‘More political theater’: Healey slams possible federal takeover of South Station
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is a hard no on a possible federal takeover of Boston's South Station, calling it "more political theater" from the Republican White House.
"What the Trump administration is doing in DC and now threatening to do at South Station is outrageous, wrong and has nothing to do with transportation or public safety," the Democratic governor said in a statement.
"It's more political theater, more political power grabs from [President] Donald Trump. We don't need or want his interference here. We're not going to let the guy who went bankrupt six times take over our train stations," Healey said.
Deputy U.S. Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury suggested a federal takeover of the busy transportation hub during a Wednesday evening event unveiling a fleet of new, high-speed Amtrak Acela trains.
It came the same day that the White House announced a takeover of Union Station in Washington, D.C.
"Here in South Boston, we need to address the cleanliness, the crime, the safety, and security of the station for the rail workers, for the passengers, because the people of Boston deserve that," Bradbury said, according to The Boston Globe . "All the people up and down the Northeast corridor and Americans who travel on these trains, they need and deserve beautiful rail facilities."
Healey's condemnation came moments after Secretary of State William Galvin announced that he'd be serving as the state's acting governor through Friday afternoon.
An email from Healey's press office on Wednesday evening indicated that neither she nor Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll had any public events on their respective schedules for Thursday.
It did not contain any hint that neither Healey nor Driscoll would be unavailable to serve.
Citing security concerns, Healey's office has not revealed her travel until after she returns.
An administration spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
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