Now that President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected an appeal for federal disaster aid in Western Maryland, the region’s officials are scrambling for ways to pay for the flooding recovery.
Now that President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected an appeal for federal disaster aid for counties in Western Maryland affected by historic flooding in May, the region’s officials are working to find ways to pay for an estimated $33.7 million for recovery.
On Thursday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called the administration’s rejection “deeply frustrating” and pledged support for the region moving forward, but did not specify what form that support would take.
Allegany County Administrator Jason Bennett said the first ask would be to the state.
“If we have to, we will borrow these funds,” Bennett said.
But, he told WTOP, issuing general obligation funds, “would create a great hardship for our taxpayers, as you might imagine, trying to pay debt service on that big of an expenditure. We’ll do it if we have to, but really, we’re hoping that’s not where we have to go.”
Bennett said the county of roughly 69,000 has two main employers, Frostburg State University and UPMC Western Maryland Hospital.
“We are, like many others in this area, an old industrial town,” he said, referring to the county seat of Cumberland, which he described as “economically disadvantaged.”
While the floodwaters receded months ago, Bennett said Westernport’s library remains closed, with a temporary library expected to open in early November. The town’s elementary school, where children were evacuated by boat during the May flooding, has reopened, but the first floor is still not occupied.
The damage to roads and bridges is a large part of the cost of recovery, Bennett said.
“We’ve got 200-plus lines of sewer. We continue to find breaks in that sewer,” he added.
And as the temperatures in Western Maryland start to dip into the 30s this fall, Bennett said things are only getting worse.
“Now, you start to run into people seriously being cold, plus you also begin to talk about people having pipes freeze and burst. The problems only get worse now for those that don’t have furnaces,” he said.
In a news release from the governor’s office announcing the denial of disaster aid, Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton described residents as “resilient” and said her community’s spirit “remains unbroken.”
“It was a pretty traumatic day as you might imagine,” Bennett said, referring to the day kids were rushed out of school on boats due to rising floodwaters.
But the community got them through it, he said.
“So many of those kids will tell you they had fun on their boat ride, because so many of the first responders and the teachers were so great,” Bennett said.
Gov. Wes Moore and other Democratic leaders in Maryland vowed to do what they could to help federal workers hurt by the government shutdown.
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State and local leaders in Maryland wasted no time in holding news conferences on Wednesday morning, just hours after the government shutdown began.
Democrats in the state capital cast blame on Republicans while vowing to do what they could to help federal workers who would be hurt by a long, drawn out shutdown.
The day began with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, other state leaders, and some of the Democratic members of Congress gathered in the State House. The governor called the moment a dark hour, and said he had three priorities for the state during the shutdown.
“First, I’ve directed state agencies to employ contingency plans that will help to make sure that federal programs can continue to operate in our state for now,” Moore said. “We will ensure that state employees supported with federal funding continue to get paid for as long as possible.”
Families will continue to receive benefits from federal programs administered by the state, including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.
“We will also provide greater flexibility to Head Start programs and ensure that veterans maintain access to essential resources,” Moore said. “But I do want to be very clear, the longer this unnecessary federal government shutdown goes on, the harder it is for us to keep services going.”
Other priorities mentioned by the governor were the shielding of federal workers from evictions, foreclosures and utility shutoffs, if the shutdown drags on.
“I sent letters to the state judiciary and our state utility companies reminding them of their statutory legal protections for federal, state and local government employees who are not receiving a paycheck or are at risk of eviction or foreclosure,” Moore said.
He also said the state would expand emergency assistance programs for federal workers. That includes making federal workers eligible for unemployment benefits during the shutdown, with the promise that they would repay the money once they go back to work.
“We should not be here right now, Maryland,” Moore said. “And here’s the harsh reality, the longer this unnecessary shutdown lasts, the more likely we are to see serious damage in our state.”
He specifically cited delays to big infrastructure projects and delays in pay for military families as major impacts of the shutdown.
Those who gathered in Annapolis were quick to blame congressional Republicans, arguing that their unwillingness to negotiate over Medicaid cuts and premium subsidies for those who get health care from the Affordable Care Act meant the onus was on them.
But Republicans have argued that, like Democrats in the past, they’re not willing to entertain policy negotiations until a continuing resolution passes and allows the federal government to open.
‘It’s really about people’
In Largo, the tone laid out by leaders in Prince George’s County was a little less partisan. County Executive Aisha Braveboy, along with 10 of the 11 members of the county council, vowed to make all resources possible available to residents who might need them.
“The shutdown isn’t just about politics. It’s really about people, the needs of people that may go unmet,” Braveboy said.
“The first folks we call, believe it or not, were the utilities, because we wanted to ensure that residents had services during this shutdown,” she added. “And every single major utility responded and said, ‘We are with you. We are not going to shut people’s utilities off during this shutdown.’”
Braveboy also said county residents shouldn’t hesitate to contact the state’s 211 hotline, which also provides food, housing and utility assistance. And anyone dealing with anxiety because of the shutdown is encouraged to utilize the 988 mental health hotline.
“If you just need to talk to someone, don’t be embarrassed. This is a tough time,” she said. “You didn’t ask for this. You’re just doing your jobs as federal workers, and then all of this uncertainty can cause a lot of mental harm.”
Members of the county’s religious community also gathered in Largo, promising they were ready to lend a hand to anyone who needs help, regardless of their faith. The county also created a full list of available resources to help residents who might need assistance during the shutdown.
“We did not want this day to happen, but we also know that we can’t live with our eyes closed,” Braveboy said.
Only at the end of her speech did she hint at her support for congressional Democrats during the shutdown.
“My job today isn’t necessarily to point fingers, it’s really to open my arms, along with my colleagues here at the council, to say, ‘We hear you, we care about you, we love you, we want you to be OK,’” she said. “And so they can have the discussions on Capitol Hill about the politics. Today, it’s about the service.”
‘This is about dignity’
Meanwhile in Annapolis, state treasurer Dereck Davis was perhaps the most cynical about the situation. He specifically said the situation unfolding on Wednesday will be avoided at all costs next year.
“Now, we won’t have it next year, because … it will be one month before the election, so somehow we will manage to get a budget done and on time, because their families will be impacted,” Davis said of members of Congress. “But now it’s our families.”
He expressed frustration that federal dysfunction is impacting residents who don’t have any power. He also lamented that the only conversations anyone is having is over who to blame, not how to resolve it, and he said elected representatives are getting away with behavior that no one would tolerate from their own children.
“I know my state is home to thousands of federal workers and employees, as well as countless contractors and small businesses whose livelihoods are tied directly to the operation of the federal government. For them, this is not a game or silly power grab for them,” Davis said.
He said the shutdown impacts everything from mortgage and college tuition payments to everyday household expenses not being met.
“This is about dignity, fairness and basic decency,” he added. “This is the ask: Rise above partisan conflict, learn the definition of compromise, fulfill your obligations and get the government open and working as expeditiously as possible.”
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The Moore administration is facing increasing pressure from activists and the head of the Legislative Latino Caucus to boot a discount airline from Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport because it has been flying immigrants targeted for deportation to a detention facility in Louisiana.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana.
The Moore administration is facing increasing pressure from activists and the head of the Legislative Latino Caucus to boot a discount airline from Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport because it has been flying immigrants targeted for deportation to a detention facility in Louisiana.
The activists are calling out Avelo Airlines, which signed charter contracts earlier this year with the Department of Homeland Security to carry immigrants rounded up by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency from airports across the country to a detention center in Alexandria, Louisiana, where detainees arrive shackled and in handcuffs.
Avelo operated about 20% of the deportation flights in the U.S. in August, according to data compiled by the website Travel and Tour World.
Avelo’s contract with the federal government has sparked protests across the country — including in Maryland, where it has offered a limited number of commercial flights out of BWI since 2021 and currently runs four round-trip flights a week from the state-owned airport.
So far, even as Gov. Wes Moore (D) amps up criticism of President Donald Trump (R) and his agenda, the state has not sought to block Avelo from doing business at BWI.
Maryland’s deal with Avelo allows either party to walk away from the commercial flight arrangement with 30 days’ notice. But Moore administration officials assert they are powerless to stop ICE from running detainee flights out of BWI.
Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s), the chair of the Latino Caucus, wrote to Moore and state transportation officials in mid-September, urging them to end their contract with Avelo because the airline is abetting the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants — which often results in immigrants who have legal status being removed from the country.
“I really deeply feel like if we have any control of the business taking place at BWI, we shouldn’t be supporting businesses that don’t reflect the values of Marylanders,” Martinez said in an interview.
He said Moore has yet to respond. But over just a few weeks, the Maryland groups targeting Avelo have collected more than 8,000 petition signatures, urging Moore to cancel the state contract with the airline.
“The main thing is putting pressure on the governor,” said Ryan Harvey, a leader of the Baltimore Rapid Response Network, one of several progressive groups organizing protests over Avelo’s commercial flights at BWI.
But even if the Moore administration sought to remove Avelo from BWI’s lineup of commercial flights, it cannot prevent Avelo or other carriers from running immigrant detainee flights out of BWI or other state airports. That’s because those trips are arranged and overseen by the federal government, and the state is obligated to allow those flights to use airport runways and control towers. The state government has jurisdiction over the BWI terminal and associated businesses, but not airport runways or other flight operations.
