Last night, eight members of the U.S. Senate Democratic caucus — Senators Angus King (I–ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D–NV), Jacky Rosen (D–NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D–NH), Maggie Hassan (D–NH), Tim Kaine (D–VA), John Fetterman (D–PA), and Dick Durbin (D–IL) — abandoned their commitment to working families and joined Republicans in advancing a hollow compromise to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Progressive Maryland is outraged by this betrayal. After weeks of hardship for federal workers, families relying on SNAP, and millions whose health care is at risk, we needed bold leadership. Instead, these senators caved to an empty “promise” of a future vote, leaving health care subsidies, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits in jeopardy.

NATIONAL –  Yesterday, Color Of Change and Progressive Maryland, in partnership with over 25 civil rights and democracy organizations, hosted a press conference at the State House of Annapolis, MD, to urge Senate President Bill Ferguson to hold a special session and advance a redistricting plan.

Last week, the Maryland Second Look Act  - a powerful new law championed by the Maryland Second Look Coalition with support from our partner organizations and Progressive Maryland members — officially took effect. This landmark legislation opens the door for incarcerated adults who entered the system as children or young adults to petition for parole if they can show they’ve been rehabilitated.

The federal government’s dysfunction and reckless brinkmanship have brought us to a shutdown with devastating consequences for working families in Maryland and across the country.

Baltimore, MD (September 16, 2025) – Free Speech For People and Progressive Maryland have formally requested that Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and State’s Attorney Tara H. Jackson open a criminal investigation into the unlawful kidnapping of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia by federal immigration officers. The request, detailed in a letter sent on July 15, 2025, outlines the egregious actions taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and senior Trump administration officials to abduct, detain, forcibly transfer, and enable the two-month imprisonment of Mr. Abrego Garcia in a maximum security prison in El Salvador, in direct violation of a federal court order.

ivemaryland.org.

Community leaders and elected officials highlight Jawando’s record on housing, racial and economic justice, and support for working families

Silver Spring, MD – Progressive Maryland and the Working Families Party announced their endorsement of Councilmember Will Jawando for Montgomery County Executive at a press conference today, joined by tenant leaders, local elected officials, and community advocates. Speakers highlighted Jawando’s long-standing commitment to advancing affordable housing, protecting renters, and championing racial and economic justice across the county.

Will Jawando with Progressive Maryland, Working Families Party, and community leaders at the endorsement announcement Credit: Michael Blain

Councilmember Will Jawando opened his remarks by expressing gratitude for the endorsements and the strength of the coalition behind his campaign.

“This endorsement means a great deal to me,” said Councilmember Will Jawando. “I want to thank Progressive Maryland for their deep work in our communities and the Working Families Party for their tireless efforts across the country and this region. Having their support in this campaign is powerful, and I am grateful to stand with them in the fight for justice, equity, and opportunity in Montgomery County.”

A federal judge brought a major win for Maryland and other states fighting to protect their communities from climate-fueled disasters.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns temporarily blocked the Trump administration from reallocating more than $4 billion in FEMA disaster mitigation funding, halting an illegal attempt to dismantle the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This funding is vital for flood prevention, infrastructure upgrades, and community resilience projects across the country,  including right here in Maryland.

Big news for Marylanders: The state has officially launched an upgraded website that simplifies the application process for government benefits, including food, cash, healthcare, and energy assistance. The new platform, Maryland Benefits (benefits.maryland.gov), allows people to apply for multiple programs all in one place, with one application.

Donald Trump’s Department of Justice just launched a lawsuit against every active federal judge in Maryland. Let that sink in.

Why would a former president and current presidential candidate take such an extreme and unprecedented step?

Because Maryland’s judges followed the law.

Progressive Maryland and two of our chapters with residents in the first Congressional District, Shore Progress, and Progressive Harford County, issued the following joint statement after the House of Representatives passed the Republican budget bill, which slashes Medicaid, strips healthcare from millions, and transfers billions of our taxpayer dollars to the wealthiest people and corporations in America. 

