- Boston’s strong financial position may be threatened by President Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration, and funding cuts to research and education, which could lead to rising unemployment and negative economic growth.
- The city’s higher education and healthcare institutions, including Harvard University, face potential funding cuts from Washington, and Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
- Moody’s has given Boston’s new debt a Aaa rating, but warns that the city’s budget will be a key consideration in future credit rating actions, and that loss of financial flexibility could put downward pressure on the credit profile.
Boston’s strong financial position will be tested in the coming years as President Donald Trump threatens to strip federal aid from the city’s key sectors.
“The credit negative impacts of federal policies around tariffs, immigration and cuts in National Institutes of Health funding and other federal support for research and education could result in rising unemployment, a negative economic growth rate and demographic shifts,” analysts at Moody’s Ratings said in a report ahead of a planned $464 million municipal bond sale. Moody’s gave the new debt a Aaa rating, the highest possible.
Bloomberg Markets
By Sri Taylor
May 9, 2025