‘Aiding Trump’s deportation campaign’
Avelo launched in 2021, just as the U.S. was beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, offering low-cost flights in the U.S. and to nearby Caribbean islands. The carrier began providing commercial service to and from BWI in spring 2022.
“We are thrilled to welcome Avelo Airlines to our market,” Ricky Smith, who was then the executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration, said at the time. “Avelo will offer low fares and convenient access, and will boost tourism to Maryland and the entire National Capital region. We remain committed to growing our air service portfolio and adding new travel options for our customers.”
Avelo’s financial journey since its launch has been tenuous, according to a recent account by Forbes, which may explain why the airline signed federal contracts worth an estimated $150 million to transport undocumented immigrants.
The blowback has been swift and vocal, with protests erupting across the country. Some call for passengers to boycott the airline, while others have urged government officials to eliminate financial incentives to Avelo for its commercial operations — or to block the operations altogether.
A New York Times article, noting that Avelo flies to several “liberal cities on the coasts,” suggested the airline is “aiding Trump’s deportation campaign.”
Harvey said Maryland activists were inspired when they heard about protests targeting Avelo in Connecticut, which have spread across the country.
“The national campaign is a bunch of local, grassroots operations that got in touch with each other,” he said.
Similarly, Martinez said lawmakers in Maryland, responding to the concerns of their constituents, have spoken to their counterparts in other states about strategy and tactics.
“I’ve heard from constituents throughout my district,” he said. “They’re really concerned that their tax dollars are being used in some way to deport their neighbors.”
The 2022 deal struck between Avelo and Maryland transportation officials allows either party to terminate the contract for the airline to run commercial flights out of BWI with just 30 days’ notice — which means Moore could end the agreement in short order.
“There should be no repercussions if the state decided that Avelo should pack up in 30 days,” Harvey said.
Jonathan Dean, a spokesperson for the Maryland Aviation Administration and BWI, said the state provided no financial incentives to the airline when it arrived in 2022. He said information on what revenues the state is deriving from the arrangement with Avelo could only be obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request. Commercial airlines typically pay the state landing fees and charges related to facilities and equipment rental at BWI.
Avelo is currently running a total of four round-trip commercial flights a week in and out of BWI, to and from New Haven, Connecticut, and to and from Wilmington, North Carolina, Dean said. Between July 1, 2024, and June 30 this year, Avelo flew 36,164 commercial passengers at BWI, he said, for a passenger market share of 0.14%.
Courtney Goff, a spokesperson for Avelo, told Maryland Matters that the airline is aware of the protests in Maryland and across the country. But she referred questions on the ICE flights to the Department of Homeland Security.
“We recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble and assert their freedom of speech,” Goff said in an email. “Avelo’s main priority continues to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation that nearly eight million Customers across the country continue to enjoy.”
The ICE media office did not respond to an email with a series of questions about possible detainee flights out of Maryland airports in 2025.
But even if Maryland ended its arrangement with Avelo for commercial flights, that would not prevent Avelo or other carriers from running detainee flights out of BWI or other state airports.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Kurtz)
Flights arranged by ICE “are part of a private contract between a flight operator and the federal government,” Dean said.
“A number of these flights have been arranged by the federal government and flown through a private fixed-base operator at BWI Marshall Airport. The national airspace, airline operations, and access to airports are regulated by federal law,” Dean said. “As a federally funded, public-use airport, BWI Marshall Airport is required by federal law to provide access to all certified air carriers without discrimination.
“The Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) does not schedule, inspect, or authorize these flights,” he added.
Dean said MAA officials are aware of one ICE flight that Avelo operated this year carrying immigrants from BWI to the detention center in Louisiana. That’s one of about 30 detainee flights that departed from BWI this year, he said. The others have been operated by GlobalX, a charter airline, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
These flights have yielded no revenues for the state, Dean said. Activists will continue to pressure state policymakers on Avelo, Harvey said.
“Marylanders would like to see leaders do more,” he said.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) fist-pumps Wednesday for a crowd of his supporters at the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfield. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/ Maryland Matters)
They came to Crisfield by boat and by car, moving in packs with bused-in entourages, or in quiet solitude.
Pulled by tradition and strict electoral calendar observance, candidates for governor — the announced, the filed and the explorers — arrived at a patch of marina blacktop Wednesday that is home to the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. The annual event draws locals for a day of crabs, corn and beer and it draws the political class from far-flung corners of the state who come to crack crabs, kibitz and talk political smack.
That started with Gov. Wes Moore (D), who name-checked a growing list of potential Republican challengers to his 2026 reelection before dismissing them for refusing to speak out against President Donald Trump (R) and his policies.
“We’ve heard nothing from them,” Moore told reporters. “So, to be honest, it kind of doesn’t matter to me who gets in the race, whether it’s Andy Harris or [John] Myrick or [Steve] Hershey or [Larry] Hogan … because they’re all saying the same things when it comes to lifting up the people of Maryland and defending the people of Maryland, which is absolutely nothing.”
Hogan was the only one on Moore’s list who was not in attendance Wednesday. For more than a decade, the two-term former governor was a mainstay at the event, a consummate retail politician. But not this year, despite talk that he might make an appearance in the tent of Annapolis power lobbyist and Tawes booster Bruce Bereano.
But Hogan was still part of the Tawes conversation.
Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore), who is exploring a run for governor, said he has “had a number of people ask about it and ask me how the exploratory aspect of it is going.”
Sen. Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore), left, talks with former Del. Carl Anderton, now a state employee, who was on a list of Republicans endorsing Gov. Wes Moore (D). (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
“You know, we’re doing well. We’re getting a lot of people interested,” he said, before adding, “I think a lot of people are still waiting to hear what Gov. Hogan wants to do.”
When asked if he was among that group waiting on Hogan, Hershey said: “Yes.”
Hershey entered Somers Cove Marina through a back entrance, and did not bring a campaign with him. Not so Moore, who arrived at the event by boat, fresh off a tour of Smith Island.
The governor, who announced his re-election bid two weeks ago, was joined by Lt. Gov Aruna Miller, who did not join her running mate on the boat but quietly mixed in with the throng following Moore. That included several dozen not-so-quiet supporters decked out in campaign shirts and signs, chanting in support of Moore.
“This is grassroots,” Moore said of the supporters, some of whom said they were bused to the event from Prince George’s County and Baltimore City.
The crab feast – in its 48th year — is named for J. Millard Tawes, a former governor and state comptroller who hailed from Crisfield. Once a fundraiser for Tawes, the event has since morphed into a fundraiser for the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce.
For decades it has been a popular destination for political leaders — especially in election years — and regular folks. This year’s event is the last before the 2026 primary next June.
Before arriving Wednesday, Moore sought to bolster his bipartisan credibility by releasing a list of Republicans who support him.
“We actually have a series of Republican lawmakers who represented over 200,000 Marylanders and who are coming out and saying that despite the fact that I happen to be a Democrat, and they happen to be a Republican, that they are coming out to support our re-election,” Moore said. “And it is because we have kept to our word to leave no one behind.”
Washington County Commission President John Barr and Rising Sun Mayor Travis Marion are on the list of Republicans endorsing Moore, along with two Allegany County officials, Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton and Lonaconing Mayor Jack Coburn.
Also on the list were former Del. Carl Anderton and former Carroll County Commissioner Ed Rothstein. Moore’s release did not mention that both now have jobs within his administration: Anderton was named director of rural strategy in the Maryland Department of Commerce last year and Rothstein was named secretary of the Department of Veterans and Military Families in July.
“So, in other words, a paid political announcement by employees of Wes Moore,” Hershey said.
Moore dismissed the critique as “ridiculous.”
“I understand that there are people with fledgling campaigns they are trying to get off the ground. It’s not my job to try to lift them up. My job is to support the people of this state,” he said. “So, when I hear ridiculous comments and I’m asked for comment, my comment is I don’t have a comment.”
Anderton said his support rose from Moore’s efforts to assist a regional airport and medical center.
“That was enough for me right there,” Anderton said. “A friend in need is a friend indeed. He’s never denied us. To me, that’s value.”
Moore dissent
As Moore’s crowd chanted — clad in their matching T-shirts, with their matching signs — a few counterprotesters emerged from the tents nearby, including Don Howell, a bearded Eastern Shore resident wearing a “Jesus” T-shirt, with a sticker for Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) attached.
Don Howell, who supports GOP gubernatorial candidate John Myrick, yells back at a chanting crowd of Moore supporters at the Tawes crab feast. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/ Maryland Matters)
The “We want Moore” chants, he said, were interrupting his time feasting on steamed crabs and talking with friends.
“He’s already taken all my money,” Howell said of the governor. “Now he wants to take my conversations?”
The 68-year-old, who lives in the Eastern Shore’s Mount Vernon, near Princess Anne, said he supports Republican John Myrick in next year’s gubernatorial contest, in part because of Myrick’s “commonsense” approach to pocketbook issues. He pointed to Myrick’s proposals for property tax credits for retirees.
“I’m a senior citizen, and I’m trying to survive on Social Security. My wife still works, but it’s hard,” Howell said. “Our electric bills are going sky high.”