Constituents flood Harris’s office with calls, emails, and social media action demanding he oppose harmful cuts

Harford County, Maryland – Progressive Maryland is publicly calling on Representative Andy Harris (MD-01) to vote no on the proposed federal budget bill that would slash funding for Medicaid and devastate access to healthcare for thousands of Marylanders.

Nationwide, the bill is projected to strip health coverage from 17 million Americans — including an estimated 31,000 people in Rep. Harris’s district alone, many of whom are children. The proposed cuts will hit especially hard in rural areas like Maryland’s First Congressional District, where healthcare access is already limited and costs are rising. If passed, the budget would strip over $4 billion in federal funding from Maryland, causing widespread harm to hospitals, providers, and patients across the state, regardless of where they live.

What’s happening in Los Angeles is appalling. This abuse of power can occur anywhere, and in many ways, it is already pervasive.

This past weekend, we watched as community members in L.A. were abducted, detained without due process, and brutalized for demanding justice and safety. The deployment of the National Guard against residents is a violent escalation meant to silence dissent and sow fear. These tactics are authoritarian and fundamentally unconstitutional.

Our priority legislation – wins and losses

Before each legislative session, Progressive Maryland members, leaders, and staff come together to identify priorities, draft legislation, and develop strategies to move bills through the state legislature. Going into this year, our focus was once again centered on environmental, housing, and healthcare justice. In general, we had mixed results- there were some setbacks and some advances. Here’s our summary:

May is AAPI Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich cultures, histories, and lasting legacies of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. These communities have helped build this country, often while enduring exclusion, violence, and erasure. At Progressive Maryland we stand with AAPI communities in the fight for justice, visibility, and safety.

Be sure to check out our new section, AAPI Spotlight, where we’ll be highlighting local AAPI-owned businesses across the state throughout the month.

At the same time, Trump is sowing chaos on the national level — from attacks on Medicaid to extreme proposals aimed at undermining immigrant rights, like suspending habeas corpus, a core legal protection. As his agenda gets more dangerous, we're staying vigilant and doubling down on our work here in Maryland. That means organizing harder than ever this spring and summer to protect working families and marginalized communities across our state, including rural and immigrant communities who face systemic barriers to power and representation.

Read on for important updates, action items, and news you can use.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

State Legislation Marks Major Step Toward Environmental Justice in Baltimore and Beyond

Annapolis, MD—After years of grassroots organizing and community-led advocacy, Progressive Maryland members are celebrating a significant milestone for environmental justice and clean energy advocacy with the Maryland General Assembly's decision to end subsidies for trash incineration. Trash incineration will be officially removed from Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, marking a pivotal moment in the fight for cleaner air and healthier communities across the state. This means that ratepayer money will no longer be used to subsidize trash burning, which has long polluted the air in majority-Black neighborhoods.

“South Baltimore has been in this fight for a long time, and we are just relieved to see the removal of subsidies for trash incineration,” said Jennifer Mendes Dwyer, Deputy Executive Director of Progressive Maryland. “This is undeniably a victory for public health and ending environmental racism in our state.”

This achievement is a result of our persistent advocacy in which we began ramping up our environmental justice campaign in 2022 with the formation of a community-based task force in Southwest Baltimore focused on ending government support for incineration. Our Environmental Justice Task Force leaders have spent years knocking doors, educating neighbors, organizing town halls, building coalitions and submitting legislative testimony. We’ve been organizing with and for the communities who’ve suffered the worst impacts of toxic air pollution and decades of environmental racism and neglect. 

