Nothing like being cooped up in the same visible, public space as "the usual gang of idiots" (stole that from MAD comix) to make you look good by comparison. State governments are not always examples of smarts or compassion, but Maryland and other states are sharpening up their push-back skills to combat the lunacy that emerges daily from TrumpWorld. Definitely improves their brand. Along with the states, universities (led by Harvard [!?]), law firms, nonprofits and other institutions are rummaging through the Constitution for (lots of) available evidence that many of Trump's "executive orders" sound good but don't have the kind of legal standing that will get them past a federal district judge, let alone appeals courts or SCOTUS. Add that to the discomfort of the business sector, whose long-range plans for a profitable holiday season are already threatened by the tariff catastrophe and no patch-up with Chinese authorities. In all, the political combat is starting to look somewhat closer to the usual level playing field.  Still falling a lot short, though. It's News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Maryland Protected Nearly a Third of Its Land, and It’s Reaching for More -- Nine states have set goals to conserve 30 percent of their land by 2030. Maryland got there first. NYT

Maryland Joins 18 States, Sues Department of Education For Threats To Pull Funding Over DEI -- Maryland’s Attorney General joins 18 state attorneys general in a lawsuit over the U.S. Department of Education’s threats to pull funding from public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “With these blatantly unlawful actions, the Trump administration is playing politics with children’s futures, threatening to defund schools just because they promote policies that ensure equal education for all students,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. This year, the Maryland State Department of Education received over $286.7 million in federal funding, making up nearly 69% of the department’s total funds. In March, the Trump administration revoked $400 million in pandemic relief funds to Maryland public schools, all of which had already been spent or allocated. Baltimore Sun

USDA shuts down ‘climate smart’ program with big impacts for conservation work in Chesapeake watershed -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture in April announced the termination of its $3 billion “climate smart” program, a grantmaking initiative that was supporting hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation work in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. An April 14 USDA press release called the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which promoted farm conservation measures with climate benefits, as a “slush fund” with high administrative costs and often low payouts to farmers. Bay Journal

More Than 50 University of Maryland Grants Were Canceled or Paused By Federal Funding Cuts Under  Trump Administration, representing “tens of millions of dollars,” a university official confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

Neighborly Weed – Delaware Law Clears Way for Recreational Marijuana Plan

The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner had initially hoped to have the market running by March or April of this year, but it remains unclear when Delaware’s adult-use recreational market will officially open. Delaware Public Media via Stateline Daily

IN THE OTHER 49

FBI agents arrested a Milwaukee County judge at the county courthouse on Friday, accusing her of obstructing an immigration enforcement action last week, Wisconsin Examiner reports. 

The agency's director, Kash Patel, wrote on the social media platform X that Judge Hannah Dugan had "intentionally misdirected federal agents away" from Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant accused of misdemeanor battery. In the now-deleted post, Patel accused Dugan of creating "increased danger to the public." Flores-Ruiz appeared in Dugan's courtroom April 18 for a pre-trial conference on charges of misdemeanor domestic battery. When Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appeared outside Dugan’s courtroom, she led Flores-Ruiz and an attorney out a side door and down a private hallway, according to court records. Stateline Daily

TRANSPORTATION: California regulators have proposed new rules to allow for the testing of self-driving trucks over 10,000 lbs. The regulations will boost data-reporting requirements for manufacturers. Self-driving heavy duty trucks are already in testing in Texas, Arizona and Arkansas. (Associated Press) via Pluribus

Trump denies disaster aid, tells states they must do more -- While it’s not uncommon for the feds to turn down some requests for disaster declarations, which unlock federal aid, state leaders say the Trump administration’s denials have taken them by surprise. White House officials are signaling a new approach to federal emergency response, even as President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threaten to shut down FEMA altogether. Stateline Daily

PESTICIDES: Poisoning may be legal --North Dakota is poised to become the first state to implement a law that provides legal protections for pesticide manufacturers, according to the North Dakota Monitor. The issue has been debated in legislatures across the country in the face of large payouts to cancer victims. The measure specifies that a label approved by the Environmental Protection Agency acts as sufficient warning to users about the hazards posed by pesticides and herbicides such as Roundup. Stateline daily

OHIO: Medicaid cuts would impact more than a quarter of Ohioans, children and older residents most of all | Ohio Capital Journal via Pluribus

CONSUMER PROTECTION: The Alaska Senate has approved a bill capping interest rates and fees on payday lenders who loan $25,000 or less. The bill would cap interest rates on those short-term loans at annual percentage rates of 36%. Current interest rates on short-term loans range from 194% to 521%. (Alaska Beacon) via Pluribus

GLOBAL, NATIONAL, CONGRESS AND THE FEDS

What a Better Tax Bill Would Look Like -- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates that “This year offers an opportunity to enact tax policy changes that would ease the strain on household budgets that people in low-paid jobs and their families face while ensuring that the nation’s wealthiest pay their fair share. “ But the tax “policy” emerging in Congress points in the other direction.

Meanwhile, there goes Trump’s (imaginary) mandate as Musk’s DOGE is doubted

Many poll respondents have a poor estimate of Elon Musk’s work in Trump’s first 100 days, a WaPo-ABC-Ipsos poll shows – and “almost 6 in 10 adults say they are concerned that Trump will do too much to reduce the size and role of government in U.S. society. In late 2021, a similar majority were concerned about President Joe Biden increasing the government’s role.” Fickle us. Adapted from Semafor

Your impression is correct. Many politicians are dumb and dumber

A bipartisan group of House members (Chip Roy, AOC [!?!]) are collaborating on a sketch of a bill to keep members of Congress from playing the stock market. Should we worry about profiteering, insider trading? An academic study indicates our elected leaders back losers whether buying or selling. Wheel, deal, fail. Adapted from Semafor

Majorities skeptical of Trump’s tariffs – Semafor also brings news that New Gallup polling shows that 70% of US adults say tariffs will end up costing the US more money than they bring in in the short term, while 62% say the same for the long term. "Donald Trump Is Already Ruining Christmas" is the headline in WIRED: "Santa’s helpers are freaking out that steep tariffs on Chinese imports will prevent toys, trees, and decorations from arriving in the US on time for the December holiday."

Worst of all – Congress is back, and the House’s committees are figuring out how to cut from Medicaid and other safety-net programs (and add $150 billion to Defense) without getting caught – because their cuts will almost certainly affect Trump’s shrinking base very severely. POLITICO

Here is the Monday roundup from People's Action director of federal affairs Megan E:

Hello People's Action!

Today is the 99-day mark of Trump’s second presidency. Trump’s polls are down - 55% of Americans disapproved of his performance. Even 51% disapprove of his handling of immigration and 61% of his handling of tariffs. Here are a few highlights of Trump’s efforts:

By Republicans' own stated goals they are failing. Elon promised to cut $2 trillion of dollars of government spending, then DOGE lowered that to $1 trillion. Now Musk is saying they can cut $150 billion but Treasury data indicates that federal spending is up 10%, revenue is only up 3% and the deficit is up 23% over last year. That was hard to do without touching the Pentagon’s budget. 

This week, House leadership will talk to Republicans about what they are willing to stomach in the tax provisions and Medicaid cuts. 

The Treasury will release a date this week estimating when the U.S. will run out of money unless Congress lifts the debt ceiling. You could call it a deadline, though they avoid the term. Republicans plan to lift the debt ceiling in the budget package so that will create more of a real deadline for them.

In solidarity, Megan