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Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House following his decisive win Tuesday, and his sweeping campaign promises could yield some big impacts in Massachusetts.
For one thing, there’s no love lost between Trump and Gov. Maura Healey, who took the first Trump administration to court 96 times during her tenure as state attorney general (and won in 77% of those cases, per The Boston Globe). Likewise, current Attorney General Andrea Campbell said her office is ready to pounce.
Trump’s vows to overhaul education and reshape health care hit home for Massachusetts, which prides itself on being a national leader in both sectors. His mass deportation plans could devastate some communities in the Bay State, where 18.1% of residents were born in another country.
Here’s a (non-exhaustive) roundup of five areas where Trump’s policies could impact Massachusetts.
Trump has promised to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” His hardline approach focuses largely on the U.S.-Mexico border, with vows to strengthen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and increase penalties for illegal border crossings and overstayed visas. And that could have serious impacts in Massachusetts, which had about 325,000 unauthorized immigrants as of 2022, per Pew Research Center data.
The ongoing migrant crisis has become a hot-button issue in Massachusetts in recent years, with frequent battles over shelters and other forms of state aid. Immigration policies were also a key issue in the lawsuits Healey filed or joined against the federal government as AG.
Trump is likely to face more legal challenges this time around, and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition has vowed to “fight against xenophobic policies and rhetoric.”
“Policies such as carrying out mass deportations, revoking humanitarian parole programs, and ending Temporary Protected Status are unjust and un-American,” Executive Director Elizabeth Sweet said in a statement Wednesday. “MIRA will not stand by quietly while our immigrant communities are under attack. We will tirelessly work to protect our immigrant population, and their right to due process here in Massachusetts and across the country.”
Also prepared is Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights, which filed a class action lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others on behalf of a group of migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022.
“At Lawyers for Civil Rights, we have been down this road before,” LCR Executive Director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal said in a statement. “Time after time, we have filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration — as we would against any official, blue or red, who tramples on the Constitution.”
The MBTA has benefitted substantially from federal funding during President Joe Biden’s time in office, and General Manager Phil Eng has said he will seek federal grants and assistance as the T tries to stave off a “fiscal cliff” projected for next year.
Yet the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has provided millions of dollars in funding for the MBTA and Massachusetts transportation projects, expires in 2026. The law’s future beyond then isn’t clear, and Project 2025 — a possible blueprint for Trump’s second term written by his allies — proposes further attacks on federal transit funding.
According to the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning public policy research organization, Project 2025 would defund transit maintenance and increase costs for commuters in part by eliminating critical Federal Transit Administration funding. The MBTA sorely needs those funds; last year, the agency said it would cost about $24.5 billion to bring the T’s infrastructure into a state of good repair, thanks to years of underinvestment.
Trump has long taken aim at the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, and in September’s presidential debate said his team is “looking at different plans” to possibly replace it. If he gets his way with proposed health care policy changes, that could mean higher costs for Americans, including some in Massachusetts.
Speaking to The Boston Globe, Massachusetts Nurses Association Executive Director Julie Pinkham also raised concerns that a growing crisis in the state’s health care system could fester or worsen under Trump’s second term. She also pointed out that the health care workforce here has long been overburdened and needs higher federal reimbursements for insurance programs for many patients, according to the Globe.
“From the standpoint of people delivering care, this isn’t good,” Pinkham told the newspaper. She also reportedly expressed fear the new administration could jeopardize the state’s health reforms and ability to treat low-income patients.
Trump has hinted that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic who holds no medical or public health degrees, could have a “big role” in his second administration. RFK Jr. has said “entire departments” of the Food and Drug Administration “have to go,” and his comments have stoked fear and uncertainty among public health experts and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, which have a large footprint in Greater Boston.
Experts have also warned that Trump’s second term will likely mean more threats to reproductive rights. Abortion remains legal and protected by state law in Massachusetts, and Healey has taken steps to stockpile the abortion medication mifepristone amid federal turmoil. But experts told the Globe some New England abortion providers are likely to lose significant federal funding under the new Trump administration and may need state leaders to cover the shortfall.
