Hope you had a relaxing President’s Day. Many lawyers and judges didn’t, as various parties, including public employee unions and the 22 Blue State attorneys general (including ours), tried to unflood the zone with requests for relief from basically lawless official behavior. Below, we outline some effects of this lawless behavior on the communities in Maryland and around the nation, including many of those who voted for Donald Trump in expectation that he would make their lives better.  Looks like a struggle so far, unless you are already wealthy.

Below in our Maryland section we see pushback from some areas and disappointing spinelessness from others (then there's the National Guard, which has a chain of command). In the section about other states, we see blue states showing gumption and the leadership of red states wallowing in the open season on vulnerable populations -- and that includes schools and their teachers. The national section leaves you wondering who's really in charge here. Public employee unions are taking the lead in fighting back and have an important hearing today (Tuesday) in DC District Court.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Hope you had a relaxing President’s Day. Many lawyers and judges didn’t, as various parties, including public employee unions and the 22 Blue State attorneys general (including ours), tried to unflood the zone with requests for relief from basically lawless official behavior. Below, we outline some effects of this lawless behavior on the communities in Maryland and around the nation, including many of those who voted for Donald Trump in expectation that he would make their lives better.  Looks like a struggle so far, unless you are already wealthy.

The Maryland General Assembly is deep into its second month and many are watching the hearings on major bills. Here is the primer on important upcoming Maryland General Assembly hearings from the Maryland Legislative Coalition. And they have some action items and lobbying tips here. You’ll find Progressive Maryland’s legislative priorities in this week’s PM Memo.

A Maryland Matters opinion piece (Feb. 11) raises an important question about how taxpayers’ money has been spent on the endless battle to keep Ocean City’s horizon free of wind turbines (which actually won’t be visible from the beach).

“Recently we learned that the Worcester County Commissioners and the Ocean City Council are spending up to $200,000 in taxpayer funds to mount a public relations campaign against the wind project. It was particularly disturbing that this campaign is engaging in advocacy efforts not in Ocean City or Annapolis, but across state lines in Sussex County, Delaware. As reported by the news site Spotlight Delaware and Maryland Matters, the PR firm hired by Ocean City and Worcester County created an advocacy campaign to persuade Delaware residents to tell the Sussex County government to turn down a permit needed for the offshore wind project.” Check this disturbing story out.

Not Just Millionaires Would Pay More Under Moore's Tax Plan: More than half a million Marylanders who earn $500,000 or less per year would see their income tax bills go up under Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed revenue plan. An analysis of the proposal by the comptroller's office shows lower income taxpayers who itemize deductions would also pay more. WaPo

Constituents Express Worry Over Trump Actions: Constituents from across Maryland gathered for a virtual town hall last Wednesday [about 17,000 were on the call] to voice concerns to Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks about the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle federal agencies and the potential impact on their jobs and the state’s economy. Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.

Tracing Maryland’s Lawsuits Against Trump Administration: Lawsuits against the new Trump administration are flying almost as quickly as the executive orders they seek to challenge. This tracker can help you keep up. Baltimore Banner.

Lawmakers Put Hold On Tech Contract; A $445 million contract for technology services has been put on hold by two state senators who call it another example of what is wrong with the state’s approach to such projects and the department they believe should oversee them. Maryland Matters. Via Maryland Reporter

Resistance Grows To Bills Banning Forever Chemicals: Strong resistance is building to oppose bills that would ban so-called forever chemicals in Maryland. There's a renewed push to outlaw more than 1,000 pesticides that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances as an active ingredient. The effort is drawing advocates who are concerned about health effects and opponents who are calling the idea misguided. A central theme from the opposition was that the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal and state bodies permit the pesticides, and so should Maryland. WBFF-TV News.

Delegates Discuss Bill On Age-Appropriate Sex Education: Delegates on both sides of the aisle on Friday shared personal stories as the House debated House Bill 161, which would require that state health and education officials create an age-appropriate health education framework that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, family, nutrition, and safe social media use. The bill also covers mental health, substance abuse prevention, and safety and violence prevention. Maryland Matters.

Bill To Allow Agencies To Deny More Public Information Requests Blasted: A bill to give government agencies greater power to deny public information requests – allowing agencies, for example, to ignore for an unspecified period of time all of the requests of individuals or groups deemed troublesome – ran into a buzzsaw of opposition at an Annapolis hearing this week. Baltimore Brew via Maryland Reporter

State Launches Website To Aid Federal Workers, Contractors: A new website launched Friday to offer resources to federal workers and contractors in Maryland that have been impacted by President Donald Trump’s recent orders. The Maryland Public Servants Resource website went online Friday, and will offer programs and resources to workers that may have been impacted by federal workforce layoffs firings, changes to federal funding or other changes to employment. WBFF-TV News. via Maryland Reporter

Maryland Democrats push bills, legal action to combat Trump’s executive orders Democratic leaders in Maryland are taking legislative and legal action against President Donald Trump’s executive orders.  In his first three weeks in office, Trump has signed more than 50 executive orders, including directives to downsize the government and expand immigration enforcement. As the Maryland General Assembly enters the sixth week of its legislative session, lawmakers are dealing with the new pressures of federal threats to the workforce and federally-funded infrastructure. UMD Diamondback (student newspaper)

