A wild weekend in Washington, D.C., saw Congress avert a government shutdown, as lawmakers passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a bipartisan bill temporarily funding some federal operations and natural disaster aid. Both what made it into the bill and what was left out grabbed headlines.

On the state and local levels, Maryland will face some critical issues related to fiscal responsibility and illegal immigration heading into the new year.

Keep reading to see what you might have missed in the political arena over the pre-Christmas weekend:

Absence of key Trump demand angers GOP hardliners

The bill did not yield to President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into 2025, prompting public outcry from House Republicans like Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

In an X/Twitter post Friday, Harris blasted his colleagues for passing the bill and said he was “undecided” on future House leadership — a potential swipe at Speaker Mike Johnson.

“Since President Trump’s historic election to bring down spending, deficits, and inflation, the ‘Republican’-led House has INITIATED $300 billion in unpaid for new spending, without even ATTEMPTING offsets to prevent skyrocketing the deficit and debt,” Harris wrote. “Future generations deserve better.”

Congress OK full funding for Key Bridge

For Baltimore, the bill included full funding for reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge — which Biden had promised following its March 2024 collapse. The new Key Bridge is expected to cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion to build.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott had expressed concern about a potential shutdown impacting this funding, as he called on Congress Thursday to act “according [to] what their job and responsibility [is], not according to what someone who’s not elected told them to do or not to do.”

Wes Moore gets Bronze Star, makes Christmas Eve a holiday

Eighteen years after falsely claiming he had earned a Bronze Star for his Army service in Afghanistan, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore finally received the award Friday at a controversial Annapolis ceremony.

Moore indicated he was a Bronze Star recipient on a White House fellowship application in 2006 and did not correct multiple interviewers who mentioned he won the award over the years. The governor only admitted he had not received it in August 2024 following a New York Times report on the matter, but insisted he had made an honest mistake by following the advice of then-commander Michael R. Fenzel.

In a less controversial move Sunday, the Democratic governor declared Christmas would come early for state employees. His news release announced that state agencies, offices and courts will be closed for Christmas Eve, with Tuesday being “treated like any other state employee holiday.”

$3B budget deficit ahead of ’25 session

A $3 billion deficit will be perhaps the most important task for Maryland lawmakers when they convene Jan. 8 for the state’s 2025 legislative session.

Inflation, rising healthcare costs and an underwhelming local economy are among the reasons for the budget crisis. The state’s total budget for fiscal year 2025 increased to a whopping $63 billion — up more than $20 billion in the last decade.

Moore will present his budget proposal on Jan. 15. Lawmakers will then have less than three months to decide how to collect more revenue, make cuts or find other solutions.

Officials gear up for Trump-led deportations

Four weeks ahead of a second Trump inauguration, Maryland leaders like Scott and Moore have spoken publicly — if only vaguely — about their plans should the 47th president initiate a widespread federal operation to deport illegal immigrants.

As mayor of Baltimore, Scott is worried that federal agents could interfere with day-to-day functions of his city’s police department in any potential deportation scheme.

“We would hope that this administration, who says they want to come down and make sure that violence is going down in cities, doesn’t come disrupt the apple cart when violence is going down in the city to a level it has never had before,” he said.

In a more generic statement that did not explicitly distinguish between legal and illegal immigration, Moore said he would “wait to see” what the Trump administration does before taking action he says is designed to “protect” Marylanders.

“As Governor, I have an obligation to protect Marylanders, including members of our immigrant communities,” said Moore.

Republicans like Rep. Harris want to see state and local officials cooperate directly with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) to get people with deportation orders against them out of the country.

“Leaders blocking federal deportation orders should be prosecuted,” Harris wrote on X/Twitter Thursday.

Bill paves path for Commanders’ potential return to Washington

Language handing control of RFK Stadium to the city of Washington, D.C., was also included in the bipartisan bill.

Handing over control of the federally owned site could allow the city to develop it into a new stadium for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. The team played in D.C. until 1997 and currently calls Northwest Stadium in Prince George’s County home.

The move comes as the Commanders are making a strong playoff push, having amassed a 10-5 record so far this season. The team defeated the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles in a 36-33 thriller on Sunday.