Healey says Trump’s Education Department order is ‘a dumb idea’

Our conversation with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey was filled with forward-looking threads and instant reactions.

Minutes before our sit-down interview Thursday, President Donald Trump responded to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's State of the City Address the night before, calling her "radical."

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With Boston under increasing scrutiny from the federal government over immigration, and two weeks after her testimony on Capitol Hill, Mayor Michelle Wu gave her third annual speech.

Those comments come after weeks of federal focus on Massachusetts and the state's approach to immigration.

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"Boston is the safest major city in the country, Massachusetts is one of the safest states in the country. Also, we're not a sanctuary state," said Healey. "I just don't understand some of this rhetoric, and what's really concerning is that there have been reports of people being picked up who actually have work authorizations, who've been living here for years, who have been working here for years, and are doing what they need to do in terms of getting through the immigration process. So that's incredibly disruptive."

Federal funding is also front of mind for Healey. Trump signed an executive order whittling down the U.S. Department of Education's scope on Thursday.

With President Trump signing an executive order calling for the U.S. Department of Education to be dismantled, we're looking into whether he actually can get rid of a federal department, what the department actually does and why it was founded.

The governor says that decision could have major impacts for Massachusetts.

"To me, this is really distressing," said Healey. "I think it's a dumb idea. It seems to me we should be doing everything we can to make America more competitive, continue to invest in education, and I can tell you as governor, I'm going to continue to support and invest in education in our state."

Cuts at the National Institutes of Health have also been coming from Washington. Earlier this week, Healey visited Boston Children's Hospital, where she choked up talking about kids she had just visited inside the facility and the possibility that federal grants to treatment programs could be cut off.

"I did, I started to cry. I'll probably get emotional now," Healey said. "You know, this isn't politics. It's not a game. This is people's lives."

Gov. Maura Healey and hospital leaders are calling on the Trump administration to change course on cuts to the National Institutes of Health.

The governor believes the fight is only just beginning for Massachusetts and states across the country.

"It makes me so sad," she said. "It also makes me really mad."

Tune in to NBC10 Boston Sunday morning before "Meet the Press" for the full interview with Healey, including how she sees herself fitting into the national political conversation.