Howell argued that Moore has funneled money to “illegal aliens” and energy affordability programs, wasting a surplus handed down by Hogan. He decried recent increases in government fees, including for car registrations and hunting licenses.
“You’re a thief!” he shouted as the governor passed by. “You’re a criminal! You don’t belong in government, you belong in jail!”
He also yelled “Go back to Prince George’s County” at Moore’s chanting supporters.
Myrick came to Tawes for the chance to take shots at Moore, as he angles for a general election face-off. He brushed off concerns about a potential primary challenge from Hogan.
“I entered this race for a general election race. That man is my opponent,” he said, pointing toward the governor, who was close by. “I really don’t care about what Gov. Hogan does.”
Myrick, a Prince George’s County resident who grew up in Harford County, said he is canvassing around the state, including stops on the Eastern Shore.
John Myrick, a Republican candidate for governor, came to Crisfield as part of a campaign visit to the Eastern Shore. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
“The people that I’m hearing on the lower Eastern Shore have been forgotten about for a long, long time. The only time the politicians seem to come down here is the Tawes event,” Myrick said.
Even though Moore included Harris on his list of potential opponents, the eight-term congressman from the Eastern Shore said Wednesday at Tawes that he will not be jumping into the fray.
“We do need a governor — not a presidential candidate — to run the state,” Harris said, poking Moore over persistent gossip that he wants to run for president. “But I’m not going to run for governor.”
Harris said he is taking his time when it comes to deciding who to endorse in the governor’s race, in part because Maryland has two former Republican governors who would be eligible to run again: Hogan and Robert Ehrlich. The filing deadline for the race is not until Feb. 24.
“There’s obviously at least one or two very high-profile former governors who don’t need to file early,” Harris said. “So, look, I’m waiting until February to see what happens.”
Harris, a staunch supporter of Trump, backed the president on several issues Wednesday. He said the administration raised “valid concerns” that the effort to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge with federal dollars will follow state law requiring minority-owned business participation.
He also said he stands by Trump’s effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy, though it has meant some 15,100 Marylanders have lost federal jobs since January. Harris pointed to the Moore administration’s voluntary separation offers for state employees in response to the state’s budget crunch.
“I don’t understand why he’s criticizing the president. He’s doing exactly the same thing in the state for state employees,” Harris said.
Harris also attacked the Moore administration for fee increases engineered to address the state’s budget crisis.
“The governor can go around saying he provided some minuscule tax break on income taxes, whereas every Marylander who opens up their car registration renewal understands that the fees are out of control,” Harris said.
The group “No Moore” touts itself as a “grassroots movement born out of frustration” with what it describes as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s failed leadership.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore enjoys a lot of support among Democrats in the state, but among more conservative residents, it’s a different story.
Complaints about increased taxes and fees have many Republican and right-leaning voters wishing for a Republican challenger who will limit Moore to one term in office — hoping enough voters will say, “No Moore.”
It’s even prompted a political action committee of that name.
The group touts itself as a “grassroots movement born out of frustration” with what it describes as Moore’s failed leadership. And on the group’s Facebook page is a long list of posts expressing that frustration, with links to news articles and interviews from the governor, as well as comments about the direction the state has moved — especially economically — during Moore’s term in office.
But some AI-generated videos also found on the page have Democrats, as well as Moore himself, decrying what they argue are racist dog whistles about Maryland’s first Black governor.
The videos include an AI-generated Moore dressed like a circus clown, saying “the gaslight tour continues. It’s not hard, all you have to do is just lie.”
To Moore’s supporters, it evokes a depiction of the governor as a minstrel. In another post on the issue of redistricting, it shows a deepfake of Moore coloring a map of Maryland with a blue crayon, and asking in an exaggerated voice, “Where is WEE-com-EE-co? It doesn’t matter,” before he starts laughing.
“What we’re seeing from ‘No Moore’ is what people hate about politics,” Moore said last week. “It’s this dark money, shadowy, racist platform that doesn’t disclose who their people are, that doesn’t disclose who’s giving them their money. But they’re just continuing to put out these racist, white supremacist tropes.”
It’s an allegation that the No Moore PAC, and other Republicans in the state, dispute.
After Moore commented on it last week following questions from a reporter, on Monday the state Democratic Party put out a statement calling on former Gov. Larry Hogan to denounce the group, with the belief that Hogan supporters are behind the PAC.
But at least one Republican said the group is simply critical of the governor and his policies.
“There is real outrage out there related to very much kitchen-table items,” Republican Del. Jesse Pippy, of Frederick County, said.
Pippy said he also doesn’t think the content put out by the No Moore campaign is racist the way Democrats in Maryland said it was.
“They don’t like criticism, and when they hear things about their policies, they want to turn their attention to something else,” Pippy said. “But do I think there are some people online that take things too far? Absolutely, and it happens on all sides.”
An unsigned statement from the No Moore PAC described the allegations of racism as “egregious” when asked by WTOP for comment on the claims made by Democrats.
“Maryland Democrats can’t defend Moore’s record on spending and taxes, so they’re screaming ‘racism’ and inventing conspiracies instead. They’ll do anything to distract from his failed leadership.”
But Moore feels there’s “historical context” behind some of the statements and posts by the group and he said, “They know it.”
“I would hope that the people who are claiming to be leaders inside this moment would come out and speak out against it,” Moore said. “But I’m not going to hold my breath.”
The No Moore PAC calls the insinuation outrageous.
“This isn’t about race. It’s about results,” the No Moore PAC statement said. “We deserve fiscal responsibility and leadership that tells the truth. That’s what we’ll continue to focus on.”
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The Montgomery County Council is celebrating African Heritage Month as part of the county’s drive to “work toward being an inclusive community.”
When Maryland’s Gov. Wes Moore proclaimed September African Heritage Month in 2024, he said it was a time to mark the “significant contributions of African immigrants to the state’s cultural, social and economic landscape.”
In Montgomery County, which has commemorated African Heritage Month for more than a decade, County Council President Kate Stewart said, “Over 16% of the overall immigrant population in our county is from Africa,” and celebrating that is part of the county’s drive to “work toward being an inclusive and welcoming community.”
At Tuesday’s council meeting, where officials celebrated Moore’s proclamation, Council member Will Jawando talked about his own roots.
“My father came here from Nigeria in 1970, and I carry that part of my identity with me every day” Jawando said.
The African immigrant population has grown statewide in Maryland. In Baltimore, Cindy Ogide, whose own roots are in the Ivory Coast, works as the health and human services manager for CASA, a national immigrant advocacy organization.
Asked what she wishes people knew about Africa, Ogide said they should be aware that it’s a continent, not a country.
“It’s a continent of 54 diverse countries, culture and tribes,” Ogide said.
It’s not uncommon for people to stumble over African names, whether it’s at a public meeting where speakers are being introduced, or in private settings. In each case, Ogide urged people not to hesitate to ask how to pronounce a name.
And Ogide said people of African descent shouldn’t be shy about offering a correct pronunciation, “because it is part of who we are and it has a meaning, so we should be proud of it.”
Ogide mentioned the incredible diversity of languages, cultures and foods in Africa.
Asked about the signature dish of Ivory Coast, she didn’t hesitate to describe achecke, or attiéké, granulated cassava.
“It’s often served with grilled fish, and also some fried plantain on the side with a little bit of tomato stew,” and some onions and tomatoes as well, she said.
“When you say you’re from the Ivory Coast, that’s the number one thing people ask, like, ‘Do you got some achecke?’ It’s the best, I can even taste it in my mouth right now,” she told WTOP, laughing.
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In a letter to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy expressed concerns over the projected $1.8 billion replacement cost of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
In a letter to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy expressed concerns over the projected $1.8 billion replacement cost of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
He also voiced concerns over “whether Maryland intends to award contracts” for the bridge replacement “in a manner that relies on the race or sex of contractors.”
Any reliance on factors including race or sex when determining how to award contracts, wrote Duffy, “could introduce significant legal vulnerabilities and inefficiencies” in managing the project. Duffy said DOT has asked a federal court to declare the “presumption” of disadvantage based on race or sex be declared unconstitutional.
In his response to the letter, Moore issued a statement focusing on Maryland’s ongoing efforts to replace the Key Bridge, writing “we have worked expeditiously to promote full restoration of the bridge as a critical asset to our nation’s economy.”
“We will continue to work with the Trump Administration to find ways to reduce costs and rebuild faster,” Moore wrote.
The governor also stated that replacing the bridge is important not only to Baltimore and Maryland, but to the rest of the country. Noting that 13% of the state’s economy is tied to operations at the Port of Baltimore, he wrote, “the goods that flow through the Port don’t just touch Marylanders — they reach the farmer in Kentucky, the auto worker in Michigan and the restaurant owner in Tennessee.”
The exchange comes following sparring between President Donald Trump and Moore over crime in Baltimore. At one point, Trump wrote on social media, “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge,” and continued that he might “have to rethink that decision???”
Members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation — including senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks — issued a statement following the release of Duffy’s letter noting that after the Key Bridge collapse, “The federal government’s commitment to fund the rebuild is enacted into law,” and called delivering on the bridge replacement a “national priority.”
