Bay State Democrats circled the wagons Tuesday, ratcheting up their public opposition to the president's tariffs and federal cuts ahead of his Tuesday night primetime address and sticking up for Boston before a Wednesday hearing where congressional Republicans plan to grill Mayor Michelle Wu.

The busy Tuesday featured press conferences, media hits, press releases and social media posts as the all-Democrat delegation got in high gear to make its case to the American public before the Republican president with whom they deeply disagree addresses a joint session of Congress and a national TV audience. With Wu in D.C. to testify at what is expected to be a contentious hearing on public safety and federal immigration enforcement Wednesday, the delegation took the opportunity to defend the city and state generally.

"Over the last six weeks, Donald Trump has created a sandstorm of chaos to try to distract us from his real agenda: tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by cuts to health care and Social Security. These are programs that mamas and daddies and babies and seniors rely on every single day," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. "Trump and his unelected co-president, Elon Musk, are dismantling our government piece by piece so that it works better for those same billionaires and worse for everyone else."

The state's senior senator summed up the message of the daylong anti-Trump blitz in one sentence Tuesday afternoon, "The whole Republican plan fits on a bumper sticker: Billionaires win, families lose."

Markey said he expected Trump to use his 9 p.m. address to "lay out his attack on the business plan for Boston and for Massachusetts." Aside from noting the damage cuts to federal funding would do to the Bay State's economy, Markey also emphasized his support for Wu and for Boston, which he called the "beating moral heartbeat" of Massachusetts and the country.

"We Should Not Be Punished For The Decency That We Show"

"Well, I just happened to be in the neighborhood," Wu joked as she stepped to the microphone at a Tuesday afternoon press conference in a Senate office building.

Wu is one of four mayors slated to testify Wednesday morning before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, with Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, looking to examine mayors' "refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities."

"The pro-illegal alien mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have implemented reckless, illegal policies that shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement and endanger public safety. Criminal alien predators should not be free to roam our communities," Comer said in a statement. "State and local governments that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts should not receive a penny of federal funding. President Trump and his administration are rightfully taking action against sanctuary cities."

Wu Presser in D.C.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu spoke at a press conference held by members of the state's Congressional delegation on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, one day ahead of her testimony before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The chairman, Kentucky Republican James Comer, said he was looking to examine mayors' "refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities."

"We are a city that throws open the doors of opportunity for all of our residents, at a time when this administration in the White House is slamming them shut. We are a city that believes in science and thrives on discovery. We are the home of groundbreaking innovations and world-class care, at a time when this administration is cutting funding for life-saving research. We're a city made up of colleges and universities, labs and startups, nonprofits, small businesses, civic organizations, neighborhood groups, all working hand in hand with our government to make life better for every one of our neighbors," the mayor said. "We are the city where people come to do good in the world, at a time when this administration seems dead set on the opposite. We're a city that opens our arms and offers a hand, when this administration is more interested in turning its back."

U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch of South Boston and Ayanna Pressley of Dorchester are both members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Lynch said Tuesday both Boston Democrats "will be there to defend" Wu at Wednesday's hearing.

"The threat is that the Republicans want to cut off funding for the city of Boston ... But that cannot happen. We should not be punished because of the generosity and the kindness of the people of Boston," Lynch said. He added, "We're calling upon our Republican colleagues to stand with us, because no city should be -- especially one that is safer than than a lot of the other cities around the country -- we should not be punished for the decency that we show to others."

Pressley said she sees her role at Wednesday's hearing "as one to combat misinformation, disinformation [and] to defend our mayor, our city, and the people who call it home."

Wu separately caught the attention of U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, seemingly for having offered condolences to the family of the knife-wielding man fatally shot by an off-duty police officer in a Boylston Street restaurant Saturday night.

Bondi said Wednesday in a post on X that she wanted to "extend my condolences to the good people of Boston" and called Wu's comments an insult to law enforcement.

"As a result of the Mayor's decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to increase efforts in the city of Boston. Criminals will be prosecuted, illegal aliens will be arrested, and justice will be served," Bondi wrote.

Tariffs Take Effect, And A Toll On The Markets

Trump imposed his long-discussed tariff plans Tuesday, tacking on a 25% tax on most imports from Canada and Mexico, with the rate lowered to a 10% tax on Canadian energy imports including oil and natural gas. Separately, his administration -- in efforts led by Musk, the richest man in the world, and the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency -- is also pressing ahead to shrink the federal workforce and bureaucracy in an attempt to align federal spending with Trump's political agenda, which has caused great angst among Democrats and federal workers.

Gov. Maura Healey, who participated in a governors' meeting with the president late last month, issued a statement Monday night calling the tariffs "a lose-lose that we can't afford."