WaPo Cancels Ad from Groups Calling for Trump to Fire Musk: The newspaper told Common Cause, an advocacy group, that it was pulling its special ad, which would have covered the front and back pages of some Tuesday editions. NYTimes

Citing Trump Order, Md Guard Won't Take Part In Douglass Parade: The Maryland National Guard has declined to participate in a parade to honor the life and legacy of abolitionist and Maryland native Frederick Douglass in his birthplace, citing recent Trump administration guidance. The guard sent organizers a memo saying that it is unable to provide a flyover, band, military vehicles or troop presence, prompting organizers to cancel the parade part of the celebration . WaPo.

Protesters target Trump, Musk, DOGE: Hundreds gathered at the State House Monday to protest President Donald Trump and the government-cutting moves being pushed by billionaire Elon Musk. Maryland Matters

Some Marylanders Leaders Still Tout DEI Policies Despite Trump: Some Marylanders are leaning into diversity, equity and inclusion even as the term itself has been used as a weapon by critics, including the Trump administration. These leaders in business, culture, education and politics in the state say that DEI efforts are still valuable, address inequities based on race and help move toward great equality for all.  Baltimore Banner. via Maryland Reporter

Nonprofits, states scramble as Trump administration pauses funding for many Chesapeake restoration programs: Efforts in recent years to accelerate the Chesapeake Bay restoration have run into a wall of Trump administration executive orders that halted payments for huge swaths of Bay-related work, raising doubt about the future of many projects. Tens of millions of dollars for Bay-related work being carried out by nonprofits, farmers, churches, universities and states have been left in limbo. Some say the damage could take years to undo. Bay Journal

Planning a beach trip this summer? Consider this number: 28: The number of unprovoked shark bites reported in the United States last year. That’s more than half the 47 unprovoked shark bites reported worldwide in 2024. Both figures are well below the ten-year average. Half the bites in the United States occurred in Florida. (Honolulu Star Advertiser) via Pluribus

THE OTHER 49

HEALTH CARE: The Arkansas House is considering first-in-the-nation legislation that would block pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies. The bill, perhaps the most aggressive effort to reform the PBM market, would force some of the biggest health care conglomerates like CVS’s Caremark and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx to break up their businesses in the state. (Pluribus News)

LABOR: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has signed legislation banning collective bargaining for public employee unions. Lawmakers approved the bill last week after they removed a compromise provision that would have excluded an outright ban. (Associated Press)

Red states embrace Trump’s crackdown on remote government work: The Republican return-to-office trend may be a way to reduce government staffing, [as a recent RTW order for state workers in Nebraska illustrated.] “Last week in the Oval Office, Trump repeated his rationale for requiring federal workers to be in the office, part of his push to shrink the workforce. He claimed without evidence that many of them are balancing two jobs and only devoting 10% to 20% of their government time to working.” Stateline Daily

ABORTION: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has refused to extradite a physician, Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, to Louisiana to face charges of sending abortion pills to a pregnant teenager. Hochul’s decision sets up a likely fight in federal court pitting New York’s shield law against Louisiana’s abortion ban.  A Texas judge ordered Daley Carpenter to pay a $100,000 fine for providing abortion medication to another woman in violation of Texas’s near-total abortion ban. (New York Times)

DOGE: Fourteen Democratic attorneys general have filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., suing the Trump administration over Elon Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency. The suit cites the appointments clause of the Constitution that requires Congress to create new positions and Senate confirmation to prominent posts. (Los Angeles Times)

GUN POLITICS: A federal judge has sided with gun rights advocates in suspending a new Maine law that would require a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases. The judge said the law, which applies to all purchasers, was an “indiscriminate” violation of the Second Amendment. (Maine Public Radio)

Virginia hospitals caught in political crossfire over transgender healthcare A political battle over transgender healthcare has left some Virginia families scrambling to secure care for their children. Following an executive order from President Donald Trump, three Virginia hospitals paused gender-affirming care for minors, leaving patients in limbo. But now, after a federal judge blocked the order, at least one hospital is resuming services — while others remain on hold. States Newsroom

Arkansas: A Senate committee advanced a proposal to abolish the state boards that oversee public libraries and educational public television programs. States Newsroom

NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

HEALTH CARE DESERTIFICATION Over the past few years, thousands of drugstores – ranging from mom-and-pop shops to chain stores like CVS – have closed their doors. Experts  point to shrinking reimbursement rates from insurers, increasing burnout among pharmacists and a shifting healthcare landscape as key reasons for these closures. As pharmacies disappear, so-called “pharmacy deserts” are growing – especially in communities where people already face barriers to health care. The Conversation

From The Economist: “Elon Musk is Failing to Cut American Spending”: “Every working day the Treasury publishes a statement detailing withdrawals of cash from its primary deposit account, providing the best high-frequency indicator of government spending. Since Donald Trump took office a little more than three weeks ago, outlays have averaged $30bn a day. Compare that with the same period last year under Joe Biden: federal spending back then came to about $26bn a day. Outflows from the Treasury have actually risen since January 28th, when Mr Musk first claimed his “Department of Government Efficiency”, or DOGE, was saving the federal government $1bn a day. Looking at the bigger picture, the government’s spending trajectory in the current fiscal year, which began in October, basically resembles that of the past two years.”