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Several uniformed police officers stood side by side along the entrance of a public park where the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor, Mikie Sherrill, met voters Friday to discuss measures designed to bring transparency to the state budget process.
The significant security presence was a sharp shift from Sherrill’s recent events.
Across the nation, it has been much the same for Republican and Democratic officials after another stunning act of political violence, with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Politicians in both parties and at virtually every level of public service are suddenly being forced to deal with acute security concerns — and feelings of grief, anger and fear — as they move deeper into a fraught election season.
Some political leaders are canceling public appearances. Others are relying on a large police presence to keep them safe. And still others insist that the fallout from Kirk’s death won’t have any impact on their duties.
Even before the killing of Kirk, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was struggling with the emotional toll of political violence.
In the middle of the night just five months ago, someone broke into his home and set it on fire. Shapiro, who is also a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was asleep with his wife and children.
And in the weeks since his family fled the blaze, Shapiro has been forced to confront the vexing questions now consuming elected officials in both parties as they face the impact of Kirk’s assassination on their own public lives.
“The emotional challenge for me that’s been the hardest to work through is that, as a father, the career I chose, that I find great purpose and meaning in, ended up putting my children’s lives at risk,” Shapiro, a father of four, told The Associated Press. “Make no mistake, the emotional burden of being a father through this has been something that continues to be a challenge for me to this day.”
Indeed, even as Shapiro offered prayers for Kirk’s widow and children, the Democratic governor said he is undeterred in his duties as a leading figure in his national party and his state.
“I’m not slowing down,” he said.
On that, he and President Donald Trump appear to agree.
The Republican president was asked during a Friday appearance on Fox News if he would cancel any public appearances of his own.
“You have to go forward,” he said.
Violent rhetoric surges
Bellicose rhetoric and even death threats have surged in the days since Kirk was killed.
“The left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk, the tech titan and CEO of the social media platform X, wrote. “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is to fight or die.”
To that, Fox News host Jesse Waters said during a broadcast, “They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. What are we going to do about it?”
On Friday, a right-wing activist posted online a video outside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s home, calling on followers to “take action.”
The charged environment prompted a number of public officials, largely Democrats, to postpone public appearances.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., canceled a Saturday town hall in Las Vegas “out of an abundance of caution for town hall participants, attendees, and members of the media.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also postponed a weekend event in North Carolina due to security concerns.
Former Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, president of Young America’s Foundation, which works to attract young people to the GOP, said his group canceled a Thursday night event in California featuring conservative commentator Ben Shapiro out of respect for Kirk and his family.
And while officials in both parties acknowledged that new security precautions would be in place — at least for the short term — cancellations have been rare.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, another potential Democratic presidential prospect who recently announced his 2026 reelection campaign, said he would not change his public schedule because of the increased threat, even as political violence will be on his mind.
“It’s never something that completely leaves you, but I don’t think it can be something that debilitates you,” Moore told The Associated Press.
When asked if he expects a retaliatory attack against Democrats, the former Army captain insisted, “We are not at war with one another.”
“As someone who has seen war, as someone who knows what war looks like, as someone who will live with the realities of war for the rest of my life, I refuse to ever believe that we in the country are at war with one another,” he said. “And I refuse to believe that we as a country are devolving into some just kind of type of retaliatory tit for tat.”
“Resorting to violence is a remarkable sign of weakness,” Moore added. “It means you can’t win a political argument.”
And yet political violence is becoming more frequent in the United States.
Former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head as she met with constituents in 2011. Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot at a congressional team baseball practice in 2017. Trump was grazed by a bullet last summer on the stump in Pennsylvania. And barely three months ago, the top Democrat in the Minnesota state house and her husband were gunned down at home.
What it looks like on the campaign trail.
In Illinois, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Aaron Del Mar said he and other GOP candidates are discussing new security precautions, such as bringing events indoors, enhanced use of metal detectors and background checks on those who attend their events.
“There’s a lot of concern right now,” he said.
In New Jersey, 35-year-old Democrat Maira Barbosa attended Sherrill’s event on Friday with her 16-month-old son. She said she’s never been more resolved to show up to a political event in person, even as she admitted she had second thoughts.
“We’re seeing so much hate speech and we’re seeing people advocate for violence, so of course it makes me concerned, especially to the point of bringing my son,” she said. “If we don’t participate, if we don’t get involved, who is going to represent us?”
No Kings protest
In interviews, governors Shapiro and Moore largely avoided casting blame for the current era of political violence, although they were critical of Trump’s immediate response to Kirk’s shooting.
The Republican president highlighted only attacks against Republicans during his Oval Office address on Thursday and blamed “the radical left” for Kirk’s shooting, even before the suspect was arrested.
Shapiro said Trump “misused the power of an Oval Office address.”
“To be clear, the political violence has impacted Democrats and Republicans, and the rhetoric of vengeance and the language that has created division has come from both sides of the political divide,” Shapiro said. “No one party has clean hands, and no one party is immune from the threat of political violence.”
Moore called for everyone to tone down the rhetoric.
“I just think it’s important for the president and anyone else to understand that your words matter, and leadership is how you lift us up in darkness, not how you use it as a moment for opportunism and to introduce more darkness and finger-pointing into an already horrific situation,” he said.
“I’m praying for our country,” Moore continued. “I’m praying that the legacy of this moment is we got better — not that we got worse.”
NJ Advance Media contributed to this report.
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The announcement, which was widely expected, was made in a campaign video in which Moore recounts his historic 2022 campaign, which made him the first Black governor in state history, as well as his efforts on crime, budgeting, taxes and the middle class since being elected.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) makes it official Tuesday, announcing his plans to seek re-election in 2026.
The announcement, which was widely expected, was made in a campaign video in which Moore recounts his historic 2022 campaign, which made him the first Black governor in state history, as well as his efforts on crime, budgeting, taxes and the middle class since being elected.
“But while we stand up for middle-class Marylanders, the President of the United States is bending over backwards for billionaires and big corporations … firing federal workers, gutting Medicaid, raising prices on everything from electricity to groceries,” Moore said in a transcript of the video released to Maryland Matters. “The games of Washington are exhausting, and worse, they’re hurting people. I’m not from that world.”
The announcement comes two days after Moore repeated his insistence that he intends to serve a full term as governor and that he is not running for president in 2028 — a rumor that got fresh legs last week after paparazzi photographed Moore and his wife on a boat at the Italian villa of actor George Clooney, considered by some to be a Democratic kingmaker.
Moore, the incumbent and presumed Democratic primary frontrunner, becomes the second Democrat to announce his intentions for the governor’s mansion.
Ralph Jaffe, a retired teacher, filed for the primary race on July 30. Jaffe has run for governor or U.S. senator in eight previous elections, dating back to 1992. In 2022, he finished last in a 10-candidate Democratic primary field with 2,978 votes, about 0.44% of primary votes cast.
Meanwhile, on the second floor …
Moore on Monday named Lester Davis as his new chief of staff, replacing the departing Fagan Harris.
“Lester is a known problem-solver, and his proven ability to secure improved outcomes for the people he serves will build on the progress our administration has made over the past two and a half years,” Moore said in a statement announcing the appointment. “He brings a commitment to building strong partnerships, uplifting communities, and delivering data-driven results that are in lockstep with the priorities our administration has championed since day one.”
Davis joins the administration fresh off a three-year stint as vice president and chief of staff for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He also served on transition teams for Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.
While in Baltimore, he spent roughly a decade working for Jack Young, first as director of policy and communications for then-City Council President Young and later as deputy chief of staff when Young became mayor after Catherine Pugh resigned while under investigation for fraud related to her “Healthy Holly” books.
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from Norfolk State University and worked roughly four years as a reporter at various publications including the Palm Beach Post. He will start this fall as part of a planned transition. A Moore spokesperson could not immediately provide Davis’ planned salary.
Harris, Moore’s current chief of staff, announced last month that he would leave by the end of the year to become president and CEO of the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore philanthropic institution.
Moore’s lobby shop staffs up
The governor’s office also added two new deputies in his legislative office.
Tony Bridges moves to the lobbying shop after three years as assistant secretary for equity and engagement at the Maryland Department of Transportation. The former Baltimore City delegate held a number of positions with the Transportation Department, including chief of staff at the Maryland Transit Administration.
Also joining the shop is Hannah Dier, who held a number of positions including, most recently, deputy county administrative officer under Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman. Prior to her stint in Anne Arundel County, Dier served six years as a budget analyst in the Department of Legislative Services. Her last three were as senior policy analyst for the House Appropriations Committee.
Bridges and Dier round out a team of seven deputies under Chief Legislative Officer Jeremy Baker. Baker once advised two House speakers overlapping with the service of Bridges and Dier.
Turns out, Hale is a Republican (now)
Ed Hale, who announced he was leaving the Democratic party to run for governor as a Republican, faced more criticism last week regarding his decision to switch rather than fight Moore for the Democratic Party nomination.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore), who announced last week that he was exploring his own run for governor, claimed in an interview that Hale had not yet switched parties.
“He might think he’s a conservative person, he might run businesses, which we do understand, but the fact of the matter is, he’s a Democrat and he’s still a Democrat,” Hershey said in a televised interview Thursday. “I was at the Board of Elections today, Ed Hill has not changed party affiliation yet.”
Turns out, he had.
