Meyer swipes at Trump administration in first State of the State address

Gov. Matt Meyer took aim at Trump administration policies while asking for bipartisan support during his first State of the State address April 10. 

“In building this year’s budget, our team is managing swings in revenue and expenses in the tens of millions of dollars – sometimes from one hour or day to the next, sometimes from one headline out of Washington to the next,” he said.

Meyer then told legislators who support the Trump administration, “You cannot have it both ways.”

“You cannot offer your full-throated support for a federal administration that is slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in critical funds to our state and promoting tariffs that are crippling our economy, and then, in the very next sentence, rise in opposition to responsible and hard decisions we’re making here in Delaware to meet those challenges,” he said, directing his words to the Republican side of the aisle. “In other words, you can’t give more fuel to the arsonist with one hand, and then with the other hand point your finger disapprovingly and say we aren’t putting the fires out fast enough.”

Meyer said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is insisting that Delaware’s recreational marijuana law is insufficient, calling that “just another egregious example of federal bureaucracy stifling state-led innovation.

“One thing I can assure you – we will name a new marijuana commissioner within days, we will cut through federal bureaucracy, and we will work with urgency to meet the promise of our state’s recreational marijuana law,” Meyer said, estimating the industry could bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue to the state.

After criticizing those who support the Trump administration, Meyer said Republicans and Democrats need to work together.

Financial projections suggest a return to pre-pandemic funding levels, and to remedy dwindling financial resources, he said, new tax brackets are needed for those making more than $125,000, $250,000 and $500,000.

“To ensure the richest pay their fair share and working-class Delawareans get a fair shake,” he said.

He then asked for legislation to make sure medical debt does not hurt a person’s credit score.

On education, Meyer said his advisors are taking a hard look at what is working in the classroom, and moving away from policies and programs that aren’t.

Over the next four years, he said, his administration will seek to expand affordable childcare and to improve literacy scores through targeted interventions.

He took aim at cellphone use in classrooms, and reiterated his plan to give teachers raises. 

“From bullying to TikTok, there is no reason for any student, at any level, in a Delaware public school, to be using a cellphone in class,” he said. “The research shows the developmental, emotional, social and educational harm of cellphone usage by children. That’s why my administration will work with districts and charters to get cellphones out of classrooms and students focused on what really matters.”

Meyer also repeated his support for more affordable housing, better healthcare and more economic development in the state. He said he is committed to expanding access to medical education for Delaware healthcare students and bringing others to the state, and he threw his support behind a new state position of “an independent inspector general who will uncover fraud and inefficiencies, return money to taxpayers, and give all of us confidence that there is real accountability in government.

“We may have to tighten our belts and take a hard look at how we currently do things. But we also have the chance to evolve. To innovate. To rethink and reimagine old systems. To take steps and introduce programs that genuinely lead the nation. At a time of such change, some states will win. Let’s win,” he said in closing.