at the Westin Seaport, Healey said the “federal government is shooting at us every day,” mentioning tariffs, funding cuts, inflation and the costs associated with military operations in Iran.
The governor acknowledged that Massachusetts has a high cost of living, with expensive health care, housing and energy all posing a challenge for residents and businesses. She touted her legislation aimed at generating savings on power bills and the health care affordability working group she launched in January, as well as state efforts to support new housing construction.
She said Massachusetts has assets envied by other states, including its education system.
“We’re a place that people have come to for decades, for hundreds of years, to study, to advance themselves, to grow their families, to look for opportunities,” Healey said.
