Maryland, My Maryland

WBAL TV, Chaos, confusion ensues in Maryland over status of Trump administration's federal funding freeze

Maryland state lawmakers aren't breathing a sigh of relief just yet now that a freeze on federal grants and loans is apparently being rescinded. Early Wednesday afternoon, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a one-line memo that seemingly rescinded the freeze on federal grants and loans that was announced Monday. But minutes later, the White House press secretary said the funding freeze was still on, saying the new memo was aimed at circumventing a judge's injunction issued Tuesday night to temporarily block the freeze.

There's also another lawsuit pending that was filed by attorneys general across multiple states, including Maryland
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore considers the president's actions irresponsible. "They have caused unnecessary confusion. They have caused instability for our economy. And, they have caused a great deal of fear amongst Marylanders to include Marylanders who voted for this administration," Moore said.

Those confused by the developments aren't alone — so were members of Maryland's congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-District 5, summed up the past two days, saying, "We've now seen three decisions made within 48 hours, essentially — it's on, it's off. We're not sure where it is."

While the White House insisted Medicaid was not affected by the freeze, state Medicaid officials found themselves locked out of the federal funding portal for hours. What happened. 

The delegation's newest members pointed out that even just the idea of a freeze is having a real impact on Maryland. "(I was) hearing from one constituent about a girl suffering from cancer, who was told that she would not be able to go to one of her (National Institutes of Health) trials," said U.S. Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-District 6.

And all this was before the foofaraw surrounding DOGE and USAID. There's no doubt about it, a bright blue state, near enough that many DC workers, Fed and NGO, live in Maryland, and depend on federal cheese, Maryland will be significantly impacted by the spending cuts. Maybe it will lower housing costs here.