We have three ferries — the Tacoma, Walla Walla and Kittitas — out of service for emergency repairs. This underscores the need to invest in our fleet.

Washingtonians whose homes were damaged by December’s historic flooding can now apply for $2.5 million in state assistance to help with their immediate needs. Online: SAHelp.org By phone: 833-719-4981 In person: visit a Disaster Assistance Center

Happy New Year, Washington! I’m excited for another year of listening to the needs of Washingtonians from around the state and working together to move our state forward.

I’m in politics because I believe in the power of government to improve people’s lives. In 2025, we began speeding up government, improving customer service, and centering the people in every decision we make.

Yesterday, I made Glenn Eburn the Washingtonian of the Day. He and his wife own LouSkis Deli in Skykomish. Despite losing 60% of revenue due to the closure of Highway 2, he has stayed positive and continued to support other businesses.

Washington families with income in the bottom 20% pay a whopping 13.8% of their total income in taxes. Those with income in the top 1% pay only 4.1% of their income. That’s untenable. Let's pass a Millionaires’ Tax in 2026.

Great news: Highway 2 is now reopening Thursday (tomorrow) at 6 a.m. between Skykomish and Stevens Pass. Amazing work from our crews to finish clearing debris and making repairs. A pilot car will remain in place 5 miles east of the summit.

Washington state received $181 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program this week. Our plan for these funds includes support for hospital infrastructure, with an emphasis on technology improvements along with support for maternal health care and access to emergency services.

We've heard from experts that the risk to our levee system in King County is now minimal. We're at Phase 0 out of 4 in King County along our levees — no flooding expected. We're going to pull National Guard service members from patrolling the levees and send them home for now.

Business owners in Skykomish have been seeing drops of as much of 90% in revenue since the closure of Highway 2. I was happy to join them in announcing that Highway 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass will reopen on Sunday. That’s literally saving local businesses.

I want to be clear: Highway 2 is still not a through route to Leavenworth, and won't be fully repaired for months. We understand that the restrictions on Highway 2 have a massive impact. We have emergency contracts in place with crews working 7 days a week.

Incredibly, incredibly good news: Highway 2 will open in all lanes between Skykomish and Stevens Pass on Sunday. This is a huge step forward for access and surpasses our best case scenarios. I'm grateful to all the workers who made this possible.

In March, I visited the Spokane Veterans Home and committed to fighting for a facility that matches veterans' contributions to our state and country. We will need significant federal funding. However, in my budget, I'm proposing $11 million for design and preconstruction.

We are facing an affordability crisis. I'm committed to sending a significant portion of gains from a Millionaires’ Tax back into the pockets of hardworking Washingtonians, to help make life more affordable.

I met with Somali American community leaders today to discuss the deep damage inflicted by Donald Trump's harmful rhetoric and reckless deportations. Here in Washington state, we recognize that diversity is a strength.

Today, Colleen and I were honored to attend the memorial for Trooper Tara Guting. She spent her life in service to others. We were grateful to have the opportunity to share in the celebration of her life.

Grateful for the work of National Guard service members to patrol the stressed levee system in King County through the holidays. We have eyes on the levees 24/7 to keep our communities safe.

WSDOT has now reopened 90 roads impacted by the historic flooding in our state. There are a lot of people out there working extremely hard to get our roads open, in challenging conditions and during the holidays. I appreciate their work.

Happy Kwanzaa! I hope you have the chance to spend some time today with friends, family, or neighbors to celebrate unity. That's a particularly important principle during a challenging time. Wishing you the best for continued celebration over the coming days.

Today we announced access to Stevens Pass from the east with a new pilot car route. Updates on access from the west side on Tuesday.

WA launches new website to aid people, businesses impacted by floods

Fully opening SR 2 is going to take a long time. We're still evaluating the full extent of the damage. Some repairs will need to wait for the snow to clear. However, we understand that access, even if limited access, is extremely important. Starting this Monday at 6 a.m...

State Route 2 sustained extensive damage during the recent flooding. I'm providing an update on repairs at 12 p.m. on TVW.

I appreciated Secretary Kennedy calling me on Christmas Eve, and his team working through the holidays to issue this order. My team and I are pursuing every possible resource to help our state recover from this crisis. washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/rfk-j...

During this holiday season, I'm spending a lot of time thinking about those who still don't have access to their homes, or who are continuing to deal with damage to their home, business, or local infrastructure. We're continuing to work to get as much assistance as possible to you.

As of Wednesday, search & rescue crews, @wanationalguard.bsky.social & first responders helped evacuate roughly 967 people who weren't necessarily in danger but needed help to get safely from homes. They also successfully rescued roughly 363 people from floodwaters and recent storms #wawx

Despite a challenging situation, our budget maintains the Working Families Tax Credit through money from the Climate Commitment Act. I’m also proposing a $200 credit to low-income families to help with utility bills for approximately 125,000 households

We have a new website page for flood recovery resources: floodrecovery.wa.gov. DSHS has exhausted $1 million in cash assistance, providing critical support to more than 2,000 households. Stay tuned, and we'll keep the website updated as new resources become available.

