Maryland Gov. Wes Moore dodges question on Democrats leaving bipartisan governors' group

Yahoo

26-07-2025

BALTIMORE — Pressed by an MSNBC host Friday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore did not directly answer a question about two of his Democratic counterparts who could leave the bipartisan group of governors he will soon help to lead.
'Morning Joe' host Jonathan Lemire asked Moore for his reaction to The Atlantic reporting that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly had stopped paying dues to the National Governors' Association, or NGA. Walz and Kelly have concluded 'the organization's usefulness is now in doubt' because it did not respond forcefully enough to President Donald Trump's 'federal incursions into state matters,' according to sources cited by the outlet.
'I have a deep respect for my colleagues in Minnesota and also Governor Kelly in Kansas; they are dear friends, both Governor Walz and Governor Kelly,' Moore told Lemire. 'And I also know that in this moment, the people in our states, the people in our country, they need us to focus on best practices and working together to make their lives better.'
Moore is set to become the NGA's vice president this year and is gearing up to run for a second term as governor of Maryland in 2026. While he's been critical of Trump at times, Moore has sought to position himself as 'not the leader of the resistance' and spoken about eliminating 'waste, fraud and abuse,' while cuts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency angered Democrats.
Both Kelly and Walz, the party's vice presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election, will be term-limited next year — perhaps explaining their willingness to question the group.
Another Democrat, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, will not attend this summer's NGA meeting in Colorado. In February, Mills publicly sparred with Trump over his effort to withhold federal funds from Maine when she refused to comply with the executive order banning transgender women from participating in female sports leagues.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the NGA's current vice president, will ascend to the presidency this year, succeeding Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Stitt appeared alongside Moore on 'Morning Joe' Friday; the two governors were friendly and agreed on several issues.
Moore also discussed his approach to Maryland's budget, pointing out that his first three budgets decreased the size of the state's general fund. While true, spending has increased under Moore in areas such as Medicaid and Blueprint for Maryland's Future, a decadelong plan to reform public education that caused financial headaches during the recent legislative session.
'In our first three years as governor, we have actually had three straight budgets where we actually decreased the size of the general fund ... decreasing the size of state government, saying we can be more efficient,' the governor said. 'We can be more effective, and that doesn't mean we have to spend more. ... We've got to be really careful and cautious when it comes to utilization of taxpayer dollars.'
His references to the general fund do not include the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, Medicaid and other areas where spending has increased.
In recent political ads and other TV appearances, Moore has said the fiscal 2026 budget he signed turned a $3 billion deficit 'into a budget surplus' without raising state income taxes for most Marylanders. Republicans have called this messaging misleading and pointed to other tax and fee increases — such as the state's new 3% sales tax on technology services and increased vehicle registration costs — as measures Moore used to balance the budget.
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