CARSON CITY — A poster in Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno’s office conference room displays a quote from “Downton Abbey” character Violet Crawley: “Oh good, let’s talk about money.”

In Carson City, that’s been a touchy subject.

The Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance, the two legislative committees closest to the budget process, dominated the past week with joint budget meetings, reconciling agency and the governor’s requests with what’s possible.

Facing fiscal constraints, Monroe-Moreno, chair of the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, and fellow Las Vegas Democrat Marilyn Dondero Loop, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, delivered sobering news Monday.

Despite Gov. Joe Lombardo’s request for $5 million to bolster workforce development initiatives, Dondero Loop proposed allocating just $2 million. Similarly, the committees opted to maintain current funding levels for a university research commercialization program, dashing hopes to significantly expand general fund support.

Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, provided her perspective while denying funding to revitalize downtowns across the state under a program the governor had recommended. Nevermind that Titus admired the program’s goals.

“We have to see cuts across the board,” Titus said.

Monroe-Moreno and Dondero Loop are readying themselves for what’s expected to be an ugly announcement May 1 when the Nevada Economic Forum releases its updated projection for the state’s revenue over the next three years. The estimate could drastically reduce money the Legislature and Lombardo have to work with for the state’s upcoming budget.

Over each of the past three legislative sessions, the forum’s updated revenue estimate was higher than before the session started, although it hasn’t typically deviated far from the original prediction. But since the most recent forecast, President Donald Trump has upended the U.S. economy.

He started his trade war shortly after his inauguration, levying tariffs on Mexico and Canada, countries that are home to half of Las Vegas’ international visitors. Trump has since expanded and contracted that to a 10% blanket tariff on most U.S. imports and a 145% tariff on China in an effort to reshore American manufacturing.

The global tension and reports of increasingly aggressive U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have decreased international travel while the incoming strain on American wallets due to higher prices has sent consumer confidence spiraling.

“In a tourism-based economy like ours, this is a recipe for disaster,” Dondero Loop wrote in response to a series of questions from the Sun. “It’s time President Trump and D.C. Republicans stop their nonsense and focus on lowering costs for Nevada families.”

At the same time, congressional Republicans are set to cut billions in Medicaid funding and the federal government is canceling contracts that support Nevada nonprofits.

Lombardo and the Legislature have been on the back foot since the beginning of the session, when they discovered the governor’s proposed budget was over $300 million above guides set by the Nevada Economic Forum.

“My philosophy in life is you never spend more money than you have in the bank,” Monroe-Moreno said. “I don’t know how much money I’m going to have in the bank, so I’m going to be conservative (with) what bills come out of this body that have an appropriation.”

So, what should Nevadans expect May 1?

“I just met with my fiscal staff literally two hours ago … and that was the question. We don’t know what to expect,” Monroe-Moreno said Wednesday. “All indicators are that it is not going to be pretty, but how pretty is ‘not pretty?’ ”

Dondero Loop also said she expected a “significantly lower” projection.

The senator said she would wait until the new projection is out before deciding what budget requests should be funded and to what levels, adding that Lombardo will have to work with the Legislature to figure out priorities.

Dondero Loop criticized an “across the board” approach to fixing the budget, which Republican state Senate leader Titus previously brought up as “irresponsible.”

“My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to passing a balanced budget that prioritizes the needs of working families across the state. We’re determined to maintain the significant progress made in the last biennium,” Dondero Loop wrote, noting recent state investments in education.

While Monroe-Moreno also touts the Democrats’ accomplishments from the last session, specifically naming a salary bump for state employees, her goal this time around is “to keep the lights on.”

She doesn’t want to start a program only to pull the plug six months later.

“I would rather make cuts now and err on the side of safety and caution and say, ‘Oh, the world didn’t blow up,’ and then we could come back and put things back in instead of banking on ‘things are going to be good,’ ” she said.

Monroe-Moreno said that earlier in the session her Republican colleagues dismissed her fears as an overreaction. She said that’s changed over the past week, with some coming to her office to talk about the state’s economic health.

As for her conversations with Lombardo’s team, Monroe-Moreno said, “they’re coming around,” adding that she’s asked if they could convey to the Trump administration the damage his policies are doing to Nevada.

Monroe-Moreno has also tried to enlist the help of U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., the sole Republican in Nevada’s congressional delegation. She said she was still waiting for Amodei to return her call.

“I’m not asking for favors,” she added. “Just tell the truth and how this is affecting Nevada.”

Shortly after Trump increased tariffs on China while pulling back on his “reciprocal” tariffs, Amodei told KSNV-Channel 3 that he was waiting to see how the policy plays out.

“Obviously, there will be effects on tourism depending on what the long-term … effects are,” Amodei said. “We’re going to keep our eyes peeled, especially in Southern Nevada where you’ve got F1 folks, you’ve got the (2028) Olympics in LA, which will certainly spill over into Las Vegas.”

“Our hospitality industry can never say, ‘Mission accomplished,’  ” he said. “You’ve got to get up every day and turn that crank.”

Republican Lombardo, leading a state that voted for Trump but with a Legislature dominated by Democrats, is being precise in his qualms with the tariffs.

On Monday, he sent a letter to Trump praising his attempt to reshore American manufacturing but requested that he remove tariffs on lithium. The Silver State has the country’s only active lithium mine and is set to tap one of the world’s largest lithium deposits starting in 2027.

Lombardo said tariffs on lithium pose a “serious risk” to jobs in Nevada.

“Removing the tariffs on lithium will help secure American jobs, strengthen our economy, and support our path toward energy independence,” he wrote.

Neither Lombardo’s office nor Titus responded to multiple requests for comment.

“We are the majority and we’re going to do what we think is best for this state,” Monroe-Moreno said about the rest of the budget process. “My Republican colleagues may not agree with how we do it, but I want to be able to sleep at night and know that … we did the best we could to put the state in the best position.”