Flashback: Maura Healey Approved Cabinet Pay Hikes Before Her Hiring Freeze

BOSTON, MA - Just last year, Massachusetts’s Democratic Governor Maura Healey gave five-figure pay hikes to members of her cabinet. Today, she’s freezing state government hiring, saying the state can’t afford any more public employees while facing possible federal funding cuts.

In Jan. 2024, Gov. Healey gave each of her 12 cabinet members a $15,000 pay hike, at the same time slashing hundreds of millions of dollars from elsewhere in the state budget. Those cuts hit services for seniors, homeless shelters, and local earmarks.

Healey did a 180 this week, saying “uncertain economic times” necessitate a hiring freeze for the remainder of 2025.

“One year ago, Maura Healey used the winter holiday break to play Santa, dumping the news that she’s rewarding the good little boys and girls of her administration with pay raises for their ‘tireless’ work ethic. She hopes her tone deaf pay hikes for political friends go unnoticed when she can’t make ends meet in her budget without more taxes, but the MassGOP won’t let voters forget what she likes to do with their money when she has extra cash to play with,” said MassGOP Executive Director John Milligan.

BACKGROUND:

• On Wednesday, Healey blamed “widespread economic uncertainty” for instituting an indefinite hiring freeze across state government (Boston Herald, 5/14/25)

• In Jan. 2024, Healey ordered $15,000 annual pay hikes for members of her cabinet (Boston Globe, 1/23/24)