Lora Pellegrini, president of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, told GBH Trump’s election stokes other fears concerning reproductive care.
“We could see a complete federal ban on abortion, contraception, IVF that would impact all the states, including Massachusetts, so that’s pretty shocking and I’m not sure everyone fully understands that,” Pellegrini told the news outlet.
Trump also made attacks on transgender Americans central to his campaign, often targeting gender-affirming care.
Trump has threatened to issue an executive order targeting offshore wind development, a cornerstone of Massachusetts’s clean energy and climate goals.
“He’s going to shut down offshore wind,” Healey said in August, according to CommonWealth. “He’s going to shut down all clean energy technology. He’s going to shut down the move toward renewables. And if that were to happen, we would end up with a sicker, less healthy population. The consequences on our economy would be devastating.”
Trump’s election raises concerns about the state’s likely loss in federal support for clean energy, a sector that contributed more than $14 billion to Massachusetts’s gross state product in 2022, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. In fact, Trump has vowed to increase U.S. production of fossil fuels, and the Republican platform includes a promise to “DRILL, BABY, DRILL.”

Trump has said he wants to close the federal Department of Education and give more control to individual states, though he wouldn’t be able to do so unilaterally. One of his core campaign promises is to “cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children,” potentially teeing up a battle with more liberal-leaning states like Massachusetts.
Trump’s election will likely impact the state’s robust higher education sector, too, given his plan to “reclaim” universities from “Marxist maniacs.” According to the Globe, Trump and his allies propose replacing universities’ existing oversight agencies with new ones that would defend “the American tradition and Western civilization,” and they’ve hinted at plans to target campus diversity initiatives. A second Trump term also spells some uncertainty for Massachusetts student loan borrowers.
But there’s a chance Massachusetts won’t feel the educational impacts quite as deeply as some other states, John Baick, a history professor at Western New England University, suggested in comments to MassLive last month.
“The basic reality is that we’re going to be a pro-education state. And to put it rather bluntly, it’s similar to the idea of reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose,” Baick told the news outlet. “What happens in Washington, D.C. may affect the country pretty dramatically, in some states pretty dramatically, but Massachusetts will basically be okay.”
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Massachusetts fire officials are warning bars, restaurants, and nightclubs that sparklers and other pyrotechnic devices pose a serious fire risk and are illegal to use without professional licensing, following a deadly New Year’s Eve fire in Switzerland that killed 40 people.
State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine sent a notice Tuesday to businesses across the state reminding them that sparklers — including so-called “cold spark” pyrotechnics often marketed for celebrations — are prohibited unless businesses have the required licensing, certification, and permits, according to a statement from Davine’s office.
“This includes small sparklers that have been sold as novelties or party favors to accompany champagne bottles, which are believed to have caused the New Year’s Eve fire that claimed 40 lives,” Davine said in the statement.
The warning comes after investigators said sparklers likely contributed to a New Year’s Eve fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, that injured more than 100 people in addition to the dozens killed.
The notice was distributed to local licensing authorities by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and shared with restaurant owners statewide by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Davine said.
Separately, the state Department of Fire Services issued a notice to a Florida-based company, King of Sparklers LLC, after sparklers it allegedly sold online were recovered by Fall River fire inspectors at a local establishment, the fire marshal’s office said. Officials said shipping such products into the state violates state law and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Code.
Fire officials said sparklers burn at temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and throw off sparks capable of igniting decorations, furnishings, and other flammable materials. Even after they appear extinguished, sparklers can remain hot enough to start fires, officials said.
Davine pointed to a 2022 incident in Dracut, where the improper disposal of illegal sparklers sparked a three-alarm fire that displaced nine residents.
Sparklers are classified as fireworks under state law, meaning their possession, sale, and use require professional licensing and certification, the Department of Fire Services said.
Davine said the tragedy in Switzerland echoed memories of the 2003 Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., which killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others. The fire prompted sweeping safety reforms in Rhode Island as well as Massachusetts.