Hale, a lifelong Democrat, announced Aug. 21 he was switching parties to run for governor as a Republican. A day later, he said during a radio interview he had filed the paperwork to make it official.
After Hershey’s interview, Hale shared with Maryland Matters a photo of an updated voter registration card from Talbot County, where he lives. Dated Aug. 22, it shows Hale registered as a Republican. Maryland Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis Monday confirmed that Hale had switched parties Aug. 22 in Talbot County and was issued an updated voter registration card.
“Why is he making fun of me,” Hale wrote in a text to a reporter. “Seems disingenuous.”
Hershey did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Hershey has been highly critical of Hale’s party switch, calling the Baltimore businessman a political opportunist and a newly minted Republican of “convenience rather than conviction.” It seems unlikely Hershey is going to drop the issue any time soon: During the Fox 45 interview, he made it clear if he enters the race for governor, Hale’s party switch will be campaign fodder.
“I don’t know what makes him think he can come into our party after years and years and years being a lifelong Democrat and saying at the last minute, I’m going to be a Republican and therefore embrace me,” Hershey said. “Right now, Ed Hale is looking for a party … someone to welcome him. I don’t think that the Republican Party welcomes him, but that will be a campaign issue, and if that’s what we have to talk about, I certainly welcome the opportunity to run against a Democrat in the Republican primary.”
Hale is not yet an official candidate, according to a check of the Maryland State Board of Elections website Monday night.
John Myrick, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, and Carl A. Brunner Jr., a Carroll County firearms instructor, remain the only two filed candidates.
Gov. Wes Moore on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, when he talked about the economy, the president’s threat to send federal troops into Baltimore and — again — his electoral plans. (Screengrab of NBC video)
For a man who’s not running for president, Gov. Wes Moore sure has been making the rounds of the national Sunday talk shows recently. But there’s also been plenty to talk about, from vaccines to federal troop deployments.
Moore, appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” would not say he would “completely rule it out,” when asked about a presidential bit, but he did repeat his oft-stated assertion that he is not running for president in 2028, and is focused instead on seeking reelection next year as governor of Maryland.
“I’ll be serving a full term. I’m excited about reelection. I’m excited about what I’m going to be able to do for the people of Maryland,” he said in response to a question from moderator Kristen Welker, before reciting a list of his administration’s accomplishments..
It was similar to the discussion he had two weeks earlier on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” when he volunteered that he is not running for president during a discussion of President Donald Trump saying Moore is not “presidential timber.” Moore’s residential aspirations did not come up on last week’s “This Week” on ABC — but he wasn’t directly asked about it.
What Moore has been asked about in each appearance was the president’s threat to send troops into Baltimore, among other cities, to respond to crime there.
Moore — who on Friday announced a surge of Maryland State Police into the city to help further bring down crime rates — repeated his charge that Trump’s proposal would be “performative” and ineffective. He said Guard members are not trained for law enforcement and noted that those deployed last month to Washington, D.C., have been reduced in some instances to raking mulch and picking up trash, at what he said is an estimated cost of $1 million a day.
“You know, the president’s proposed budget actually cuts supports for the FBI and ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] bureaus, which are things we actually could use,” Moore said. “When you’re looking at the Big Beautiful Bill, it actually cuts $30 million of funding for violence prevention programs that are happening in the city of Baltimore and across the state of Maryland.”
Trump has said that the presence of federal troops has led to a drop in crimes that have made the District a “safe zone.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said that crime was already at historic lows already, but she recently credited the presence of federal troops with a further drop in crimes.
Moore acknowledged that crime is down in D.C., but said it has fallen just as fast, or faster, in Baltimore during the same time frame without federal intervention.
“If you’re looking at the same time period of this D.C. occupation … if you look at assaults with a deadly weapon, they’ve actually increased in D.C. by 8%; in Baltimore, have decreased by 10%,” he said. “And on every other major indicator, from homicide, to carjacking, you could say that Baltimore has actually had the same type of drop as Washington D.C. has had during this period. And we didn’t mobilize the National Guard for it.”
What Moore did do was announce plans Friday for a “renewed collaboration” between the Baltimore City Police Department and the Maryland State Police.
“We are proud of the progress that we’ve been able to make, and we’re all very, very concerned about how much work still needs to happen,” Moore said at the time, flanked by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and city and state police officials. “If one person does not feel safe in their neighborhood, that is one too many.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is ordering a surge in law enforcement presence in Baltimore, following weeks of sparring with President Donald Trump and his threat to deploy troops to deal with crime in the city.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) is ordering a surge in law enforcement presence in Baltimore, following weeks of sparring with President Donald Trump (R) and his threat to deploy troops to deal with crime in the city.
Neither Moore nor Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) mentioned Trump by name Friday as they announced plans for a “renewed collaboration” between the Baltimore City Police Department and the Maryland State Police. But many of their remarks responded to charges by Trump, who recently called Baltimore a crime “hellhole.”
Moore said violent crime has been dropping over the last few years in Baltimore, and that the increased police resources will continue efforts to bring down violent crime even further.
“We are proud of the progress that we’ve been able to make, and we’re all very, very concerned about how much work still needs to happen,” Moore said. “If one person does not feel safe in their neighborhood, that is one too many.”
The announcement came at a news conference outside St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, after a brief walk through the Park Heights neighborhood by officials. Despite his high-profile public feud with the president, Moore insisted that Friday’s announcement was not “inspired” by recent comments by Trump.
“Nothing we do is inspired by the president,” he said, in response to reporters’ questions.
While it may not have been inspired by Trump, Friday’s announcement included repeated references to the president’s continued threats to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore and other large cities, as he has done in Washington, D.C., over the last month.
Moore has repeatedly pushed back on the use of National Guard troops for crime prevention, arguing that Guard members are not trained for policing and that such a deployment would be disrespectful to them and of little benefit to residents.
“We do not need an occupation. We do not need people putting in performative and theatrical resources because they do not care about the actual results,” Moore said.
Trump, who deployed Guard members and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles in June to quell immigration protests, followed up last month by sending the National Guard into Washington, D.C. The D.C. Guard members, along with Guard units from six Republican states, have been backing up local police, but have also been involved in removing homeless encampments and aiding with immigration arrests.
In recent weeks, Trump has dangled the possibility of entering other cities, like Baltimore and Chicago, that he said were “so far gone” in terms of violent crime. The list has continued to grow, with New Orleans and Portland, Oregon, the most recent potential targets.
Moore shot back on Aug. 21 at the president’s suggestion that troops should be deployed to Baltimore, telling Trump to “keep our names out of your mouth.” Moore also invited the president Trump to come walk the streets of Baltimore to get a firsthand look at the city’s crime prevention efforts.
The back-and-forth has continued since, with Trump again disparaging Baltimore earlier this week, saying that Moore needs to “get rid of the criminals” in the city.
“These are hard-core criminals,” Trump said at a Tuesday press conference. “They’re not going to be good in 10 years, in five years, in 20 years, in two years they’re going to be criminals. They were born to be criminals.”
Scott also did not name the president in his Friday comments but clearly referenced those comments and pushed back against Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard in Baltimore.
“We do not need troops on our streets,” Scott said. “We do need folks who want to be at the table to recognize that the people of Baltimore are humans — that our young people are not born to be criminals. They’re resources to invest in, not problems to be solved.”
Scott has a personal connection to the area where the press conference took place: He grew up in the Park Heights neighborhood, and said that he witnessed a shooting in the area growing up.
“None of us are celebrating, saying that we have solved gun violence,” Scott said, adding that the use of the Maryland State Police will help provide more government resources and allow the use of evidence-based policies targeted to a continued reduction in crime.
Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said with the renewed partnership, “there will be no daylight” between the state police department and the city police.
“We intend to go out and provide the services that you need to feel safe,” Butler said, “and enhance the safety you already feel.”
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Rich Worley agreed.
“Adding additional resources to our neighborhoods is one important step towards creating safer communities and improving the quality of life in our city,” he said. “We have work to do, especially in communities like park heights.”
In the midst of states thinking about removing vaccine mandates, Maryland will protect access to vaccines for all of its residents with flu season approaching.
With some states thinking about removing vaccine mandates, Maryland will protect access to vaccines for all of its residents with flu season approaching.
Maryland residents can go to their providers and pharmacies to get their vaccinations, and get advice on what types of vaccines to get to protect themselves from viruses and illnesses.
The CDC recommends to those 6 years and older to get the flu shot.
“The federal government’s rapid changes and unnecessary swirl around vaccine policy is harmful for Marylanders and all Americans, and could result in disastrous public health outcomes,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a release.
Moore added that the state is prepared to deal with the challenges of federal vaccine guidance with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. trying to advance anti-vaccine policies.
He signed a law in 2024 that would allow pharmacists to give those 3 years and over COVID-19 and flu vaccine without a prescription, a release said.
“The health, safety and well-being of Marylanders and their loved ones are our North Star, and we will do everything in our power to ensure they have access to life-saving medicines like vaccines,” Moore said.
“Vaccines continue to be one of the most powerful public health tools for safeguarding our people and communities against disease,” Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani said.
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Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard into other major Democratic cities, including Chicago, New Orleans and Baltimore, that he claims have “out of control” crime.
Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard into other major Democratic cities, including Chicago, New Orleans and Baltimore, that he claims have “out of control” crime.
Trump, who said earlier this week on social media that D.C. is now “crime free” as a result of his federal emergency declaration weeks ago, has his eyes set on sending in federal law enforcement to Baltimore, which he called a “hell hole” during a news conference Tuesday.
Trump said, as president, he has “the right to do it, because I have an obligation to protect this country. And that includes Baltimore.”
The pushback by leaders from the targeted cities and their state’s governors continues.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP’s Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson to talk more about the president’s latest threats.
Listen to the interview below:
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP to discuss President Trump’s latest threats to deploy the National Guard in Baltimore.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Anne Kramer:
The President just said this week that the people of Baltimore want federal agents to come in and get crime under control in the city. He even called Baltimore a “hellhole.” Can you actually do something to stop the federal law enforcement coming into Baltimore? And if so, what can you do?
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore:
That’s why I’ve been very clear that what the president is urging and what the president is talking about with the activation of the National Guard, it’s not sustainable. I mean, he is literally spending over a million dollars a day to have the National Guard raking mulch and picking up trash. That is not scalable, and that is also a violation of the 10th Amendment, and individual states’ rights.
So my declaration that I will not authorize the Maryland National Guard to be able to patrol our cities, because it is not either mission aligned or mission critical, stands. And so we are very clear about what the Constitution holds and upholds, about where presidential limitations begin and end, and also what my responsibilities are as the Commander in Chief of the Maryland National Guard.
Shawn Anderson:
Now, you’ve been pretty tough on President Trump here in the last few weeks. Are your responses the right way to go when it comes to handling the president, let’s say, compared to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat as well. She seems to be walking the line much more carefully, even parsing her comments about the president.
Tell us about the different approaches here in dealing with President Trump.
Moore:
Well, this is not personal between myself and the president. I mean, the president’s attack, and frankly, the ignorant comments that he continues to make from the Oval Office, he’s trying to make it about me versus him. This is not, in my opinion, about anything about me and him. This is about me defending my people. This is about me protecting Marylanders.
And when you’re making these comments saying Baltimore is a hell hole or a death scape; when you’re making comments about our children, saying that they’re “natural born killers”; when you’re talking about doing things like taking away Key Bridge funding that you never authorized in the first place; when you’re saying you’re not going to support our people in Western Maryland, who have had to endure historic floods; when you’re firing our federal workers — and Maryland has had more federal workers fired than any state in this country.
When you’re coming after our people, people know that I’m a soldier, and I will fight for and protect our people, and that is all I’m doing. This is not about trying to fight Donald Trump. This is about me fighting for Marylanders.
Kramer:
Is there any wiggle room there? So if President Trump came to you and said, “Hey, I acknowledge the fact that crime is getting under control in Baltimore. But would you like some more help from the federal agents? I could send them in.” Because, yes, violent crime, particularly murders, are down in Baltimore, but people in Baltimore City are still complaining about carjackings, armed robberies in places like Harbor East, Fells Point, Fed Hill. Any thoughts about that?
Moore:
I’m very clear that my number one priority is public safety, and if one person does not feel safe, then we will stop at nothing to make sure that everybody in our communities are safe.
We’re watching very encouraging results, and it’s not just homicides, it’s non-fatal shootings, it’s auto theft, it’s carjacking. It’s across the board, that year-on-year, we are down over 25% in pretty much every single statistical category within Baltimore and across our state. So we’re very proud of the progress that’s being made in the state of Maryland, even though we know the work is not done.
And I have said to the president that we would we would absolutely and gratefully accept more federal support on things that actually make sense. And so instead of doing things like cutting $30 million from violence prevention programs, which he did, instead of doing things like proposing like in his proposed budget, where he cut funding for the FBI and the ATF, we would love to have more support for FBI and ATF and to get these illegal guns out of our neighborhoods and off of our streets.
We would love to be able to have more support for local law enforcement, the way that in our state budget, I have actually increased funding for local law enforcement by historic numbers in the state of Maryland. We would absolutely welcome more federal supports. But what I do not want is performative measures like advancing the National Guard inside of our communities to do jobs that they’re not even trained for.
Anderson:
President Trump has said he would consider withholding funding for the replacement Key Bridge in this war of words with you. Can he do that?
Moore:
The president never authorized funding for the Key Bridge, so the president can’t take away funding for the Key Bridge.
Key Bridge funding was authorized through Congress, and Congress was the ones, both Republicans and Democrats, who understood that the Port of Baltimore is a crucial avenue to our American economy, that two thirds of the country receive their goods from the Port of Baltimore, and the Key Bridge is an absolutely historic and important measure to make sure that you have a fully functioning Port of Baltimore.
And so the President of the United States does not have the authority to pull funding for the Key Bridge. Only Congress can do that, and I don’t think Congress would want to hamstring the American economy by making a decision like pulling away from the 100% cost share and agreement that we have between the state of Maryland and our federal government.
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Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Wednesday he would be willing to accept help from the federal government to fight crime in Baltimore, just not through the deployment of National Guard troops as President Donald Trump (R) has repeatedly threatened.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Wednesday he would be willing to accept help from the federal government to fight crime in Baltimore, just not through the deployment of National Guard troops as President Donald Trump (R) has repeatedly threatened.
Moore was responding to Tuesday comments by Trump during a rambling news conference in which he called Baltimore and Chicago crime “hellholes” that needed the presence of federal troops, a deployment he insists he has the authority to order, despite governors and a federal court saying otherewise.
Moore and Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott (D) have said repeatedly that rates of homicides and gun violence are declining in the city, but admit there is still work to be done.
Moore said Wednesday using the National Guard to fight crime, as Trump wants to do, would be “performative” and “ridiculous.” He said other federal agencies, such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, make more sense for crime-fighting.
“If you want to have a serious conversation about things that the federal government could provide that could be helpful, it could be FBI and ATF support … Those are always useful, and we’re still working in partnership with them,” Moore said in response to reporters’ questions at an unrelated event in Columbia.
“But I’m not going to do things just because it makes people feel good or because we think that people walking around in military fatigues and a long gun somehow makes communities safe,” he said. “Having members of the Guard picking up trash and raking mulch is not a useful spread of resources.”
The trash and raking comment was a reference to the presence of National Guard troops that Trump deployed to Washington, D.C., last month. Guard members, from D.C. and other states, don’t have arrest powers, so some have been assigned to beautification duties, such as raking and trash pickup.
But Trump called the presence of federal troops in Washington a success, pointing to a drop in major crimes in the city since their deployment.
“It serves as a template – and we’re going to do it elsewhere,” Trump said of the troop presence.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, like Moore and Scott, has argued that crime was already falling in the city before the troops showed up. But she acknowledged this week that the federal presence has helped drive down crime rates even more, earning praise from Trump.
Bowser is in a tough spot, however: While governors control their states’ National Guard troops, the D.C. Guard is under the control of the president, who can deploy them for 30 days in an emergency. And as those 30 days draw to a close, it appears the GOP-controlled Congress is prepared to extend the president’s authority to keep troops on the street.
Bowser on Tuesday issued an executive order outlining a “path forward beyond the presidential emergency” for city officials to “ensure coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.”
It specifically named federal law enforcement agencies — the FBI, ATF, U.S. Park Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Capitol Police and the Secret Service. Left out were references to the National Guard or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have also surged into the city, often masked and poorly identified as they make high-profile public arrests.
Bowser’s order said that in order to “maintain community confidence” in law enforcement, any federal authorities going forward should not wear masks, should identify their agencies and themselves as they make arrests or otherwise interact with the public.
When asked Wednesday if he would accept a National Guard presence, if it meant that help from other federal agencies would also be provided, Moore rejected the notion.
“I would hope the president is more serious of a leader than to say, ‘The only way I’ll give you something that’s useful is to give you something ridiculous,’” Moore said.
“The National Guard is not trained for this. The National Guard is trained for things like natural disasters and emergencies and deploying overseas,” he said. “I have too much respect for the members of our National Guard to put them on missions they are not trained for.”
It’s the latest round in weeks of verbal sparring between Moore and Trump that has been been escalating since the president sent National Guard troops to the District.
It was revived Tuesday, when a reporter asked Trump if he planned to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. In his reply, Trump looped in Baltimore, describing both cities as “a hellhole right now” citing gun violence, homicides and other crimes.
Without saying when, Trump said he planned to send troops into Chicago — despite fierce opposition from the governor and mayor there — and insisted that “we have a right to do it, and that includes Baltimore.” But he also said it would be better if Moore and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked for the help.
“I would love to have Gov. Moore call, because I watched him over the weekend trying to explain, ‘Baltimore, what we need is housing,’” Trump said. “No, they don’t need housing. They need to get rid of the criminals
“These are hard-core criminals,” he said. “They’re not going to be good in 10 years, in five years, in 20 years, in two years they’re going to be criminals. They were born to be criminals.”
Moore, who had just announced an executive order Wednesday aimed at speeding government approval for new affordable housing developments, said it was “sad” that the president didn’t appreciate how reducing the state’s housing shortage plays into crime reduction.
“What we’re doing is actually working to reduce the stem of violence,” Moore said.