NYT columnist Tom Edsall surveys alarm about Musk and his potential conflicts of interest and notes “In “Elon Musk’s Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up,” [NYT reporters point out] that there are ‘at least 11 federal agencies that have been affected by …’ the Trump Administration’s attacks on the size and scope of the federal government — and that these agencies have ‘more than 32 continuing investigations, pending complaints or enforcement actions into Mr. Musk’s six companies.’ ”

Trump’s cuts to federal wildfire crews could have ‘scary’ consequences States, tribes and fire chiefs are preparing for a fire season with minimal federal support.  President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer. “There’s going to be firefighters that die because of this, there will be communities that burn,” said Steve Gutierrez, a union official who served 15 years as a firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service. Stateline Daily

WILDFIRE MAPPING: Amid mounting criticism from the public and lawmakers on both sides, Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek has paused any further action on the state’s new Wildfire Hazard Map until the legislature decides how to proceed, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reports. The map has prompted backlash from homeowners in some high-risk areas who are worried about wildfire insurance rates and coverage, and potentially having to comply with new building requirements. Stateline Daily

 Trump’s foreign aid freeze is having unintended effects in Latin America, including halting programs aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl. Trump has vowed to impose tariffs unless Mexico stops the trafficking of fentanyl, a major killer of young adults in the US, but the aid freeze has halted funding that Mexican authorities rely on to destroy clandestine labs, Reuters reported. Countries across Latin America are scrambling to respond to the cuts, which have dealt a blow to humanitarian programs designed to slow migration to the US — which Trump has also promised to crack down on — as well as conservation efforts in Brazil and coca eradication in Peru. Semafor

Data you might find interesting  from States Newsroom: “The federal workforce is employed all over the country, with 80% outside the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia metro area. States with a high presence of federal employees include California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Oregon.”

And Labor Notes reports: ”Musk said he hoped five to 10 percent of eligible federal workers would take the [buyout] deal; the government-reported number shows that 75,000, or around 3 percent, did. For comparison, around 150,000 federal workers retire or quit every year.”

Here is the weekly dispatch from Megan E, federal affairs director at our national affiliate People’s Action:

Hello People's Action!

Last week, the House budget committee passed a budget resolution out of committee that would give an estimated $280,000 in tax cuts per year to the richest 1%. The resolution instructs relevant committees to make a minimum of $2.5 trillion in spending cuts to government programs. The committee with jurisdiction over Medicaid and Medicare is instructed to cut at least $880 billion. The resolution also includes at least $1 billion in cuts for Housing and $330 billion in education and workforce funding. 

The House is on recess this week and the resolution is expected to go to the floor next week. After it passes the House floor, committees will begin to draft the specifics of where these spending cuts will come from.  [Editor’s note: count on the GOP house members to protect spending in their districts. Watch it add up].

The Senate has been on a two budget resolution path and it remains to be seen whether it continues on that path or takes up the House resolution. The first Senate bill would provide $175 billion over 4 years for mass deportations.

Elon Musk fired thousands of federal workers last week, mostly people in a probationary period, which at some agencies can last more than a year. Musk also gave a press conference in the Oval Office with Trump seated next to him, spewing lies about the fraud and waste he’s finding at DOGE. [see above for some details] 

The Associated Press has been banned from the White House. The AP declines to call the Gulf of Mexico (as their world-wide audience knows it) the Gulf of America (Trump’s fever-dream).

From POLITICO: The new Department of Education appointees are threatening schools with taking away funding unless they take out any mention of race in any program. The details are not clear but, “That sweeping interpretation of federal law means celebrations of Black history or women’s history — or any other identity — could fall under scrutiny. Schools that provide funds or lend space to clubs linked to an identity, such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers or a Black fraternity, may also run afoul of the department’s views. Schools could face pressure to end programs that encourage girls and young women of color to go into STEM fields where they are historically underrepresented.”

The past weekend brought a chaotic purge of the federal workforce across the nation’s health agencies.

“Some GOP lawmakers are privately expressing alarm as they pass around a letter the administration sent to fire USDA microbiologists working to stop the bird flu and other animal diseases, our colleague Meredith Lee Hill reports. Several Republican senators have also voiced concerns about how NIH cuts could hurt universities back home.”

Anti-immigration votes are also expected next week. See below. 

"No Bailouts for Sanctuary Cities" Act 

The quick 101: The bill would strip states and localities across the country of billions of dollars in federal funding for essential services that safeguard the health and safety of all residents. This isn’t just an assault on immigrants—it’s a direct attack on all American families. The bill would likely be voted on the week of February 24th.

Here are talking points in case you are reaching out to MoCs or speaking to the media.

In solidarity, 

Megan