Maryland recently won a competition to locate the new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt. The project, to replace the delapidated J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, has been stalled for years and is still being challenged. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
By Shaun Chornobroff, Mennatalla Ibrahim, Marijke Friedman and James Matheson
Despite Republican takeovers of the White House and one, if not both, chambers of Congress, Democratic lawmakers in Maryland remain optimistic about the prospects for several key projects that will need congressional and presidential support to move forward.
On reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, continued efforts to clean up Chesapeake Bay and relocation of the FBI headquarters from downtown Washington to a 61-acre site in Greenbelt, “I’d say we’re still optimistic,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th).
“We know that (these projects are) not a done deal, and we’re going to have to keep working to move forward,” said Ivey, who won reelection to a second term by an overwhelming margin Tuesday.
Ivey said he was confident, especially regarding the Key Bridge, that Congress will overcome partisan politics to address the effects of the disaster. He pointed to recovery efforts after hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through much of the GOP-supporting Southeast in October, as a model for bipartisan cooperation.
“I would think that there’d be a coming together to make sure that Congress helps out those who are in need due to these kinds of disasters, and that we don’t play politics with each other,” Ivey said.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) echoed many of Ivey’s sentiments in an email. He said he is committed to working alongside fellow Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring in January, to provide the necessary funding to replace the Key Bridge as soon as possible.
Cardin said in an interview that there is bipartisan support for rebuilding the Key Bridge, but that Congress needs legislation to attach the funds to.
Lawmakers return to Washington on Tuesday for a lame-duck session after being on recess for the past six weeks for the elections. The current calendar calls for them to be in session for just five weeks before adjourning, but that could change.
“We’re not panicked about getting it done. We’ll get it done,” Cardin said.
That optimism comes even though former President Donald Trump, a Republican, soundly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in the race for the White House. Republicans also gained control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections and appeared headed toward maintaining control of the House, although some races were still being counted, including the fight for Maryland’s open 6th District seat.
During Trump’s first term as president, he made an annual tradition of trying to slash funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup. He also stalled the FBI’s planned move from its current D.C. site.
Van Hollen promised that Maryland’s delegation would work tirelessly for its constituents, even under the returning Trump.
“Regardless of who is in the White House, Team Maryland fights tooth and nail to deliver for our state — be that for the Chesapeake Bay, the FBI Headquarters, the Red Line or the many other projects that we’re working on,” Van Hollen said in his emailed statement.
In his 2021 budget proposal, for example, Trump proposed a 91% reduction in funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration, cutting the budget from $85 million to $7.3 million. Congress instead agreed to add an extra $2.5 million to the Chesapeake Bay Program nine months after the request.
“During the Donald Trump years, he tried to zero out the program, and yet we were able not only to maintain the funding, but increase the authorization of funding while President Trump was in office,” Cardin said. “We have bipartisan support from the Chesapeake Bay program in the appropriation process, and I have no reason to believe that won’t continue into the next Congress.”
Cardin said that Chesapeake Bay restoration is set to be funded at a record level in the next fiscal year. While this year’s appropriation bills have yet to be passed, Cardin said he expects more than $90 million to be dedicated to the Chesapeake Bay.
Transportation Authority poised to award contract to rebuild Key Bridge
Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), Maryland’s sole congressional Republican, supported Trump’s campaign and said on Newsmax Thursday that Americans elected Trump because they agree with his plans to secure the southern border and reduce inflation.
“These are the issues that resonated with broad swaths of the American public, including record numbers of minorities,” Harris, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said.
Despite GOP gains nationally, election night was filled with victories for Maryland Democrats. Harris won the presidential race in the state, marking the ninth consecutive time Maryland voters backed the Democratic nominee for president. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks became the first Black woman from the state elected to the Senate.
But Trump’s win soured the historic night for some lawmakers. Van Hollen said Wednesday that despite feeling “heartened by the history Maryland made,” he was “deeply disappointed and disheartened by the results of this election.”
Ivey, who defeated Republican challenger George McDermott to keep his 4th District seat Tuesday, said he was “thankful to be re-elected, but it was a very tough night overall.”
State Sen. Sarah Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), who won the race for the open 3rd District seat in Congress, said in a social media post that while it was a “dark day nationally,” there are wins to be celebrated in Maryland. She referenced the overwhelming support for a ballot question that enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution, Alsobrooks’ victory and her own win.
“While my heart is broken that Vice President Harris did not win, I’m proud of the race she ran, the values she championed, and our commitment to accepting the results of this election,” Elfreth said.
Cardin called the outcome “a gut punch of sorts” in a statement. As he approaches retirement, Cardin said he remains hopeful for the state he has represented on Capitol Hill since 1987.
“It’s going to be a rough go at it under the Trump administration, but I’m confident,” Cardin said. “We will figure out a strategy to deal with it.”