Gov. Wes Moore and his wife Dawn were photographed over the weekend lounging on a yacht owned by George Clooney, the actor and political benefactor, according to The Daily Mail.
A quiet international birthday trip for Gov. Wes Moore’s wife got splashed across a British tabloid over the Labor Day holiday.
A shirtless Moore and his wife Dawn were photographed over the weekend lounging on a yacht owned by George Clooney, the actor and political benefactor, according to The Daily Mail, which broke the story.
The Daily Mail headline had all the bold-typeface subtlety and nuance to be expected from a tabloid from across the pond: “Damning photos burn top Dem’s 2028 plans to the ground as he’s busted half-naked on kingmaker George Clooney’s luxury yacht in ITALY … while his ‘hellhole’ state faces crime apocalypse.”
The publication reported that Clooney and his wife had been in town for a film festival. The couple left the Moores with access to their Lake Como villa — valued at an estimated $100 million.
The trip — described as a personal vacation to a personal friend’s residence — was not listed on Moore’s public schedule.
“The Governor paid for a trip to celebrate his wife’s 50th birthday,” David Turner, Moore’s communications director, said in a statement Tuesday.
Moore did not temporarily leave Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller in charge while he vacationed, according to the governor’s office.
“The governor was not temporarily unable to perform his duties and therefore did not appoint the lieutenant governor to serve as acting governor in his stead,” Turner said in his statement, in response to questions about Miller’s role. Turner included a link to relevant sections of the Maryland Constitution addressing when a lieutenant governor would assume the duties of the governor.
Republicans made hay of the trip, which drew a sharp attack from the White House.
“The crime crisis ravaging your city is no problem at all when you can jet off to an Italy yacht vacation,” Abigail Jackson, Deputy White House Press Secretary, posted on X. “Unfortunately for residents of Baltimore, this isn’t their reality. Yet, Wes (wannabe President) Moore insists there’s no crime problem and he doesn’t need help!”
Moore and President Donald Trump (R) have been trading barbs over the last week over the state of crime in Baltimore, with Trump hinting again Tuesday that he might send federal troops into Maryland though he did not say when.
The visit also raises questions about Moore’s political future.
Clooney has built a name for himself in politics hosting fundraisers including one for Joe Biden’s failed reelection bid. The Daily Mail said Clooney has expressed some support for a presidential bid by his recent house guest.
In an April interview on CNN, Clooney praised Moore, calling him “a proper leader.”
Moore has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2028.
Nearly 1,000 Maryland state employees are waiting to learn if they will be allowed to quit their jobs under a voluntary separation that aims to shrink the size of state government and cut expenses.
Nearly 1,000 state employees are waiting to learn if they will be allowed to quit their jobs under a voluntary separation that aims to shrink the size of state government and cut expenses.
Of the thousands who were notified of the early out program in July, a total of 980 employees had applied by the Aug. 4 deadline, state officials said.
Not all of them will be allowed to quit. The state is reviewing the applications and decisions will be based on “the mission and priorities of the agency and … an evaluation of whether the function of the position is required,” a spokesperson for Gov. Wes. Moore (D) said in an email. Workers also have to have worked at least two years for the state to take advantage of the program.
The Department of Budget and Management plans to notify employees in mid-September of whether their application for separation has been accepted or not. When they unveiled the program in late June, administration officials insisted that they did not have a specific target in mind for the number of workers they were hoping would leave, only that it was one part of a larger effort to cut $121 million in state personnel expenses.
“The VSP [voluntary separation program] is one of several actions the governor has implemented to achieve the $121 million reduction, including the hiring freeze already announced,” a DBM spokesperson said in an email when the program was announced.
While they could not predict how many might ultimately be accepted into the buyout program, the governor’s office said similar voluntary separation program in 2015 realized a 38% acceptance rate.
According to details on the DBM website, the buyout offer, first announced in late June, was available to full-time employees in the executive branch with at least two years of service. Those accepted will get $20,000, plus an additional $300 for each year of service. The state will cover six months of paid state health benefits after their separation, and departing workers will also be paid for any unused leave and compensatory time.
Workers who take the buyout have to agree not to work for the state again for at least another 18 months, and their positions will be eliminated once they leave.
There were nearly 52,000 positions within the state personnel and Maryland Department of Transportation personnel systems, about 4,800 of which were vacant as of May, the DBM spokesperson said at the time. About 13,500 are in job classifications that are not eligible for the buyout offer, including police and correctional officers, judicial and legislative employees, and close to 60 other offices, ranging from the Attorney Grievance Commission to the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority.
Workers at the state’s colleges and universities are also ineligible, although the executive order creating the program allows several of the universities to set up their own buyout programs if they wish.
Of the 980 workers who applied for the porogram, 862 were employed as part of the State Personnel Management System and the remaining 118 were employed by the Maryland Department of Transportation, according to an administration spokesperson
DBM spokesperson Raquel Coombs said last month that a more specific breakdown of the departments the applicants came from was confidential.
Representatives for both the American Federation of Teachers-Maryland and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said their unions were waiting for more information on the breakdown of employees.
The governor’s office had originally proposed eliminating 150 vacant government positions, implementing a hiring freeze and offering some buyouts to meet the $121 million personnel cost reductions that were mandated as part of the fiscal 2026 budget approved by the General Assembly this spring.
But lawmakers and union representatives differed from the administration on what personnel cuts were required, and they specifically pushed back against the notion of layoffs.
AFSCME said several critical “24/7” agencies — hospitals, public safety and prisons, for example — are already understaffed and covering vacancies with overtime, and insisted that any further personnel reductions not cut into service.
“Any solutions to help our state navigate these tough and volatile times must not come at the cost of providing quality state services,” the union said in a statement when the buyouts were announced.
Besides trimming personnel, the union said the state should look at “eliminating costly contracts, in-sourcing services where needed, addressing other inefficiencies, and closing corporate tax loopholes to raise much-needed state revenues” to cut costs.
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore characterized the deployment of National Guard troops to combat crime as “performative” in an interview that aired Sunday.
Speaking to host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week,” the Maryland Democrat said: “The National Guard is completely performative because the National Guard is not even trained for it.”
Moore has been critical of President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington and invited him to spend time with him in Baltimore, another city in Trump’s sights. The president has repeatedly mocked Moore.
“The National Guard is not trained for municipal policing,” Moore said to Raddatz. “You know who is trained for municipal policing? Things like local law enforcement, and things like FBI agents and ATF agents.”
Raddatz noted that Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has said the current deployment in her city has reduced crime. Moore said using the National Guard is not a long-term solution to a complicated problem, and that it absorbs funds that could be better spent in other ways.
“Do you know what I would tell him?” Moore said, referring to Trump. “I would tell him things like: We need to make sure we’re increasing funding for local law enforcement. And we have to invest in our community groups and community organizations. Like, that’s a serious approach how to address this issue, but asking me to deploy my National Guard — people who are not trained for municipal policing — is just not a serious approach.”
Raddatz asked Moore why it seemed that he preferred to “fight with the president” rather than work with him.
“I have no interest in fighting with the president,” Moore said, “but I have an interest in fighting for my communities and fighting for our people, and I respect Mayor Bowser, and I’m glad that the trend that she has seen over these past few weeks has continued the downward trend that D.C. has seen over the past year. That’s wonderful.”
But he added: “The idea of introducing the National Guard into every major American city it is, it is not sustainable, particularly when you’re looking at the cost.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore defended his rhetoric against President Donald Trump over crime in his home city of Baltimore amid an escalating feud between the two leaders.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)(AP/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)(AP/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Nathan Luna/ABC News
(BALTIMORE) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore defended his rhetoric against President Donald Trump over crime in his home city of Baltimore amid an escalating feud between the two leaders.
“I have no interest in fighting with the president, but I have an interest in fighting for my communities and fighting for our people,” Moore told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an interview that aired Sunday.
Earlier this month, Trump offered to send the National Guard into other cities across the country after his law enforcement surge into Washington, D.C., calling Baltimore “so far gone.” Moore responded by formally inviting the president to join him and Baltimore officials on a public safety walk.
After the two continued to trade barbs on social media, Trump rebuked the invitation and renewed his threat to send the National Guard into Baltimore, calling the city a “hellhole” in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
“Wes Moore was telling me he wants — ‘I want to walk with the president.’ Well, I said, ‘I want to walk with you, too, someday. But first you’ve got to clean up your crime,” Trump said.
Baltimore, like most of the U.S., has seen a drop in crime and homicides in recent years, but remains one of the country’s most violent cities. It had the fifth highest rate of violent crime and fourth highest murder rate per capita in cities with at least 100,000 people last year, according to recent FBI data.
While Moore acknowledged there is still “work to do there,” he touted the progress the state has made and called out the president’s comments.
“It would just be great if we could have a president of the United States to actually understand that this is one of the great American turnaround stories that’s happening right now, and we would love the help to be able to continue to do that work instead of this — arrogant criticism and cynicism that he continues to introduce into the conversation,” Moore said.
Moore said while he “would love more federal support,” he called the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. “performative.”
Raddatz pressed Moore on the reduction in crime in Washington since the increased federal presence that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser cited this week.
“You’ve heard Mayor Bowser say [they’ve seen an] 87% reduction in carjackings, robberies cut by half. Why wouldn’t you want that here, if that is actually helping?” Raddatz asked.
