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Caregivers and educators warn Medicaid and education cuts will harm services; AG Brown urges litigation and revenue solutions
Summary
Caregivers, educators and union leaders at a Pierce County town hall told Attorney General Nick Brown that proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and education threaten jobs and services; Brown said litigation has recovered and protected funds for Washington and urged progressive revenue and coordinated mitigation.
Caregivers and educators pressed Attorney General Nick Brown on the local consequences of federal cuts to Medicaid and education funding at a Pierce County town hall.
"Cuts to Medicaid is a terrible financial hardship for me and other caregivers," said Justin Budd, a live‑in caregiver and SEIU 775 member, who asked how the attorney general's office will protect long‑term care and services for clients and workers. Brown answered that some of the cuts he described as coming from the federal budget bill could lead to lost services and even "loss of lives," and that Washington alone cannot fully fill the resulting gaps. He urged a mix of litigation, agency work and progressive revenue to mitigate harms.
On education, Janie White, vice president of the Washington Education Association, raised concerns about special‑education funding, substitute shortages and student services that rely on federal support. Brown said the state has a constitutionally mandated "paramount duty" to educate children and described recent litigation that successfully pushed back on federal Department of Education cuts. He also told Natalie Wellen, president of UAW 4121, that university research funding had declined; Wellen said Washington had received about $600,000,000 less in federal research funding year‑to‑date, and Brown cited earlier litigation wins that protected National Institutes of Health and other research funding.
Brown encouraged workers and union members to document the harms they experience so his office can bring civil‑rights or contract‑based litigation where appropriate. "Our partnership with universities and the impacted workforce has only been as strong as our ability to tell the stories of the people that are harmed," he said. Brown also noted his office's capacity limits and said he is asking the legislature for more resources and authority for enforcement work.
The exchange underscored a recurring theme at the event: Brown framed litigation as one instrument among many — alongside state agencies, local partners and legislative action — to respond to federal reductions in funding and protections.
