TrumpWorld has more and more ways of poking at our sore spots in pursuit of retribution for his imagined insults and injustices: refusal to provide disaster aid to flooded Western MD communities; grasping attacks from public and private right-wing minions on states' lists of registered voters; hyper-aggressive ICE tactics right here in Maryland; two years and out for the housing-threatened; cuts in workplace safety and wage theft enforcement. Whew And EPA is working on a plan to pretend carbon dioxide has no effect on our climate (ask flood victims in Westernport). Plus, as you will see, everyday people in working families pushing back. The beat goes on, and so does the weekly News You Can Use...

Maryland is having to defend its permit for offshore wind development, having kinda let it slide for some years thanks to the good businesspersons of O.C. Now Trump's puppet feds are after them, along with anyone else nationwide who is trying to shift from fossil-fuel dependency. Not a good look. Another bad look: Trump's puppet House committees crashed housing availability to the tune of 400,000 fewer available Section 8 vouchers for low-income renters, making homelessness much more common and throwing big burdens on the states and cities -- that's becoming a clear trend for the Trump forces. 

And Trump wants to see the NFL Commanders change their name back to that racist original or he's promised to intervene in D.C.'s elaborate stadium deal. Maybe Gov. Moore will get to keep the team in Maryland after all. We can imagine how many people will be happy about that.

It's all News You Can Use, palatable or not. 

It's Bastille Day, and in Maryland, state government and its agencies – and people, especially in solidarity mode – fight back against cuts and assaults from TrumpWorld. There are cuts in education already being felt, future cuts in SNAP and Medicaid to brace for and a loss of support for homeless K-12 students even as Maryland’s number grows. Our local states have to hang their heads as the Chesapeake Bay clean-up program lags, but other states are hitting the mark, Maine with new ways to cancel regular-debit subscriptions (while the FTC is bottled up in court) and Oregon with measures to use microgrid technology to make power supply more resilient. So states’ independence has a place. Meanwhile Congress is working on taking back money it already appropriated. Can the states figure out a way to keep revenue at home to replace canceled federal support? That might be next, and it sounds uneasily like 1861,  eh? Allons, enfants de la patrie...

The bill that Trump signed on July 4 is a beast from the pit and will dump extra requirements on state and local governments -- unless they, too, give in, hang their heads and let low-income workers fend completely for themselves. Some will do that; we feature here some who are not. Maryland is making its own moves, other states are also looking for ways to avoid housing market collapse, nutritional and health-care deficits and other human-rights abuses in many locations. The carnage in Texas floods, in which the National Weather Service's huge DOGE staff cuts may have contributed to lack of warning and preparedness, just amounts to the most jarring examples of what the cuts in this bill will do in order to fatten the tax benefits that the rich can send their platoons of lawyers out to reap. We hope this blog post will illustrate both the worst consequences and the most inventive responses of local governments and outraged working people to this devastating Trump assault. It is important now, as noted below, not to be fooled by the GOP timeline that puts off the worst damage until after the 2026 elections. The congressional jellyfish who knuckled under to Trump and voted for this casino-carnival of inequality have got to start paying the price today, and every day. Gear up.

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.

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.

June marks the beginning of Pride Month, a time to celebrate the courage, creativity, and history of the LGBTQ+ community, and to recommit ourselves to the fight for equality. Pride is more than a celebration. It’s a reminder of the ongoing struggle for dignity and safety, and a testament to the resilience of a community that has always shown up, spoken out, and refused to be erased. We honor that legacy, and we stand in full solidarity, not just this month but always.

Throughout June, we’ll be highlighting Pride events happening across the state in a special section of this memo. Be sure to check it out each week to find local celebrations and ways to show your support.

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already halfway through the year and it feels like time is flying. So much has unfolded across the country, and here in Maryland, we’ve been playing both defense and offense in the fight for justice. Whether it’s protecting our communities from harmful federal rollbacks or laying the groundwork for bold state-level wins, our team is working every day to advance a progressive vision on every front.

Read on for important updates from our issue campaigns, ways to get involved,  plus key news from Maryland and around the country.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

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These "states fight back against Trumpworld" headlines are starting to get old, sure, but that's what's actually happening. Zone floods, states turn on the pumps. Again. Just like last week.

We start in Maryland, where sanctuary questions roil some jurisdictions, farmers report worries about future supply but no significant harm from Trump tariffs -- yet -- lots of talk about Gov. Moore running in the 2028 presidential, to which he says "no" and argues for focus on "now," and a first set of new laws kicks in as of June 1. In other states, big worries about impact of House spending bill cuts on low-income folks (including in Red states) and business lobbies complicate already-endangered state incentives for cooler buildings. And then there's Congress, where the GOP majority kissing the Trump, er, ring is showing some fractures, again Red-state Senators worried about Medicaid shortfalls. It's News You Can use for the beginning of a long, hot summer...

This moment needs all of us  As Trump and the GOP slash healthcare and veterans services, we’re organizing to protect our communities.

The right is already on the move. We need to be, too.

In memory of those we’ve lost, we’re defending those still here.

Yesterday was Memorial Day, a time to honor those who gave their lives in service to this country and to reflect on our responsibility to care for the people who’ve worn the uniform. Yet even as we remember the fallen, Trump and Musk’s plans to gut the VA threaten the wellbeing of those still with us, delivering longer waits, delayed appointments, and reduced care for the very people our nation owes a lasting debt.

And this is only one piece of a broader attack on working people. House Republicans recently passed a far from beautiful budget bill with nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, making it the largest rollback in both programs’ histories. If enacted, these cuts could leave 14 million people without health coverage and 3 million households without food assistance. Add in reduced student loan benefits and other slashes to the safety net, and it’s clear: the GOP is doubling down on cruelty.

Last week, we held an informal debrief on Discord to reflect on the legislative session and the fights that still lie ahead. Our progressive priorities remain under threat and with the 2026 election cycle already on the horizon, we need to organize now, not later.

We’re fighting back. Our organizers are working across the state to protect what matters, defending our communities from harmful policies and pushing for a better future. Keep reading for ways to take action and important state and national news.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

With Congress having gone home leaving the wrecking ball of the Big Beautiful Bill (really, that's its name) behind for the Senate to tackle when it returns next week, our entertainment comes from Trump's social media posts showing lots of choler but no knowledge of his prickly problems: Russia/Ukraine; Israel/Gaza and the Middle East (source of free planes), South Africa and its ambushed president ("I wish I had a plane to give you") and the prospect that no national leaders will want to visit Trump anymore. Everything appears to be on hold until Congress returns, at which point the real fireworks are likely to smoke up the sky.