“If the president of the United States were to have a serious conversation with me and say, what can we do — particularly when you look at the cost of the National Guard of well over a million dollars a day?” Moore responded. “I would tell him things like, we need to make sure we’re increasing funding for local law enforcement.”
“Asking me to deploy my National Guard, people who are not trained for municipal policing, is just not a serious approach,” Moore added.
In posts on his social media platform, Trump has also resurfaced a controversy over Moore’s military record. The New York Times reported last year that Moore falsely claimed to have been awarded a Bronze Star in a 2006 White House application. During his 2022 campaign, clips of Moore being introduced as a Bronze Star recipient and not correcting the interviewers in 2008 and 2010 surfaced.
Moore had been recommended for the medal but did not receive it until last year and has called it an “honest mistake.”
In response, Moore called Trump “President Bone Spurs” in a post on X, referencing Trump’s medical deferment from the Vietnam draft.
Moore said about his post: “When the president wants to attack my military record as someone who’s actually a decorated combat veteran, as someone who actually has served overseas, as someone who has defended the country, I just think that if the president wants to have a real debate about public service and about the sacrifice for this country, he should really sit that debate out. I’m not the one he wants to have it with.”
Asked why he put the Bronze Star on his 2006 application, Moore told Raddatz he “didn’t think about it” since his commanding officers told him to include it.
“I think it’s pretty common knowledge or common belief that when your, when your commanding officers, and your superior officers tell you, ‘Listen, we put you in, and we’ve gone through everything, so as you’re going through your application, include it.’” Moore said. “I included it, and I didn’t think about it.”
Pressed on why he didn’t correct the interviewers when they wrongly introduced him, Moore said “Even at the time of those interviews, it wasn’t something I thought about.”
“Now I’m thankful that the military, after they found out that the paperwork was lost and didn’t process [it], that they came back and awarded me the Bronze Star,” Moore said. “So I do have a Bronze Star that I earned in Afghanistan and a Combat Action Badge that I earned in Afghanistan. So I’m proud of that, but that’s not why I served.”
“But do you regret not correcting when you were introduced that way?” Raddatz asked.
“I don’t regret not going back and consistently looking over my service records. I don’t. I’m thankful for the service I did. I’m grateful for the fact that I had the opportunity to lead soldiers in combat, what a small fraction of this people of this country will ever understand,” Moore responded.
Moore’s national profile has risen from his public clash with the president and some have drawn comparisons to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s brash style.
Asked how Democrats should approach taking on Trump, Moore said the party should “move with the kind of aggression that is necessary.”
“The Democrats don’t have a messaging problem, there’s a results problem. The Democrats have to deliver results and stop being the party of no and slow and start being the party of yes and now because the frustration that people have, it is real,” Moore said.
While speculation mounts about his future presidential ambitions, Moore said he’s focused on delivering results for Marylanders.
“You’ve got to focus on protecting your people right now and the issues that the people in our states are facing, and that’s where I know my focus is,” Moore said.
The only Republican member of Congress in Maryland, Andy Harris, spoke out Tuesday after Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said he was looking closely at redistricting options in the state and potentially joining a nationwide battle over partisan redistricting.
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris sits down with WTOP’s Nick Iannelli to discuss the potential threat of redistricting
The only Republican member of Congress in Maryland, Andy Harris, spoke out Tuesday after Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said he was looking closely at redistricting options in the state, potentially joining a nationwide battle over partisan redistricting.
If Moore followed through with that, Harris could be drawn out of his district.
“It disenfranchises huge amounts of the Maryland population. It just wouldn’t be fair,” Harris said in an interview with WTOP.
Some Democratic governors have vowed to consider redrawing congressional maps in retaliation against Texas Republicans, who are moving forward with rewriting their congressional lines to give the GOP more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Moore said “all options are on the table.”
“For the governor, it would be a stunning reversal from his position,” Harris said. “If you want to go and listen to his inaugural address, he talked about, ‘If they’re good ideas, you work across the aisle.’”
Harris said the move “is the most un-bipartisan thing you could do.”
“The most partisan thing you could do is gerrymander a state that has had two Republican governors out of the last four, into a state that can’t send a Republican to Congress,” Harris said.
He pointed to 2022, when a judge threw out a congressional map drawn by Maryland’s General Assembly, finding that it unfairly favored Democrats.
Harris said he was already weighing his legal options.
“We will take this to court, it will go as high as necessary, and in the end, a judge could draw a map that actually has two or three Republican congressmen,” Harris said. “I’d caution the Democrats, be careful what you wish for.”
The redistricting fight is just one of many disputes involving Maryland and the Trump administration.
Another came when President Trump recently threatened to send in National Guard members to Baltimore to “quickly clean up” crime.
Harris said he could support the idea of putting National Guard members in Baltimore.
“There are many areas of the city where you can’t go in or you’re afraid to go in because crime is just not controlled,” Harris said. “If it takes National Guard troops to clean it up, to stop the drug dealing, to stop the homicides, to stop the carjackings, then I would welcome that.”
“It’s easily justified, and I think the people of Baltimore would benefit from it,” he added.
As part of the growing bitterness between Trump and Moore, the president also threatened to possibly withhold federal funding for the project to rebuild the collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Harris again sided with the Trump administration.
“I think the funding for the Key Bridge might have to be reinvestigated, because it’s a little unusual that we allowed 100% payment by the federal government,” Harris said. “Normally, it’s a lower amount.”
Though he acknowledged that a different cost-sharing plan could cost Maryland around $200 million.
“If Wes Moore has enough money to spend tens of millions of dollars suing the Trump administration, then maybe Maryland should pick up more of the tab on the Key Bridge,” Harris said. “If the Trump administration rethinks about allowing 100% payment for the Key Bridge, that’s fine with me.”
The Key Bridge reconstruction project is expected to cost about $2 billion and take about four years to complete.
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore responded to President Donald Trump attacking him in a social media post Sunday morning about the crime in Baltimore with Trump saying he might have to “rethink” funding for the Key Bridge.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore slammed weekend comments made by President Donald Trump that threatened a National Guard deployment to Baltimore, as well as funding for the Key Bridge.
“President Trump represents what people hate most about politicians — someone who only seeks power to benefit themselves. This is a president who would rather attack his country’s largest cities from behind a desk than walk the streets with the people he represents,” Moore, an Army veteran, said in a statement to WTOP.
“The president should join us in Baltimore because the blissful ignorance, tropes, and the 1980s scare tactics benefit no one. We need leaders who are there helping the people who are actually on the ground doing the work.”
Moore’s response to Trump’s latest comments came shortly after the president took to the Truth Social platform to say that he would deploy the National Guard to Baltimore to clamp down on crime, much in the same fashion that was done in Los Angeles in June. Similar threats by Trump have also been made for cities such as Chicago and New York.
Baltimore officials have reported historic decreases in homicides and nonfatal shootings this year, with such declines noted since 2022, according to the city’s public safety data dashboard. In 2023, carjackings fell 20% as other major crimes fell in 2024. Only burglaries have climbed slightly.
Lower crime rates have been attributed to tackling violence with a “public health” approach, city officials have said. In 2021, under Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore created a Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan that called for more investment in community violence intervention and more services for crime victims, among other initiatives.
Citing a $1 million funding cut earmarked for community anti-violence measures in Baltimore, Scott earlier told The Associated Press that the president has “actively undermined efforts that are making a difference saving lives in cities across the country in favor of militarized policing of Black communities.”
In fact, a call for the full reinstatement of federal grants for the city’s community violence intervention work was included among a “list of commitments” issued by Scott to the president on Friday.
Whether the President chooses to accept @GovWesMoore’s invitation or not, here are the commitments our city needs to see from the President. pic.twitter.com/GOTpYbk9Ut
“Baltimore is a story of resilience and strength,” Moore said. “These ideals are something the president fails to understand because when his time came to serve, he ran away. In Maryland, we do not run away. We will continue to meet these challenges head-on — working in partnership with local, state, and federal officials to take an all-of-the-above approach to public safety that is showing results across the state.”
Threats to Key Bridge funding
Also included in Trump’s Sunday social media outburst was a dig at pulling federal funding to rebuild the Key Bridge, which collapsed into the Patapsco River in March 2024 after being struck by a container ship.
“I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???” Trump said in his post. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Federal funding for the city’s reconstruction efforts were approved late last year, with work expected to be completed sometime in 2028.
In a statement to WTOP, Moore said that Trump’s remarks not only threaten a bipartisan agreement on rebuilding efforts but “will cause irrevocable damage to the national economy and to the entire State of Maryland.”
“We have already begun rebuilding, and now that Maryland is showing great progress, our president is threatening to intentionally harm Maryland,” he said. “We will continue to move full steam ahead because we know how vital this bridge is to the entire nation. While the tragic collapse of the Key Bridge happened during our time in office, we will rebuild it on our watch.”
The back and forth between Trump and Moore was recently kicked up after the Maryland governor offered him an invitation for a “public safety walk” in September, as a means to get a firsthand look at the “staggering drops” in the city’s violent crimes. Trump has repeatedly touched on Baltimore’s crime, most recently calling it in a state of “disaster.”
WTOP’s Valerie Bonk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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