Boston Mayor Michelle Wu vowed to defend her city Tuesday, a day before her scheduled appearance in front of a GOP-led congressional panel regarding the city’s immigration policies.
“I’m here to stand up for Boston, and you can put me in any situation, and I will gladly do so with the smile on my face,” the mayor said.
Wu’s comments — a likely preview of her opening testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — came as part of a joint press conference with members of Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation.
“As grateful as I am to stand here with all of you, my first choice is always to be back at home in Boston,” she said, then referenced Boston becoming one of the safest major cities in the United States under her tenure. “I’d be at home doing that work right now, but I will never back down from an opportunity to defend Boston, to defend our residents and to defend all that we have accomplished together.”
The mayor, who is up for re-election this year, has found herself in the national spotlight over Boston’s protection of immigrant communities. The stance has landed her in a sound bite sparring match with President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan who recently promised to come to Boston to seize accused criminals and “bring hell with him.”
On Tuesday, Wu did not mention Homan or respond to his threats but instead, joined members of the Massachusetts delegation in criticizing President Trump.
“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’re a city that opens our arms and offers a hand when this administration is more interested in turning its back,” the mayor said.
Wu has reportedly racked up more than $600,000 in consultant fees working with the firm Cahill Gordon and Reindel to prepare for her testimony. She denied coordinating with other leaders from Chicago, Denver and New York City who are also scheduled to testify beyond delaying the appearance in order to recover from the birth of her third child in January.
While Wu’s comments focused on progress in the city, members of the delegation slammed President Donald Trump and the “damaging impacts” his agenda has had on Massachusetts since taking office.
“Trump promised, you may remember, to lower costs on day one. Instead, he and co-president [Elon] Musk have tried to fire the financial cops that keep Americans from getting cheated,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “They have slashed funding that supports research for cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s, and they have fired thousands of hardworking public servants, including the people who keep us safe when we fly on airplanes.”
“This hostile White House is raining down cruel – and let me underscore — unlawful executive actions and they are looking for every tool available to exact harm on the most vulnerable,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
The event came hours before President Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress since winning re-election in 2024.
It also came one day after U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton signed a letter urging the president to fire billionaire senior advisor Elon Musk and reinstate dozens of agency heads and inspectors general dismissed, ostensibly, as part of Trump’s move to downsize the federal workforce.
The event also came a day after findings from a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll showed that many said President Trump is “rushing to make changes without considering their impact,” and that “the country is headed in the wrong direction.
