Washington State Rep. Travis Couture (R-35th) blasted Governor Bob Ferguson’s administration for what he called a “propaganda” report designed to shift blame for soaring prices away from Democrats’ tax-and-spend policies.
Appearing on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Couture criticized the Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) recent 50-page analysis, which claimed tariffs from former President Donald Trump were driving higher costs in Washington. Ferguson even challenged reporters to meet him at a grocery store or coffee shop to debate the issue — a challenge Hoffman himself accepted, though he doubts the governor will follow through.
Rep @TravisSCouture slams Fergie’s “tariff report” that blames Trump's tariffs for WA's economic woes instead of record taxes, as propaganda:
“$9.5B in new state taxes is a much larger number than any phantom $2.2B tariff scenario. That’s not forecasting, that’s fearmongering” pic.twitter.com/qHzTS9DyHV
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) September 8, 2025
“Fearmongering, Not Forecasting”
Couture said the OFM report exaggerated worst-case scenarios while ignoring the real damage caused by Olympia.
“You don’t have to be a budget nerd like me to understand that $9.5 billion in new state taxes passed by Democrats and signed by Governor Ferguson is a larger number than some phantom trade war crazy analysis,” Couture said. “Point blank: $9.5 billion is bigger than $2.2 billion.”
He argued that OFM locked in maximum tariff retaliation for four years straight, then used economic “elasticities and multipliers” to inflate the numbers. “That’s not forecasting, Ari. That’s fearmongering,” Couture said. “They’re trying to scare people into blaming Donald Trump while ignoring the largest tax hikes and worst budget in Washington state history.”
Winners: Politicians, Bureaucrats, and Criminals
Couture didn’t hold back in condemning Ferguson’s budget.
“They turned a $15 billion surplus into a $15 billion deficit in just a handful of years,” he said. “The only winners were politicians, bureaucrats, and criminals. Families and businesses are paying the price with higher gas, groceries, rent, insurance, sales tax, property tax — you name it.”
He added that Ferguson even signed cuts targeting vulnerable populations while boosting spending elsewhere. “He robbed single mothers of child support, cut aid to the aged, blind, and disabled, and signed the largest Medicaid cut in history. Then he turned around and used that money to fatten government payrolls,” Couture said.
Fighting Back With Facts
Hoffman suggested Republicans demand OFM conduct a real analysis — not of tariffs, but of the combined impacts of new taxes, fees, and the Climate Commitment Act. Couture revealed he has already requested exactly that.
“I sent OFM a nasty little email telling them to stop wasting taxpayer money on fantasy reports and actually study the harm their own policies have caused,” he said.
Couture also praised independent watchdogs like the Washington Policy Center, calling for conservatives to spread the truth. “Bob Ferguson and government agencies are constantly gaslighting us,” he said. “It takes everyone — citizens, media, policy experts — to push back with facts.”
The Bottom Line
As Hoffman noted on air, many of the price spikes highlighted in Ferguson’s report — from groceries to clothing to used cars — are already being driven by Democratic policies, not tariffs. Businesses are also fleeing Washington due to new taxes on high earners, threatening jobs far beyond the OFM’s projections.
“The facts are easy,” Couture concluded. “$9.5 billion in new state taxes is much larger than any phantom $2.2 billion tariff scenario. But Ferguson won’t acknowledge the harm he’s done. Instead, he blames Trump. It’s a gaslighting operation, and Washingtonians deserve better.”