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JEFFERSON CITY — The top budget writer in the Missouri Senate says President Donald Trump’s sharp tariff hikes are causing jitters among some Republicans who control state government.

Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said steep drops in the stock market and projections of a coming recession have him saying “no� a lot to legislative colleagues seeking money for special projects in their districts.

“There is a lot of uneasiness in not only the financial markets but for those of us who are appropriating money and having to build these budgets out months and months in advance,� Hough said Tuesday. “Any uncertainty, any ruffles in the water, causes a lot of issues.�

Trump’s tariffs, set to take effect Wednesday, have caused alarming disruption in the economy, which could have a direct effect on the amount of money Missouri collects in revenue to pay for state government programs.

Missouri’s largest trade partner is Canada, with nearly 100 Canadian companies operating in the state. The state also exported an estimated $6.3 billion in goods to Canada, including vehicles from the state’s automotive manufacturers.

“It’s unnerving,� Hough said.

His comments come as the Senate budget panel is expected to begin parsing the House version of the state budget next week with an eye on getting the spending blueprint to Gov. Mike Kehoe by early May. The $47.9 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 leaves $1.9 billion unspent, giving lawmakers some wiggle room to grapple with the ongoing global instability.

Kehoe, in an interview in the Capitol Tuesday, said his administration is watching developments in the nation’s capital and on the global scale.

“All of our department directors are aware of various things that may or may not be happening,� Kehoe said. “We’re in constant communication with them and we’re preparing to make sure we do the right thing for the Missouri citizens.�

Kehoe, who supports Trump’s tariff plan as a way to bring jobs back to the U.S., said the state’s financial condition is flexible enough to weather most economic headwinds.

“Fortunately, the budget appropriators and (Gov. Mike Parson’s) administration did the right thing in years past. They didn’t spend all of Missouri’s money. We’ve left money on the bottom line for occurrences should they happen,� Kehoe said, pointing to the state’s $2 billion surplus.

The most recent general revenue report for the state shows net revenue declined 2.2% last month compared to March 2024. Individual income tax collections were flat for the year, while sales taxes increased less than 1%.

Those figures were released before Trump levied his tariff plan on countries, sending the stock market into a tailspin.

Hough said the first task for budget writers is to fund programs that are constitutionally mandated, including Missouri’s MO HealthNet program, which provides Medicaid benefits to 1.3 million low-income children and adults.

Hough said he’s been in close contact with MO HealthNet chief Todd Richardson in recent weeks after Republicans in Congress signaled federal cuts could be coming in order to pay for tax cuts.

If the federal government reduces its Medicaid reimbursement match from 90% to 80%, for example, it would cost the state an estimated $300 million, Hough said.

“Those are big numbers and they’ve got to come from somewhere,� Hough said. “It’s real money and real issues.�

Kehoe is backing a plan to cut the state’s capital gains tax amid a dispute over how much the plan will cost state coffers. He also has raised eyebrows for introducing a plan to dedicate $50 million to jumpstart a private school voucher program while not fully funding the state’s public school foundation formula.

The governor, who is in his first year in office, called Trump’s strategy of using tariffs to create jobs “fantastic,� but acknowledged that the president’s long-term efforts could result in short-term budgetary pressure.

“At the end of the day I think that’s the best thing for the country is to put Americans back to work buying American-made products. But we’ll continue to offer critical services to Missourians,� he said. “We’ll put together a budget that takes care of those in need.�

Hough suggested that belt-tightening is the order of the day after Missouri and other states benefitted from a flood of federal pandemic relief money.

“I’ve got senators and representatives coming to me all the time and talking about projects they want done in their districts and things that are important to them. We’re going to have to fund what’s constitutionally mandated first and see what’s left,� Hough said.