The Rhode Island fire was sparked during a concert when a band’s pyrotechnics ignited the sound-proofing foam near the stage, and the flames licked their way up the wall. It took a moment for the crowd to realize what was happening, but within 90 seconds after the fire ignited people stampeded toward the front entrance and were crushed, the Globe reported.
“The tragic fire in Switzerland has a chilling similarity to the Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island, which led to numerous safety reforms in Massachusetts bars and clubs,” Davine said in the statement Tuesday. “We just want to help these businesses keep their patrons and staff safe.”
Rhode Island State Fire Marshal Tim McLaughlin also recalled the Station nightclub fire in the wake of the Swiss blaze.
“It’s almost eerie to think about it — the similarities between the two,” McLaughlin told WPRI-TV this week. “It was something I never thought I’d see again.”
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.
Seatbelt usage in Massachusetts increased in 2025 for the third consecutive year, “marking the state’s highest seat belt usage rate on record,” officials said in a release this week.
The annual Massachusetts Safety Belt Observational Study found belt usage rate of 85.53 percent among the state’s drivers last year, up from 84.36 percent in 2024 and 80 percent in 2023, according to the Healey-Driscoll administration.
The increase in seatbelt usage last year corresponded with a lower rate of fatal crashes, with 342 reported in the state in 2025 compared to 364 in 2024, said a statement from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security on Monday.
“We know that seat belts save lives, and it’s so important that seat belt usage continues to increase every year in Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, in the statement. “We’re grateful for the hard work of our partners in transportation, public safety and local governments to enhance safety on the roads for us all.”
The governor’s words were echoed in the statement by her number two, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
“Whether you’re a driver or passenger, one of the most important things you can do to protect your safety is to buckle your seat belt,” Driscoll said. “This study shows that we’ve made progress in increasing the safety of road users.”
The annual study is required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the statement, which said seat belt usage in Massachusetts has increased by more than 10 percent since 2015.
“Everyone has a role to play in keeping our roads safe, and wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest steps we can take to protect ourselves and the people we care about,” said Gina K. Kwon, the state’s public safety and security boss, in the release.
“When drivers and passengers buckle up every time, they help prevent serious injuries and make travel safer for families and communities across the Commonwealth,” Kwon said.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
The long-awaited hydropower line delivering electricity from Québec to New England is expected to be running in January after years of hurdles and delays, the company Hydro Québec stated.
“We have been actively testing the line and the transformers for the past several weeks and are making good progress,” a spokesperson for Hydro Québec said, adding the teams were actively working on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border and “expect to be ready begin energy deliveries in January.”
The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line, initiated nearly in 2017 under the Baker administration and under construction since 2021, is set to deliver 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Québec to New England over 20 years, becoming one of the largest sources of baseload power in the region.
Avangrid, the company behind the NECEC, announced in November it had secured the final permit to get the power line running after years of regulatory and legal hurdles. The company estimated the line would be running by the end of 2025 at the time.
The project to bring Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid, estimated to cost about $1 billion, is expected to provide Massachusetts with approximately 20% of it overall electricity.
The clean energy line will deliver about $3 billion in net benefits to Massachusetts residents paying for electricity, including “reducing in ratepayer bills by around $50 million each year,” state officials said.
“This transmission line will deliver affordable, stable power from our partners in Canada to our residents and businesses,” Gov. Maura Healey said in November. “More energy means lower costs. The NECEC line is a key part of our all-of-the-above approach to lowering energy costs and delivering the power our economy needs.”
On average, officials estimated, residents can expect to save $18 to $20 a year over the contract term.
Avangrid said the project will cut carbon emissions by 3.6 million metric tons a year, “the equivalent of removing 700,000 cars from the road.” The hydropower source is expected to be “key to energy reliability in the winter” as demand grows, state officials said, and evening energy prices effected by the volatility of natural gas.
The line cleared a closing legal hurdle in January 2025 when the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities agreed to a settlement with electric utility companies, the AG’s office, energy department and Central Maine Power approving project costs.
The clean energy project updates come weeks after the Trump administration dealt a blow to wind power projects across the U.S., including the Vineyard Wind farm off the coast of Nantucket delivering energy in New England.
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