Wu on the front lines while Healey stays quiet
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Deehan here, back with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.
Based on her record and reputation as an ex-attorney general willing to go toe-to-toe with the White House, Gov. Maura Healey was expected to be the commonwealth's top Trump antagonist as the president entered his second term.
Why it matters: That role has fallen to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who spent much of her election year State of the City address refuting Trump's agenda, especially on immigration in liberal cities like Boston.
- "No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings. Boston was born facing down bullies," Wu said in the speech.
Catch up quick: Trump border czar Tom Homan said he would "bring hell" to Boston for not fully aligning with Trump policies or aiding federal immigration enforcers.
Homan's hell arrived this week when ICE came to Massachusetts to do what they said they would: remove nearly 400 people they allege are "alien offenders" involved in gangs or transnational organized crime.
- Only 205 of the 370 people arrested had significant criminal convictions or charges, ICE told the Herald.
While Wu takes the stage, literally and figuratively, pushing back on Trump, Healey wasn't making waves in response to the ICE action.
What they're saying: "Look, I've said from the outset, we're not a sanctuary state, that state and local police continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement, federal agencies," Healey told reporters at the State House on Wednesday.
- She went on to say that, as a former attorney general, she's "doing everything I can to support the work of those in law enforcement to address issues of crime in communities" and that Massachusetts is among the safest states in the country.
Between the lines: Wu and Healey are in very different political positions. The governor is obligated to follow the law and is under pressure to do as little as possible to put Massachusetts in Trump's line of fire.
- The mayor, meanwhile, is waging a vocal re-election fight against Josh Kraft, a nonprofit organizer and son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The intrigue: The elder Kraft, a former Trump friend, has said he cut off communication with the president after Jan. 6. 2021, but the Wall Street Journal reported this week he helped set up a recent meeting between Trump and representatives from the law firm Paul Weiss.