G.O.P. leaders are exploring cuts to federal aid, leaving some states fearful that their budgets cannot absorb billions of dollars in new costs.
When Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland signs his state’s budget into law as soon as Tuesday, it will signify the end of a difficult saga in which local leaders cut spending and raised some fees just to close a larger-than-expected $3 billion deficit.
But Mr. Moore, a Democrat, is already bracing for the next fiscal fight. Maryland and its finances are highly influenced by the federal government, and the Trump administration is looking to cut vast swaths of the aid it sends to states.
“We just made in Maryland the largest cuts to our budget in 16 years,” Mr. Moore said in a recent interview, adding that the steep cuts being contemplated in Washington could quickly prove “deeply damaging.”
Across the country, state leaders are beginning to express alarm about the budgetary fallout from President Trump’s economic agenda, warning that they will not be able to pick up the bill if the federal government reduces its funding for major public services. To governors and other officials, many of whom are Democrats, the fear is that Washington could sharply curtail federal programs that help states improve their infrastructure, respond to natural disasters, expand education and provide a suite of health, housing and nutrition benefits to the poor.
Republicans have framed their thinking as a matter of fiscal necessity and federalism, arguing that states should shoulder more of the financial burden for their citizens at a time when the national debt exceeds $36 trillion. But Mr. Trump has made no secret about the fact that many of his preferred budget cuts are meant to help offset his costly and ever-expanding legislative ambitions, including his desire to cut taxes.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has suggested that Washington could provide less to states in response to major storms, forcing local officials to assume more recovery expenses. His new budget proposed scaling back federal aid to states on programs varying from public education to mental health. And Republicans in Congress this week proposed forcing local governments to assume a greater share of the costs for food stamps and other federal anti-poverty programs.