"These tariffs were a bad deal last month, and they're still a bad deal now. President Trump is putting a tax on energy, housing, groceries, cars, electronics, and appliances that we rely on -- and we will all pay the price," Healey said. "At a time when we should be working to lower energy costs, President Trump's tariffs will cause gas and heating costs to skyrocket on Massachusetts residents and businesses. Donald Trump should be focused on making life easier and more affordable -- not picking destructive fights with our allies and largest trading partners that raise costs on everyone."

Canada and Mexico are Massachusetts' largest trading partners, with a combined $29 billion worth of goods being exchanged, Healey has said. Her office released an "updated analysis" Monday night, estimating that Trump's 10% tariff on Canadian energy could cost Massachusetts consumers $370 million a year, and more than $1 billion annually across New England.

Healey told the News Service in December that it was important to articulate and highlight "why tariffs are potentially really devastating to Massachusetts and to our New England economy" amid Trump's pledges to wield them as a way to influence border policies of other countries.

In the Feb. 1 executive order that called for the tariffs on Canada, Trump wrote that a "sustained influx of illicit opioids and other drugs" pouring over America's borders "threatens the fabric of our society."

"Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities," he wrote. "Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs."

Trump said the amount of fentanyl that crossed the northern border in 2024 "could kill 9.5 million Americans."

Tariffs were part of Trump's trade policy during his first administration and he pledged in January to "immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families."

"Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources," he said during his inaugural address.

The financial markets did not respond well to the news of Trump's tariffs taking effect. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 670 points or 1.55% by the close of trading Tuesday, following a drop of nearly 650 points Monday. The S&P 500 lost 1.22% Tuesday and the Nasdaq Composite was at one point Tuesday down 1.9% and approaching correction territory before finishing the day down 0.35%.

CNBC reported that this week's results have "pushed the S&P 500 into the red for 2025 and the Dow near flat on the year."

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern of Worcester said the first six weeks of Trump's second administration "have been a disaster for the American people," marked by chaos, cruelty, "and not a single goddamn thing to lower costs."

"In fact, Trump is making things worse. Groceries keep going up, eggs are through the roof, and the tariffs he just put in place will make prices skyrocket. These guys aren't lowering prices, they're raising them," McGovern said at Tuesday's delegation press conference. "And at the same time, they're gutting programs that people rely on, just so they can hand out tax breaks to their billionaire friends. They don't care about us. Their life is so different from all of us. When's the last time Elon Musk ever walked into a grocery store or had to worry about paying a health care bill?"

"Everyday Americans" Join Lobbying On Both Sides

Rep. Katherine Clark of Revere, who holds significant say as the number-two Democrat in the U.S. House over how the party's legislators respond to the Trump administration, joined the Democratic Women's Caucus for a press conference to slam Trump's policies over their impacts on women. She was joined by Sarah Wroblewski, a WBZ-TV meteorologist who has spoken about her son's cancer treatments, outside the Capitol on Wednesday morning.

"Elon Musk makes more in one day than NIH spends all year on childhood cancer research -- more in one day. But that hasn't stopped him from stripping out and defunding that research, or cutting children's health care, or slashing their school budgets, or taking away school lunches, or going after Social Security and Medicare. And the House GOP is falling in line, following orders and letting him do it because they aren't going to feel the consequences personally," Clark said. "We all are about cutting waste and making our government work more efficiently for people. We just disagree that the waste here are kids who had been diagnosed with cancer."

Wroblewski, who will attend Trump's address at 9 p.m. Tuesday as Clark's guest, said her family was prepared for a challenging road when her doctors found a golf ball-sized tumor in her son Declan's brain in August 2023 and diagnosed him with stage four brain cancer.

"But I never imagined that I would be asked to come here to Washington to beg our government to do right by our kids," she said. "I am here on behalf of all the parents right now who are sitting in hospital rooms with their children. When it comes to finding less toxic treatments and life-saving cures for kids battling cancer, we don't have a single day to spare. This is not about politics, bureaucracy or efficiencies. It's about families who are literally holding their breath, hoping tomorrow brings the breakthrough that will save their child's life."

The White House said Tuesday that First Lady Melania Trump invited more than a dozen "everyday Americans" to be her guests at Trump's speech. Presidents usually feature the first lady's guests in their remarks.

"These men, women, and families come from all different walks of life with incredible stories about the disaster wrought by the previous administration, and the historic achievements President Trump has already enacted to usher in the Golden Age of America," the White House said.

The White House did not widely circulate a preview of Trump's remarks, but mentioned he would be highlighting his "agenda to lower costs, bring back manufacturing, and secure our borders."