This week, Marylanders' eyes shuttle back and forth between weighing the work (and failures) of the just-completed General Assembly session and the outrages of the latest Trump follies and lawlessness. The Orange Menace has bypassed Congress's role in setting tariffs, recklessly setting and unsetting tariff rates to the great disadvantage of US economic standing as well as perceptions here and overseas about the sanity and stability of national leadership. Trump and others' behavior during the wild gyrations of tariff-setting has raised questions about market manipulation and insider trading. Even more lawlessly, having kidnapped a legal Maryland resident and dumped him in a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, Trump and his minions claim they have no duty to seek his return.
The General Assembly appears to have preserved the Blueprint plan for the state's education system more or less intact and delivered a balanced budget despite a revenue deficit, but there were many failures of nerve and succumbing to the blandishments of lobbyists as well. Next year the Assembly members face election or re-election (many were appointed to vacancies but have not yet faced the voters) and they are dodging any appearance of the burning of bridges with potential donors.
It's News You Can Use.
HERE IN MARYLAND
Summaries from Maryland Reporter
Trump Admin Confirms Abrego Garcia Is Alive In El Salvador: The Trump administration confirmed to a federal judge Saturday that a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month remains confined in a notorious prison in El Salvador. But the government’s filing did not address the judge’s demands that the administration detail what steps it was taking to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The government only said Garcia is under the authority of the El Salvador government. Associated Press.
BUT -- The Trump administration on Sunday evening doubled down on its assertion that a federal judge cannot force it to bring back to the United States the Maryland man who was unlawfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador last month. New York Times. AND on Monday morning Trump, meeting El Salvador’s elected autocrat, stated Abrego Garcia would not return to the US. WaPo
ASSESSING THE ASSEMBLY SESSION:
Education Blueprint Survived Rollbacks: What's Next: Maryland lawmakers passed a bill last Monday revising the state’s expensive education reform plan, making marginal cuts instead of the more dramatic rollbacks Gov. Wes Moore proposed. Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
Moore Touts Middle-Class Tax Cut; Republicans Call It Gaslighting: Gov. Wes Moore recently signed the largest budget in state history, which includes more than a dozen new taxes and fees. But he continues to tout a tax cut for the middle class. The Democratic governor’s Republican critics have quickly pounced on what they see as gaslighting. Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready, who represents Carroll and Frederick counties, describes the budget as “the largest tax increase in Maryland history.” Baltimore Sun.
With Session Over, What Happens To Middle-Class Marylanders? To the relief of most state officials, the Maryland General Assembly ended its tense budget cycle and passed a balanced spending plan for the coming year. Now the question is whether that relief will extend beyond the halls of power to working families and middle-class residents of the state. The Democratic administration of Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller argues that it will. Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
Who Won, Who Lost, Who Broke Even in Annapolis: The 2025 legislative session was a slog. Perhaps the most important, fatiguing and demoralizing 90 days in a generation. But there was one last thing to do: The Maryland Matters staff fanned out to talk to lawmakers, advocates, lobbyists and others who say they know what’s going on about who won, who lost and who more or less broke even. In many cases, the answer to our question was another question: Did anyone really win this year? Maryland Matters.
PM View: 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
Move Over Delaware: Maryland's Cocktail Is Orange Crush Too: Enter the iconic orange crush, a summery cocktail invented in Maryland that neighboring Delaware took credit for last year. Now, the orange crush is Maryland’s official cocktail, too, after an 11th-hour vote on the last day of the General Assembly’s session last week that, fittingly for the year, was packed with last-minute drama. WaPo AND: Pluribus Quote of the Day: “The question should not be how many more symbols we can collect — but whether we are meeting the moment with the gravity it demands.” — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), vetoing a bill naming the tortilla the official state bread. Grisham thought lawmakers should spend their time on weightier matters. (Associated Press) via Pluribus
Maryland Schools To Comply With Trump Anti-DEI Order: Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws. Baltimore Banner.[Paywalled]
Removed Confederate Statues Won't Be Restored, Skirting Limits To Trump Order: The statue of Captain John O’Donnell, an 18th century merchant who enslaved dozens of Black people on his Maryland plantation, won’t be returning to its former perch in Baltimore’s Canton Square, despite an executive order last month from President Donald Trump. Neither will other statues and plaques. The executive order is limited only to monuments taken down after Jan. 1, 2020, and only to those under the control of the federal government. Baltimore Sun.
And: fighting ICE next door: Delaware lawmakers advance bill that would restrict sharing of driver’s license information with ICE | Spotlight Delaware via Stateline
THE OTHER 49
A fight about Education: Top education officials in Democratic-led states are rejecting the Trump administration’s demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in K-12 schools. Officials in at least seven states — California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington — have refused to comply with demands for additional certification under Title VI. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding if states do not meet an April 24 deadline. (Pluribus News) [See above, Maryland has knuckled under…] MORE: Officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration in an effort to restore access to pandemic relief aid for schools. The suit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), says the funding freeze violates federal law and that states should have access to funds through March 2026. (Associated Press) via Pluribus
Eviction Acceleration: The Texas Senate has approved legislation requiring civil courts to act within 10 to 21 days after a property owner files to evict someone from their property. The bill, a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s (R), would make eviction cases subject to an “expedited judicial process.” (KXAN) via Pluribus
Power Costs Fightback: Activist launches utility consumer watchdog ahead of Georgia Power hearings | Georgia Recorder via Pluribus
Withholding Education: The Tennessee Senate passed a bill that would require public school students to provide proof of legal status, and allow schools to bar or charge tuition to children without it, the Tennessee Lookout reports. If passed, Tennessee would become the only state to deny these students a public education. The measure is expected to face legal challenges for contradicting a 1982 Supreme Court decision that guarantees all children access to public education regardless of immigration status. Stateline
Trump has canceled environmental justice grants. Here’s what historically disadvantaged communities, stuck with pollution to save more prosperous areas, are losing. The cuts are part of his administration’s drive to eliminate DEI programs. Stateline Daily.
