Candidate stands with Trump, not Marylanders

Maryland has a proud tradition of sending effective progressive leaders to Capitol Hill. With control of the United States Senate on the line, Marylanders should not be fooled by Larry Hogan’s centrist rhetoric. He goes out of his way to distance himself from Donald Trump but has a track record of supporting his far-right policies. On issues from taxes to gun control to abortion access, then-Governor Hogan stood with then-President Trump and failed Maryland families.

At the outset of his administration, Trump launched an all-out assault on blue states like ours. He cut taxes for the wealthy and raised taxes on working families by limiting state tax write-offs, increasing the tax bills for more than half a million Marylanders.

Our then-Attorney General Brian Frosh fought back. He joined the attorneys general of other northeastern states and sued the Trump administration for its reckless attack on working families.

How did Governor Hogan react? He did everything in his power to stop the lawsuit. He refused to sign legislation to fund lawsuits against the Trump administration and withheld money appropriated for this important work.

Simply put, Larry Hogan had Donald Trump’s back at the expense of Maryland taxpayers.

The Trump administration also systematically gutted firearm background check laws. It allowed people with active arrest warrants and half a million people flagged as “fugitives from justice” by federal law enforcement officials to buy guns. It even stopped the Social Security Administration from helping identify people with mental health conditions that could make it dangerous for them to own firearms. These and other actions increased the number of guns on the streets, making communities across the nation less safe.

The Maryland General Assembly fought back. We voted to strengthen background checks by requiring them for long gun purchases, and we put handgun permit reviews in the hands of judges. These commonsense measures were designed to stem the tide of gun violence and keep Marylanders safe.

Hogan again stood with Trump, with the National Rifle Association, and with the extreme right wing of the Republican Party. He vetoed bills to strengthen background checks and depoliticize handgun permit reviews. He stood with the Trump administration and the gun lobby and against Maryland’s values.

Perhaps most egregious — especially considering his cynical election-year left turn on abortion access — is Hogan’s record on choice.

In 2019, Trump stopped federal funds from flowing to reproductive health clinics like Planned Parenthood if they performed abortions.

The General Assembly then passed legislation to fill this gap and ensure that Maryland women would continue to have access to reproductive healthcare. Governor Hogan refused to sign the bill.

More recently, the month before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Governor Hogan refused to release millions in additional funding to train more abortion care providers in the State.

This shouldn’t be a surprise from a governor who said enshrining abortion rights in the Maryland Constitution wasn’t “really necessary” and who refused a call for the State Police to investigate Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Guns, abortion and taxes. Three of the most important issues that come before United States senators and the Supreme Court justices they confirm.

In all three instances, Hogan sided with Trump over Maryland families and Maryland values. Maybe that’s why he said he’d support Trump for president as recently as last year on national conservative radio. Maybe that’s why Trump endorsed Hogan earlier this month, saying, “I’d like to see him win.”

Hogan isn’t running for a third term as Maryland governor.

He’s running for the United States Senate. He’ll vote to determine the next Senate majority leader. He’ll vote to confirm new Supreme Court justices. He’ll vote on bills to instate a national abortion ban, to defund organizations like Planned Parenthood, to keep assault weapons off our streets and to continue to give tax breaks to millionaires.

Despite the rhetoric he uses in his newest ad, we know Larry Hogan, and we can’t trust him on these issues. As legislators, we understand that he won’t be able to sidestep the tough issues like he did over and over again as governor when things got difficult.

Marylanders deserve a senator we can trust to step up and defend our values, especially when it’s hard.

Adrienne A. Jones ([e-mail]) is a Democrat and the speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, where she represents District 10 in Baltimore County. William C. Ferguson ([e-mail]) is a Democrat and the president of the Maryland Senate, where he represents District 46 in Baltimore City.