Though uncertainty lies ahead as Maryland prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, elected officials say there is a chance that the state’s several large infrastructure projects could still receive federal funding.

“It’s definitely possible,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said Tuesday during the Baltimore Together Summit at Center Stage.

Questions remain about forthcoming projects high up on Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s to-do list, especially the reconstruction of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Red Line project.

Van Hollen quickly reminded summit attendees that Congress had secured enrollment for the Key Bridge replacement project in the federal Emergency Relief Program, which, through the U.S. Department of Transportation, provides 90% of the funding for emergency infrastructure projects.

While Van Hollen cautioned that the Emergency Relief Program fund needs to be replenished, he noted that both parties have an interest in ensuring it stays afloat because it benefits projects in both red and blue states.

In addition to the emergency funding, Maryland’s congressional delegation introduced the Bridge Act to ensure the federal government covers the remaining 10%. Regarding its passage, Van Hollen said, “We’ll see.”

Regarding the Red Line, Van Hollen recalled the nearly $1 billion in federal funding the state had previously secured, which was returned by former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who called the project a “boondoggle.” The senator said that city and state officials are working with the congressional delegation to “get the project back in place” to submit to the U.S. Department of Transportation for funding consideration.

As he prepares to face a Trump administration, Moore has publicly stated that he is prepared to push back when necessary but will also “find common ground” when able.

Maryland Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey, a Republican representing the upper Eastern Shore, said members of Maryland’s GOP are “pleased” with Moore’s commitment to find common ground.

“We are also committed to helping our Democratic colleagues navigate this relationship for the benefit of all Marylanders,” Hershey said in a statement.

Van Hollen acknowledged hurdles wrought by the Trump administration that turned into victories through bipartisanship in Congress. For example, the Trump administration attempted to zero out a federal Chesapeake Bay program that had previously received $73 million annually. Van Hollen said that, by the end of Trump’s first term, Congress had agreed to fund the program by an additional $20 million.

“There was a priority — local priority, regional priority — we worked with our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Cardin and I did, and so we look forward to working on those,” said Van Hollen.

He also pointed to federal infrastructure projects that received a financial green light under the first Trump administration as an example of how both projects could be sustained, including securing $125 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Howard Street tunnel expansion project under Downtown Baltimore.

However — and regardless of a track record of accomplishments under Trump — planning comes with a lot of unknowns for investment from what is likely to be a Republican-controlled federal government as congressional election results continue to roll in.

“I think anybody that tells you that they have an obvious answer for what’s coming is not being entirely honest,” state Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said Tuesday. “I know the Moore-Miller administration is working very, very, very hard to really assess the reality that Maryland is very highly exposed to the federal government.”

Ferguson cited the high number of federal government employees living in the state as an example, noting that they account for approximately 9% of Maryland’s W-2 withholdings.

He noted that Maryland would feel an outsized ripple effect of any changes at the federal level: “When there are opportunities to work with the new incoming Trump administration, we’re going to have to because our economic future is relying on the federal government.”

Have a news tip? Contact Hannah Gaskill at hgaskill@baltsun.com, 410-320-2803 and on X as @hnnhgskllalso.