State lawmakers in Annapolis are bracing for what seems to be an inevitable federal government shutdown, but Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) warns that Maryland’s financial cushion is thin. With federal employees and contractors in the state facing uncertainty, officials are looking for ways to soften the impact—though options appear limited.
State Budget Constraints Leave Little Room for Relief
Ferguson didn’t mince words. Maryland’s budget, already stretched thin, has little room for large-scale intervention. While past shutdowns have been mitigated by state programs, Ferguson pointed out that resources this time around are not as readily available.
“We are in a very tight financial place, so I don’t think we have the vast sums of resources readily available to immediately deploy,” he said.
The state has a mechanism to provide no-interest loans to affected workers, but there’s a catch: It depends on the federal government reimbursing employees with back pay once the shutdown ends. Given the current political climate, Ferguson suggested that such assumptions may no longer be reliable.
Federal Job Cuts Already Underway
Maryland is home to approximately 160,000 federal employees. That number doesn’t even include contractors or employees from agencies like the National Security Agency. And some workers are already feeling the pain.
Ferguson estimated that roughly 1,200 probationary federal employees in Maryland have already been fired in the first wave of cuts under the Trump administration.
It’s a worrying trend, especially as lawmakers scramble to assess the economic fallout. The state is keeping a close eye on unemployment filings, looking for signs of federal workers in need of assistance. But for now, the full scale of the impact remains uncertain.
A Shutdown Right in the Middle of Maryland’s Budget Talks
Timing couldn’t be worse. Maryland’s legislature is in the midst of finalizing its own budget, and a federal shutdown could throw a wrench into those discussions.
“So, as we look at the budget and the timing, it is looking ever more likely that we are going to be trying to pass a budget in the middle of a shutdown,” Ferguson said. “That is certainly not the way to run the country.”
While discussions are ongoing about potential state-level assistance for federal employees, specifics remain scarce. Ferguson acknowledged that legislation is being drafted to provide some help, but concrete details haven’t been made public yet.
Unpredictability Reigns in Washington
The uncertainty coming from Washington is making planning difficult. Maryland lawmakers have grown accustomed to dealing with federal budget standoffs, but Ferguson said the level of unpredictability now is something different.
“We get Friday afternoon emails asking for five bullet points about justifying somebody’s week,” he said, referencing the chaotic and seemingly arbitrary nature of decision-making at the federal level.
That unpredictability makes it harder for states to react effectively. If back pay isn’t guaranteed for furloughed workers, the no-interest loan program Maryland has relied on in past shutdowns may not be a viable option this time.
With just weeks to go before the government funding deadline on March 14, state officials in Annapolis are preparing for the worst while hoping for some clarity from Washington. But as Ferguson put it, “every norm and every standard is subject to being thrown out the window these days.”
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