President Donald Trump’s campaign to shrink the federal government is pushing more responsibility and higher costs onto states — whether they want them or not.
In some cases, the Trump administration and Congress have scaled back federal regulations or ceded decision-making authority long held by Washington. In others, such as disaster recovery and safety net programs, they have explicitly shifted financial responsibility onto states.
These transfers of work and money are a major theme of Trump’s second term and many states are responding by making cuts to social programs that may ultimately overshadow tax breaks and other economic policies enacted in the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to leverage their law in an election cycle largely focused on the cost of everyday expenses. The state cuts could make it even harder.
