WATCH: GOP says Ferguson deflecting to Trump for taxes he forced on Washingtonians

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(The Center Square) - Surrounded by business leaders and government officials, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said Thursday a new report from the Office of Financial Management paints a grim picture of what President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could cost Washington state. According to OFM and Ferguson, tariffs could cost Washington state $2.2 billion over the next four years.

Ferguson spoke at the Northwest Harvest's SODO Community Market. Before he addressed reporters, Northwest Harvest CEO Thomas Reynolds said families who are already dealing with food insecurity will be hit the hardest.

“When tariffs drive up those prices, families are left with fewer choices and less food, and we're seeing the impact of this already,” said Reynolds. “Rising food insecurity, increased demand on food banks, growing pressure on our statewide network of food pantry partners. We need policy solutions that protect communities from economic harm and ensure access to nutritious food.”

Governor Ferguson told reporters Trump’s tariffs are illegal.

“They will affect all Washingtonians with higher prices, business disruptions, and much more,” said Ferguson. “In May, I led a coalition with a large number of individuals, public and private partners, state and local officials, labor unions, and businesses to file what we call a friend of the court brief in litigation going on in federal court that challenges the president’s authority to unilaterally issue these tariffs without any approval from Congress. We said back at that time that the tariffs were illegal. So far, the courts have shared that interpretation……The Trump administration is appealing that to the United States Supreme Court, so we expect the Supreme Court to take up that case and issue a decision the coming months.”

Ferguson pointed to the new data from OFM on potential impact of the tariffs if fully implemented.

“So, it's being released today by our Office of Financial Management, so we as a state can budget accordingly. They’ve taken an analysis on what these tariffs, fully implemented would mean to Washington state and what we're talking about here is liberation day tariffs, if fully implemented to 2029,” said Ferguson. “It will result in significantly higher costs for Washington families; the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars lost in state revenue. There is no scenario in which these tariffs are good for Washingtonians.”

Ferguson also noted the report projects a 16% increase in groceries in the next two years, higher costs for clothing and shoes and a 20-25% increase in the cost of used cars over two years.

Washington GOP Chairman Jim Walsh sent a statement to The Center Square about Ferguson’s latest press conference concerning tariffs.

“The current governor's latest press conference is a desperate attempt to distract attention away from his budget and policy failures,” wrote Walsh. “In a few days, our state's Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will issue its regular quarterly reports. If these new reports are anything like the last quarter's reports, they will show a continued slowing in Washington's economic growth and a decline in tax revenues to Olympia. Any such declines will likely create a negative ending fund balance for the state government's Operating Budget. By state law, that's not allowed.”

Walsh argued that the budget crisis will be Ferguson’s to own, not Trump’s.

“Bob Ferguson signed an Operating Budget that spends too much. Bob Ferguson signed $14 billion in new state taxes--that still aren't enough to cover his increased spending. Bob Ferguson cut money to Apple Health and critical care for drug exposed babies--so he can direct tax money to his political cronies,” said Walsh. “Now he's trying to distract people from his failures by whining Trump Trump Trump. Don't let Ferguson fool you.”

Ferguson was asked about Walsh’s suggestion that he is merely deflecting attention to Trump to avoid owning the budget he signed, which enacted dozens of tax increases on Washingtonians.

“I will say I'm someone who believes in data and actual numbers and being prepared. And so, if the chairman has a critique of the actual numbers, I look forward to hearing that. I'm not hearing that in a statement. He's not challenging the numbers. He's not saying this isn't real,” said Ferguson. “As governor and as leaders in our communities, right, we need engage in reality, okay? And reality is what these numbers say.”

In May, Ferguson signed a new biennial budget that included approximately $9 billion in new taxes and fees to cover a projected deficit. As reported by The Center Square, many of those new taxes take effect Oct 1.

Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee sent The Center Square a copy of the response he delivered to OFM following the report. 

"I’ve read your office’s new tariff report. Let’s be honest. It doesn’t read like neutral analysis. It reads like a political document meant to shift blame away from Olympia. It’s tragic that Democrat leadership in Olympia has no solutions for the problems created by themselves, and instead shifts to a full-fledged gaslighting operation designed to deflect and blame others for problems that they’ve caused, then pray that our constituents across Washington will be foolish enough to believe it," wrote Couture. 

"OFMs assumptions don’t hold water. You lock in worst case “Liberation Day” tariffs for four years straight, assume maximum retaliation from every country, and then run the results through elasticities and multipliers designed to make the numbers look as scary as possible. That isn’t forecasting, it’s fearmongering. Even your own report admits some of these tariffs are paused or under negotiation, but you present them like carved-in-stone facts. In the data world we (call) this 'garbage in, garbage out.'”