By The Numbers: $3.4 billion: The estimated loss in revenue caused by a steep decline in tourism from Canada to the United States, according to the analytics firm Tourism Economics. Travel from Canada is expected to drop 20% this year. (Politico) via Pluribus
GLOBAL/NATIONAL, THE FEDS AND DC
The Republican-led House of Representatives passed on April 10, 2025, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – or SAVE Act. The bill would make voting harder for tens of millions of Americans. The SAVE Act would require anyone registering to vote in federal elections to first “provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship” in person, like a REAL ID or a passport. Voting rights experts and advocacy organizations have detailed how the legislation could suppress voting. In part, they say it would particularly create barriers in low-income and minority communities. People in such communities often lack the forms of ID acceptable under the SAVE Act for a variety of reasons, including socioeconomic factors. The Conversation
Warren Urges S.E.C. to Investigate Trading Around Trump’s Tariff Pause The president told his social media followers it was a “GREAT TIME TO BUY” hours before announcing a reversal on tariffs that sent markets soaring. New York Times
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Here is Megan E’s wrap of the chaos globally and nationally last week. She is federal affairs director for our national affiliate, People’s Action. It looks just as chaotic from 50,000 feet but the perspective is clarifying. And there is still agency, for all of us if we seize it, as she outlines below..
“HELLO, PEOPLE’S ACTION
Last week, both Houses of Congress passed the same budget resolution with different instructions for each House. They had to pass the same text to move forward on committee work in the Senate but they included different instructions because the Senate is much less comfortable with big cuts to federal funding, like Medicaid and SNAP. Thomas Massie (R-KY) & Victoria Spartz (R-IN) voted No (for the wrong reasons). David Valadao (R-CA) did not vote (likely because he's scared of reelection). Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine voted no in the Senate. If they stick with their no votes on final passage, we would need two more Republican Senators to flip their votes. Senator Tillis is the top target and then the next group of potential Senators is harder to imagine moving. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) while a serious small government conservative, is retiring and does not seem to care about what Trump thinks. Senator Moore Capito (R-WV) is a more traditional Republican with a state heavily dependent on Medicaid, as are Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Jon Husted (R-OH) , Bernie Moreno (R-OH), John Cornyn (TX) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). Senators with bolded names are up for reelection in 2026. Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are also targets but we do not have member organizations in their state.
According to Punchbowl News, the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Armed Services committees are scheduling markups for the week of April 28th. These are the committees with the least disagreement among Republicans over funding and policy. Homeland Security and the Judiciary Committee will be given $90 billion and $110 billion respectively to ramp up mass deportations. “The Senate Armed Services Committee has instructions to spend up to $150 billion, and defense hawks have been pressing for the higher sum.” [Politico Playbook Monday a.m. says “the yawning policy gaps within the party — including multiple red lines from different factions that conflict with each other — mean that there’s still a ‘very real possibility they might not be able to figure it out.’ ”]
Congressional leadership still wants to finish the package by May but that is very ambitious. The House plans to pass the whole package first. Apparently, the White House is suggesting raising taxes on the top income tax bracket but Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are balking at that proposal.
The stock & bond markets were chaotic last week as Trump instituted tariffs for countries around the world and only yielded to pressure from billionaires and CEOs to scale back when both the stock market and the bond market went down, a rare and bad sign. Investors were pulling their money out of the economy entirely and buying German bonds. Trump then yielded and paused most countries' arbitrary tariffs for 90 days. He increased tariffs on China who is retaliating with their own tariffs. The penguin meme’s were fun though.
Economists are warning that Trump’s trade war is “likely to hurt Americans more than it will any other country. Taxing all imports will lead to greater costs for U.S. businesses, which will then raise prices for U.S. consumers, and may well bring the U.S. into a recession, a sustained economic decline.”
Congress is home in recess for two weeks! If folks are organizing or petitioning in any recess activities related to Congress, please join our recess signal chat and drop your social media there for boosting! It’s a cross network effort so open to groups outside of People’s Action Institute.
Republicans are promoting a narrative that they are going to “protect Medicaid,” that no one will lose their Medicaid and that there is a lot of fraud in Medicaid. They will later try to justify their cuts to Medicaid as just skimming from the waste through per capita caps or other policies that shift costs to states. I drafted a response letter for our partners in Washington state that can be adapted for other Republican Members of Congress. There are other resources on this below.
MEDICAID RESCUE: Responding To Republicans Claims Of “Fraud” In Medicaid: Here is a factsheet from Community Catalyst. Georgetown has an explainer on Medicaid fraud. Here is a draft letter in response to Republican claims with key questions to pin them down.
APRIL CONGRESSIONAL RECESS: Start planning your April recess events now! Congress members will be at home again in their districts for April Recess between April 15th and April 24th. Here is our resource toolkit (still being updated):APRIL RECESS RESOURCES
ENDORSE MEDICARE FOR ALL: Please consider endorsing the House Medicare for All bill by filling out this form. There are no changes to the bill since the last Congress. This is a good opportunity for Democrats to show what they are for - how they are for Reintroduction will be on April 29th. We’ll send along new resources soon, for now you can pull from NNU’s 2023 toolkit.
In solidarity,
Megan
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