Healey calls on President Trump to release heating assistance funding

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Nov 20, 2025

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Gov. Maura Healey is calling on President Donald Trump to release Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding as cold weather begins settling in New England.

Healey urged the president to release the funds in remarks Thursday after the Trump administration announced that LIHEAP funding will not be restored until the end of the month.

“We have cold temperatures coming next week and the week after. We have a polar vortex expected to be upon us soon here in Massachusetts and New England and it is unacceptable to me that Massachusetts families and residents are going to go without heating assistance that they are due from the federal government,” Healey said during a press conference outside her office. “So, my message to Donald Trump is get that money out the door and get it out today.”

Gov. Healey has sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russul Vought, urging them to release the highest possible amount of LIHEAP funding authorized under the Continuing Resolution. Healey also called on them to ensure the program is fully staffed and operational so states can avoid delays in implementing assistance plans, and to provide clear guidance and coordination to the states on timelines, eligibility, and disbursement mechanisms.

“I am asking the President of the United States to do his damn job and get heating assistance out now,” Healey demanded. “What needs to happen is the Trump Administration needs to stop showing what I view as a complete disregard for the well-being of Americans, including Bay Staters, by the actions they continue to take. And they need to stop denying people food, stop denying people heat, and stop denying people childcare,” Healey said.

The Herald asked Gov. Healey if any criticism could be directed towards state lawmakers hitting pause last week on bill (H. 4744) filed by state Rep. Mark Cusak (D-Braintree), that seeks to lower energy costs, but would weaken the state’s 2030 climate mandate according to critics. That legislation now sits with the House Ways and Means Committee, where revisions are expected.

“No, not at all,” said Healey. “The important thing is that we filed a bill to address energy costs, and the same way we’re trying to drive down housing costs by building more homes, we took action last spring to take about $6 Billion off people’s bills. We followed up with legislation that we think is going to do a few things: continue to remove unnecessary charges, right-size some of the programs that are out there, and importantly, more quickly bring online energy from a number of sources.”

Healey was also asked about a new report, released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation and reported on by the Herald, that found state climate policies and mandates are the primary driver behind soaring energy costs in Massachusetts. The governor said she “disagrees” with the report’s findings before again going back to placing the blame on President Trump.

“Well, I disagree with that. But, I think that one thing we have been clear about is the need to bring in all different types of energy. I also think the reality of dealing with emissions is something states across this country have embraced as something we’ve got to do,” the governor said. “I’m continuing to be actively engaged and continuing to do everything I can within my power to drive down energy costs. It hasn’t been helpful that the Trump Administration a couple months ago was going to turn off the wind power that was helping to fire up 200,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.”

Healey’s words also come just one day after she deflected blame for increased energy costs relative to her stoppage of two natural gas pipelines as attorney general. She even went on to deny ever stopping the pipelines, despite bragging about it while on WBUR during her 2022 campaign.

“Families across our state are impacted by the Trump Administration’s failure to do its job, once again. I feel like we’ve shown up, the state has shown up.”

The governor also says she has ordered an extension of the moratorium for gas shutoffs, which began Nov. 1st, to April 1 for those who fail to pay their bills.

She said the state will continue to draw on the $13 million it has left in LIHEAP funding to support families in a heating emergency. The Healey Administration says heating emergencies include homes not having any heat, receiving a termination notice from a utility, having less than 1/8 of a tank of oil, or having less than three days’ supply of other deliverable fuels.

During the 2024-2025 heating season, the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program provided over 159,000 Massachusetts households with financial assistance to heat their homes through the winter.

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