Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell urged lawmakers to increase funding for her office nearly 9% over what Gov. Maura Healey recommended, pitching the extra dollars as necessary to respond to what she described as "consistent cruelty" on display in the nation's capital.
Touting settlements and fees her office has collected as a sizable return on investment, Campbell last week told the Legislature's budget panel she needs "every penny" of her original $82.7 million request for fiscal year 2026.
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Healey's annual budget bill (H 1) would fund the attorney general's office at about $76 million, a slight decrease from the $77.4 million included in the fiscal year 2025 budget the governor signed last summer.
"We were thoughtful and reasonable, not coming in with some crazy number that didn't make sense. We need every single penny that we asked for, and precisely, $6,694,964 [more than Healey's budget]," Campbell, a Democrat, told lawmakers. "A lot of nines and sixes in there, but we need all that money and every penny we can get. We need this not only to continue to work with each and every one of you, to deliver for your residents and return money to the General Fund, but also to address the consistent cruelty at times we're seeing coming from Washington, D.C."
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Campbell and her deputies have jumped into overdrive during the first few months of President Donald Trump's second term, filing a string of lawsuits challenging his effort to eliminate birthright citizenship, federal spending cuts, Department of Government Efficiency access to personal data, and more.
She highlighted the example of the National Institutes of Health, where the Trump administration moved to cut grant funding that goes toward overhead and administrative costs.
"The president's attempt to actually axe this funding with a quick memo and communication included nearly $100 million at the UMass system alone, $100 million from the University of Massachusetts," Campbell said. "Of course, the federal administration announced those plans late on a Friday night. We didn't go to sleep. We didn't go enjoy our weekend or take the time off. We've got kids. We love to hang out with our spouses, too. We worked, and we worked really hard."
A federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the proposed cuts one day before Campbell's appearance at the budget hearing.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz pointed to the Trump administration's attempts to eliminate New York City's controversial congestion pricing program, and asked if Boston or Massachusetts as a whole might be vulnerable to a similar federal spotlight.
Campbell replied that "all states are being targeted," and that her team is prioritizing legal response to any actions that have a "direct impact" on Massachusetts.
"More will certainly come our way, but I think already, in many ways, it's targeted. Will it start to target individuals? That's always a possibility, because what we're seeing at the Department of Justice is a weaponization of a federal agency," she said. The AG added, "So I don't know what will come. I will tell you we're fully prepared."
Massachusetts policymakers are sweating about the prospect of federal cuts, which could upend not just local businesses and research organizations, but also state government itself. Healey's fiscal 2026 budget bill anticipates more than $16 billion in federal funding.
Campbell said staff in her office "could make multiples more in the private sector," yet have opted instead to work in the public sector "at a tremendous discount." She praised her team for securing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements, including with tobacco manufacturers and Purdue Pharma.
"Our office cannot do this work if we don't close that gap, if we don't get all those sixes and the nines I mentioned earlier," Campbell said. "We need every penny."