Maryland General Assembly Falls Short in Advancing Measures to Keep Families Housed and Hold Landlords Accountable

Despite Overwhelming Support from Local Officials and Advocates, Senate Leadership Caves to Landlord Lobbyists and Blocks Protections for Renters

Annapolis, MD- Amid a growing housing crisis and a looming recession, the Maryland Senate refused to pass Good Cause Eviction – the one housing bill pending that has been proven in other jurisdictions to reduce evictions and displacement while holding corporate landlords accountable. Good Cause Eviction (SB 651/HB 709), which was passed by the House of Delegates last year and has passed in 8 other states and 23 localities, would have allowed counties to require that corporate landlords provide renting families a legitimate reason for any eviction. The General Assembly also cut the budget for eviction prevention funds by 50% at a time when renting families need this support the most. Despite this resistance, Renters United Maryland (RUM) and legislative allies passed key policies that advance housing justice, including a measure that will provide tenants with advance notice of any scheduled eviction date so that tenants can plan and prepare to lessen the catastrophic effects of eviction.

We’re thrilled to share that our blog has been ranked among the Top 100 Liberal Political Blogs in the country by FeedSpot! This recognition places us alongside powerhouse platforms like Daily Kos, ACLU, HuffPost Politics, The New Yorker, and the Democratic National Committee—a huge honor for our work amplifying progressive issues in Maryland. Even more exciting, only three other statewide blogs made this list, highlighting the unique impact of our organizing and advocacy. Check out the full list here.

Advocates and Community Leaders Rally in Annapolis to Demand Passage of the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act

Senate President Ferguson & Delegate Vaughn Stewart Join Frontline Communities in Calling for an End to Incineration Subsidies

Annapolis, MD – Advocates and community leaders rallied today in Annapolis, sending a strong message to lawmakers and WIN Waste Incinerator: this is the year Maryland will finally stop subsidizing toxic trash incineration. Demonstrators, including residents from South Baltimore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and Delegate Vaughn Stewart, gathered in front of the State House ahead of the Senate hearing on the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act (RREA). In a direct response to WIN Waste’s recent claims that incineration should continue receiving subsidies because of their nonprofit donations, advocates clapped back, calling out the company for profiting off pollution while harming the communities they claim to help. At the same time, demonstrators symbolically wore gas masks to represent the devastating effects of air pollution in Baltimore.

"Year after year, we tell folks we’re tired of Marylanders subsidizing asthma. We’re tired of paying extra on our utility bills every month just so a super-profitable corporation can get even richer—choking us, ruining our planet, and destroying our air quality. This is finally our year. We’re going to get it done.” said Delegate Vaughn Stewart. 

The rally, hosted by Progressive Maryland, South Baltimore Community Land Trust, Coal Free Curtis Bay, Clean Water Action, and Food & Water Watch, highlighted how the incinerator continues to disproportionately harm Black and working-class communities, burning 800,000 tons of trash each year, while raking in millions in subsidies meant for clean energy like wind and solar. 

Senate President Bill Ferguson, the lead sponsor of the bill, underscored why Maryland must end these subsidies: "This is a bill that’s been a long time coming. At a time when we need truly green, truly renewable energy in Maryland, we should not be incentivizing incineration. This year, we’re going to move forward, and we’re going to get it done."

Senate President Bill Ferguson speaking at rally

Advocates also called out WIN Waste’s attempt to justify its existence with charity donations.

"WIN Waste gets millions in subsidies meant for clean energy, while Marylanders pay the price in higher bills and worse health," said SirJames, Progressive Maryland’s Environmental Justice Task Force organizer, leading chants of "WIN Waste, we’re saying it to your face!"

South Baltimore residents, who live in the direct shadow of the incinerator, spoke about the devastating health and financial toll the facility has had on their neighborhoods.

"Win Waste tries to mislead the public, but my community has never benefited from them. Their negligence has led to cancer-related deaths, including my own battle with cancer after living near the incinerator." said Mary Randall, a Progressive Maryland environmental advocate.

"For 39 years, this incinerator has polluted my community. To classify trash incineration as renewable energy is fundamentally misleading," said Shenae Thomas, a member of Progressive Maryland’s Environmental Justice Task Force. ‘We must redirect our money toward real clean energy like solar and wind—not corporate polluters”

With Senate President Ferguson’s leadership, growing public support, and a renewed push for climate justice, advocates say the time is now. Marylanders will no longer accept the false choice between pollution and progress. 

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