Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said his job has changed considerably in the last three weeks as a new Trump administration overhauls the federal government.
“It’s a like a lightswitch,” Moore said during an interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that aired Sunday afternoon.
The governor has moved from federal partner to Maryland defender. He referred to President Donald Trump’s “flurry of executive orders” — which he described as performative, contradictory and illegal — that have created “panic and frustration” among public servants.
“It’s something that cannot go without a response from me,” Moore said.
The governor said his sole responsibility is to protect 6.5 million Marylanders and make life more affordable for them.
His words came as the state faces a $3 billion budget deficit and potentially $3 billion owed in settlements related to the Child Victims Act. Moore is proposing steep cuts to balance the budget, and Senate President Bill Ferguson warned on Friday that hundreds of millions more cuts would be needed in response to cuts coming from Republicans in Washington, D.C.
But one of the biggest challenges Moore is contending with is how the state’s economy is “uniquely tethered” to Washington, with over 160,000 federal workers who live in Maryland. That doesn’t include federal contractors or military members, he said.
On Sunday, he had some advice for federal workers who were offered buyouts: “Be careful on what you’re signing because once you sign something, that is permanent.”
Unless Congress approves funding for an eight-month buyout or 10-month contract negotiation, it’s not legitimate, Moore added.
He said he also wants Maryland’s federal workers to know that their service is valued and needed.
“Remember who needs you in those seats now more than ever,” Moore said.
During the first 48 hours of his second term, Trump immediately began sweeping actions to remake the federal government, ordering massive staff cuts throughout several agencies.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has defended the moves as the administration being “good stewards” of taxpayer money. She said the 40,000 federal workers who have accepted buyout offers will save Americans tens of millions of dollars.
If federal workers don’t want to show up to the office, as a return to in-person work is instituted, “if they want to rip the American people off, they are welcome to take this buyout, and we will find highly competent individuals who want to fill these roles,” she said.
Much of the cuts are led by the president’s executive orders and his adviser, Elon Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary organization authorized by Trump. Must has repeatedly said his goal is to eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the federal government.
Moore said he believes in government efficiency and signed an executive order in Maryland to modernize state government and save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars through consolidation and reform.
“The challenge that we’ve seen with DOGE is it’s not smart, it’s not efficient, and it’s definitely not transparent,” the governor said.
DOGE has taken rapid action at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Treasury Department. In a preview of Trump’s Sunday afternoon interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, the president said he’d have Musk focus on the Education and Defense departments next.
Moore noted that while most education policies are crafted at the state level, the federal department plays an important role in funding, assistance, guidance on college preparation and more.
“It’s being able to make sure that we’re sharing best practices around the country,” he said.
Moore also weighed in on Trump’s cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion — an early move that has prompted a lawsuit from Baltimore and its mayor.
Trump said his executive orders on DEI would end “illegal discrimination” and “create a society that is blind to color and based on merit.”
Moore said Maryland is focused on “excellence.” He said the state wants a table big enough so that “everybody has a voice.”
“It’s the best way to be able to make sure you’re covering down your blind spots,” the governor said.
Moore, who’s had some recent changes in his administration, said Maryland has “unquestionably the most outstanding group of Cabinet secretaries, agency heads, that our state has ever seen. It also happens to be the most diverse in our state’s history.”
He said he thinks the group’s diversity and excellence coincide.
Moore remembered being called “the DEI governor” at the time of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and asked, “How do you respond?”
“My answer is, I don’t because I’m too busy doing the work,” he said.
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