I will not support an income tax for people who make less than $1 million in a year. Less than one half of one percent of Washingtonians will pay the Millionaires’ Tax, and it will raise at least $3 billion each year. It’s time to change our state’s upside-down tax system.

I am directing the flags be lowered this weekend in honor of Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting, who was tragically killed in the line of duty. My thoughts and prayers are with those who knew and loved her.

Our tax system is way too regressive. Let’s use resources from a Millionaires’ Tax to provide tax credits for Washingtonians and make sure small business owners pay less in taxes.

Donald Trump and the MAGA Congress kicked 30,000 lawful immigrants in our state off of SNAP. Our budget funds those benefits to keep Washingtonians fed. Donald Trump and the MAGA Congress blocked Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. Our budget backfills that to protect women’s health care.

President Trump’s massive tax cuts for the wealthy made our state’s unfair tax structure even worse. I'm committed to sending a significant portion of gains from a Millionaires’ Tax back into the pockets of hardworking Washingtonians, to help make life more affordable.

BREAKING: I support a Millionaires’ Tax on income over $1 million a year. The fairness of our tax system ranks 50th. Let’s make this historic change this session. This is a separate proposal from the budget I announced today — revenue would not be realized until 2029.

I just announced my proposed budget. It's balanced. It doesn't raise taxes. It removes tax breaks for corporations. It preserves reproductive health care access. It maintains core services. And even as the federal government goes backward on affordability, we're moving forward.

I want to express my deep appreciation to all the first responders, emergency personnel, and neighbors helping neighbors, going above and beyond to serve. I see exactly that, over and over again, in communities across the state. It’s inspiring at a time like this.

On Sunday, I visited Hamilton, a town badly damaged by recent floods. Karey’s home still shows a visible waterline seven feet high. This flooding is truly historic. We're doing everything we can as a state to support people through this crisis.

I visited the Boots Bar and Grill in Hamilton on Sunday. Theresa Boots said her last week was "devastation." I appreciated her taking the time to talk with me and show me the damage to her business. Our state has a long road to recovery ahead of us.

The natural disaster our state is going through is historic in nature and will be a long-term event. I’m grateful for the work of the National Guard. When you see service members in your neighborhoods, know that they’re performing a critical function to help ensure your safety.

When the White River Bridge was closed, we saw truly painful impacts in Enumclaw and Buckley. It’s important we invest in preservation now to prevent catastrophic failures in the future.

The levee system in King County is stressed. The sheer number of days and the sheer amount of water is historic. I’m mobilizing 100 members of the National Guard to respond. 50 will help patrol the levees. There will be eyes on the levees at all times.

I'm proposing to pave more than 600 miles this summer, a 66% increase from this year's budget. Over 10 years, we'll pave an additional 2,100 miles of Washington roads. We need to focus on the basics and make meaningful progress on addressing our backlog of infrastructure needs.

As long as I’m governor, investments in ferries will continue to be a high priority. My proposed transportation budget adds 3 new ferries to our fleet. Read more in the Seattle Times.

I went to Concrete and Hamilton today to discuss flood damage with residents, local officials, and Tribal members. This has been a difficult time for many Washingtonians, and we are not out of the woods yet. We're working hard to get the help that these residents need.

Our troopers put themselves in harm's way to protect our communities every day. Please make sure you're taking care on the road. If you see flashing lights, be cautious, slow down, and move over if you can safely do so. Thank you to our law enforcement officers for all they do.

My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Trooper Guting. The loss of a devoted public servant is a tragedy. We will never forget her service or her sacrifice. www.kiro7.com/news/local/w...

As part of my transportation budget, I'm proposing to buy 3 new ferries and invest an additional $150 million in preservation for our current vessels. Our state has under-invested in new vessels for decades. Now is the time to fix the ferries.

342 of our bridges are at the typical life expectancy of 80 years, or older. 80 of those are in poor condition. That is totally unacceptable. Keeping our roads and bridges in good condition saves money and helps working families. It also creates good paying jobs for workers.

To be blunt, the state has neglected its core transportation infrastructure for too long. Today, I announced that I'm proposing $2.1 billion, the largest investment in 2 decades, for preservation and maintenance of our roads and bridges. This is being done without raising taxes.

Our Mobile Office Teams will be out connecting people with resources to help recover from recent flooding: 3-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 Evergreen State Fair Park Longhouse Building 14405 179th Ave. SE Monroe, WA 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 Startup Event Center 14315 366th Ave. SE Startup, WA