Trump attacked Iran over the weekend. We know, it’s hard to believe, but at the same time, it’s not. This is what Trump does. He acts without accountability, without authorization from Congress, without regard for human life, and without the rule of law.

He and his cabinet have been attacking our healthcare, targeting immigrant communities, and gutting support for working families. Now he’s trying to push us into war. This is not Presidential leadership. This is authoritarianism. And we’ve got to muster all that we have to stop him and stop his takeover.  

We’re only six months into the year, and it’s already been filled with chaos, setbacks, and nonstop threats to our communities. But we’ve also seen powerful moments of resistance and progress here in Maryland. These moments remind us what’s possible when we organize together.

Protecting our people means showing up on every front: through policy, through mobilization, through organizing — and yes, through celebration. We celebrate the wins not just to reflect, but to build power and keep moving forward with energy and purpose.

So read on for ways to take action, upcoming events, and the state and national news you need to stay informed and engaged.

The temperatures and weather conditions will be brutal this week. We hope you are able to keep safe, cool and hydrated. Here’s a list of county contacts.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Here’s what’s in today’s memo:

  • PM Events
  • Campaign Updates
  • Local Chapter Updates

  • Pride Events

  • PM Careers
  • State & National News
 

PM EVENTS:

Save the Date — No Cash For Trash Victory Party 🎉

Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, July 26 from 1–4 PM at Port Covington Marina to celebrate ending subsidies for trash incineration in Maryland. Our EJTF leaders will share what this victory means for our communities and what’s next in the fight for environmental justice.

Food, community, and celebration — don’t miss it.

👉 RSVP here to join us.
 

Task Forces & Issue Campaigns Updates: 

Healthcare Task Force: Defend Our Healthcare

Take Action Today #StopTheCuts!

Senate Republican leaders are trying to ram through their big deadly budget bill in June. It will kick 16 million Americans off health care by slashing funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; and by adding administrative changes to the program that amount to cuts. Their budget gives billionaires and wealthy corporations tax cuts that total almost a trillion dollars! It’s very clear whose side Trump and Congressional Republicans are on. It’s not ours, not us everyday Marylanders. All the kids and families losing healthcare and our entire state health delivery system - community clinics, hospitals, providers - will be hard hit. That’s why we’re leading the statewide grassroots fight in Maryland to oppose this plan! 

This Week: 

➔ Sign the petition to lawmakers  

➔ Volunteer with us - knock doors and make phone calls to #StopTheCuts: Sign up here   

➔ Come to the protest Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the US Senate. Contact Patty at [email protected] for details

➔ Join our national phone banks! People’s Action, with help from us, is calling voters in states where we may be able to flip a GOP Senator ppls.ac/pb

 

Thank you for all you’re doing to resist and rise up!

 

Environmental Justice: Time to Celebrate No Cash For Trash

Progressive Maryland's Environmental Justice Task Force is excited to announce that the No Cash For Trash Victory Party is almost a month out, happening on Saturday, July 26th from 1-4PM at the Baltimore Peninsula at Port Covington Marina (321 E Cromwell St, Baltimore, MD 21230).

In the meantime, lawmakers who have been allies to our frontline communities for years have already been invited. The incinerator companies, Win Waste Innovations and Covanta, never imagined that the day would come when our frontline communities would be liberated from this financial exploitation, but that day is finally here. 

Following the vote by lawmakers on April 7th to end subsidies for incineration, $200 million has been secured. Let’s join together to celebrate this historic triumph over the incinerator companies. REGISTER NOW!
 

Local Chapter Updates:

Shore Progress: 

Town Hall with MD-01 Candidate George Walsh

Join us Monday, June 30 from 5–6 PM for an in-person and virtual town hall with George Walsh, candidate for Maryland’s First Congressional District. Come hear his vision, ask questions, and learn how you can get involved in building power on the Shore.

📍 Dorchester DCC HQ – 403 Race St, Cambridge - RSVP to let us know you’re coming OR
💻 Join virtually on Zoom
 

PRIDE EVENTS:

Thursday, June 26
Westminster Pride | 11 AM–7 PM
Downtown Westminster

Friday, June 27
Frederick Pride Parade | 11 AM–6 PM

Carrol Creek Linear Park

Saturday, June 28
Salisbury Pride | 11 AM–5 PM
Bell Tower Green

Sunday, June 29
Montgomery County Pride | 12–8 PM
Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring

Frederick Pride Festival | 11 AM–6 PM
Downtown Frederick

Cumberland Pride | 12–4 PM
Canal Place, Downtown Cumberland
 

News You Can Use: Everyday hassles predominate, even in (sorta) wartime

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. 
 
 

Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:

We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design, etc. to be published on our website to the blog moderator Woody.

>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org