Washington State Governor’s Office

At the Governor's Prayer Breakfast/Pierce County Prayer Breakfast this morning, I was thinking of my uncle, Father Bill. He chose a life of faith and service. When people hear we're related, they often share how my uncle counseled them through great loss and grief. Mother Teresa said, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.” My uncle was an example of this. My prayer this morning was for all of us to find the strength to change things for the better. Thank you to the event hosts, and to Seahawks legend Jim Zorn for sharing how faith has shaped his life. Jim gave away a football to a young Washingtonian named Ezekiel — maybe making us the only 2 people in the room to have caught a pass from Jim!

36,500 fewer Washingtonians enrolled in healthcare provided under the Affordable Care Act this year. Many are facing doubling or tripling premiums thanks to President Trump and the MAGA Senate. We can't backfill the entirety of their devastating cut. However, we invested $55 million in our budget for assistance on health care premiums for low-income individuals to mitigate some of the impact.

We have some of the best water supply in the nation because the generations before us had the foresight to protect it — but climate change is jeopardizing that. We need to work together now to plan for the future. krem.com/article/news/l…

Congratulations to our nationally recognized burger joints, from Seattle to Artic!

The federal government has blocked the release of studies showing the safety of COVID and shingles vaccines. We formed the West Coast Health Alliance because the information coming from the federal government is no longer reliable. This is a disturbing example.

Great response for WAZIP — we've already received about $40 million in applications just a week after opening. Washington businesses are ready to modernize their fleets with cleaner vehicles.

Celebrating the largest small business tax cut in state history thanks to the Millionaires' Tax. Happy Small Business Week!

May 5th is a day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People. This is a deeply rooted crisis in Washington state. Native people are 2.5 times more likely to be the victim of an unsolved homicide with an open case, according to the Office of the Attorney General's Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS). When I was Attorney General, we worked with Tribes and the Legislature to create an MMIWP Task Force in 2021 and a Cold Case Unit in 2023 to assist in solving missing person and cold homicide cases involving persons of Indigenous ancestry. I was proud to propose a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system to help identify and locate missing Indigenous women and people in partnership with Representative Debra Lekanoff. I'm grateful for the AGO's continued work on this critical issue. Our state will continue to center the voices of survivors, families, and impacted communities in our work to address this crisis.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor Ceremony, and recognizing courageous individuals who gave their lives to protect others. There is no such thing as a routine call for law enforcement. We’re reminded of that as we honor Officer Ray, Sergeant Salas, Trooper Guting, and Corrections Officer Miller. On behalf of a grateful state, we honor their service and sacrifice.

Flags are lowered today in honor of National Firefighters Memorial Day. Firefighters work hard and put their lives at risk to keep Washingtonians safe. I deeply appreciate their service.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily restored broad access to mifepristone, following an unscientific and unlawful decision by a lower federal court that would have imposed medically unnecessary restrictions nationwide — including in states where abortion is legal. The lower court’s disturbing decision threatens to curtail access to abortion care by telehealth, which is used in over a quarter of abortions here in Washington state. The Supreme Court should ensure that access to this safe, effective medication continues. As Attorney General, I challenged the federal government's restrictions on mifepristone in court. We protected access after a radical attempt from a Texas judge to overturn the FDA's approval of mifepristone and decimate access nationwide. Attacks on reproductive freedom are not new, and there will be more. In Washington, we will always stand up for reproductive health care.

AI is a technology with a lot of potential for our state. Like any new technology, we have to be mindful of potential consequences, so I'm proud Washington state is leading on common sense regulation with several bills I signed this year. I requested a bill this session to require AI companion chatbots like ChatGPT to implement protocols to detect and respond when an individual expresses thoughts of suicide or harming themselves. That's now law. It's challenging to determine what's made with AI. I signed a law requiring major AI companies to provide a commercially and technically reasonable way for Washingtonians to determine whether content was created or modified using artificial intelligence. I also signed laws restricting harmful uses of AI-generated images, including deceptive and nonconsensual deepfakes, and making it a crime to possess or distribute computer-generated images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Washington is a leader in protecting young people from the harmful effects of AI.

I was sorry to hear of the recent passing of two former legislators who served our state: Eric Robertson and Phil Rockefeller. Thinking of their families.

We celebrate the contributions of workers and organized labor. For the first time, International Workers Day falls during National Apprenticeship Week. Did you know that free money is available to help with expenses during qualified apprenticeship programs? We have some of the most generous financial aid in the nation, and it’s available for career training, college, or an apprenticeship. Apply today: wsac.wa.gov/wcg

When you go to work, 2 things should happen: You should get every penny that you've earned, and your workplace should be safe. It's our mission as a state to create, maintain, and enforce the safest work environments possible. We'll continue to do that work to honor the memory of the individuals we recently recognized at Labor & Industries' Worker Memorial Day.

Proud to attend the dedication of the Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning at the UW. The people coming through those doors, years from now, will learn about Frank, a force for good in Washington state. washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/04/29/the…

We will not allow GEO Group's continued obstruction and brazen disregard for state law at the Northwest ICE Processing Center to go unchallenged.

I'm proud of our dedicated fanbase for professional sports here in Washington state. The Seattle Torrent has broken attendance records in its inaugural season while leading average attendance!

I joined our Washington State Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield to encourage Washingtonians to read, write, or listen to poetry as we wrap up Poetry Month — starting with a couple lines from Derek.

This morning, applications opened for the Washington Zero-Emission Incentive Program, or WAZIP. We’re investing $112 million to make the purchase of cleaner commercial vehicles and equipment more affordable for a wide range of companies — big and small — across the state. Even as the federal government works to take us backward on climate policy, here in Washington, we will continue to be a national leader in protecting our environment.