As July 4 approaches, MDOT offers guidelines on how to get to the beach with least traffic. But somehow the holiday is haunted by the threat posed by Congress (with Trump behind them like a Simon Legree, flogging those who stray from the coffle) as it approaches the biggest transfer of wealth from the working class to the already-rich in the history of the United States. Trump's "biggest ever" mantra is not limited to the recently dropped mega-bombs; the limited damage done to Iran's nuclear program ranks as nothing compared to the long-term damage to Americans' well-being brought on by Trump's high-velocity assault on the rights and constitutional protections previously afforded to us. As shown below, Republicans (opponents of bureaucracy) nevertheless "have turned paperwork into one of the bill’s crucial policy-making tools" to knock "people who are legitimate and qualified for Medicaid" off the rolls, enabling the big tax bonus for billionaires. Is it good to be the king? It is, apparently, if GOP members of Congress can be convinced that that's what you are.

In Maryland, the budget morphs with every twitch of Trump's Truth Social trigger finger (imagine announcing a war on social media...). More unemployed Marylanders, vanishing grants and federal funds, more irritating behavior from Himself's hired fan club. Meanwhile Gov. Moore has managed to put himself on a tightrope by vetoing a reparations (study) bill (Boo from the Black Caucus) and proposing grants for impacted communities (Boo, faint with echoes, from GOP legislators). The lawsuit seeking open primaries is a first peep but could have big consequences in the state' VERY closed-in politics. The Bay cleanup is in reverse, as feared, as Trump's EPA averts its gaze. And the state gas tax has "declined" but you have to squint. Other states continue to provide good and bad examples; the Ten Commandments are a popular new decoration for public schools but a judge in Louisiana has squashed it on constitution grounds, imagine that. Mississippi is tired enough of fighting off its own history to exempt high schoolers from getting tested on the past. Moves to say "no thanks" are on in Oregon, which has banned mobilization of the state's National Guard by the feds; in New Jersey concern about data centers that don't bring their own power source, and Montana mulls a ballot measure to forbid corporate money in state elections if the corp. does biz in the state.

National: in the midst of all the bomb-dropping in faraway places, a skill Trump has assimilated from the IDF, the Senate's parliamentarian has given a thumbs-down to significant parts of the GOP's Big Beautiful Ugly Bill that pretty plainly don't have anything to do with making a budget, such as revenge moves against the safety net. See Megan E's roundup, below, for details. The bad news is that it strips out money the GOP faithful were hoping to give to the rich; they'll be prowling for it somewhere else.

Each week brings new fights, which are very tiring when undertaken alone. Be sure to get your community involved, because solidarity is, well, just everything. 

While US Army soldiers paraded downtown in a history pageant illustrating the service's 250-year tenure (reviewed by the 79-year-old Prez, who basked in the reflected glory) Marylanders were declaring independence from kings of any sort throughout the state.

The reverberations of savage federal budget cuts are felt in the state's universities, in housing aid for the poorest, and continued ICE raids. Around the other states we find similar struggles among the Red and the Blue; quite a few Biden energy projects were scratched despite the economic potential they promised in... Red states. Measles spreads from Texas, where folks seem to have caught on about the effectiveness of vaccines, to North Dakota, which hasn't got the memo.

And in DC, while the House is away, the Senate appears inclined to play with the precariously devised Big Beautiful Bill, meaning it might be legislative ping-pong right up to the budget and debt-ceiling deadlines. Do the Dems have an answer? They retain the monopoly on disarray, it seems. The parade continues, with the cars packed with clowns up front.

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.

Resistance on the ground to excessive and terroristic behavior by ICE troopers trying to meet their quotas in Los Angeles has hit a peak even as much of the city is quiet, the Mayor says. Trump is enjoying the perceived opening to send the military against US citizens. It's like a prologue to the planned military-style victory parade for DJT's birthday this Saturday, bringing lots of signs of additional resistance locally. Here in Maryland, new methods of (hopefully harmless) penny-pinching could ease the strain on the state's coffers even as the bond rating has diminished (cut by only one of the three rating agencies). So life here stays interesting but the Trump rampages are directed elsewhere. For now.

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: