The federal government shutdown is stretching into its third week. Trump can’t close a deal. And he does not even care to.
In fact, it is starting to seem like he’d rather let the American people suffer than do his job.
If you have a moment, let me break down just what this means for Marylanders.
FIRST: Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors who live in Maryland are missing out on their full paychecks. That means people are falling deeper into debt, missing bills, and struggling to provide for their families.
SECOND: Trump’s directed agencies to fire federal workers — again. Maryland has lost over 15,000 federal jobs since the start of the year. That’s the largest decrease in the entire country.
THIRD: Funding for crucial benefits like food assistance has been stalled for hundreds of thousands Marylanders. Our people rely on programs like WIC and SNAP to help keep their families fed. And for over two weeks, the President has been virtually silent on how HE intends on helping them.
While we’ll do everything in our power for as long as we can to make up for the fact that the federal government has abandoned its responsibilities, no state can fill the gap here.
Critical programs are being broken. Costs are being driven up. America’s economy is going into a ditch.
Let’s call it what it is: This isn’t gridlock. It’s not confusion. It’s cruelty by design.
The President is prolonging this shutdown to inflict maximum pain on working families, on seniors, on small businesses — because he believes that suffering will give him leverage. He’s holding the country hostage to push an agenda written by and for billionaires.
So I’m saying it again, directly: Mr. President, you have the power. You can end this shutdown today. The question is: Do you care enough about the American people to do it?
I know this is a difficult moment. But I am not writing any of this from a place of pessimism. Because this is not a time for us to feel powerless – it’s the time for us to understand our power.
Despite the headwinds from Washington, I’m determined to move forward here in Maryland. Because here in Maryland, we take care of our own.
We’ve faced hard times before. We will face them again. And we will get through this moment as we always have: Together.
Elevate,
Wes
