Politics

As we begin the new year, I want to reflect on the future of the Maryland Republican Party. My friends who are either Republicans or who think it in the best interest of Maryland to have a viable two-party system will want to read on. My friends from the other side of the aisle who feel it would be best for Maryland to be a one-party state should probably just delete this message. I feel qualified to offer advice about the future of the Maryland Republican Party as I have been working for or with the Party since 1968, when I was just 18 years old.

Mayor Brandon Scott said Baltimore was making progress in addressing violent crime. Scott cited a 19% increase in gun arrests and a 5% drop in nonfatal shootings in his New Year’s message that violent crime is being reduced. He added that more needs to be done and noted the Group Violence Reduction Strategy is being expanded, with the goal of reducing crime.

Maryland Attorney General-elect Anthony G. Brown, who will be sworn in on Tuesday, wants more authority than his predecessors to go after civil rights violators and to investigate police departments for patterns of misconduct. Brown, 61, who served the past six years in Congress and has a long history in Annapolis as a state lawmaker and lieutenant governor, said he will ask the General Assembly to pass legislation that enables him to sue companies and individuals who violate federal or state civil rights laws, for example, in housing or employment — a power that his colleagues in the District, New York and California possess.

U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume had his home city in mind when drafting legislation to assist communities struggling to protect witnesses from intimidation in violent crime cases. “I can tell you Baltimore would be right at the top of the list,” said the Democratic lawmaker, whose bill would authorize $150 million in grants over five years for programs across the nation to help keep witnesses safe through relocation or other means.

Outgoing House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he has not ruled out running for Congress in 2024. When asked during CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning whether he plans to run for reelection in 2024, the Maryland Democrat said, “I may. I may.” Host Dana Bash asked, “You’re not onto the exit ramp yet?” He answered, “No.”

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Thursday was elected ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for the 118th Congress — a powerful position once held by his friend and fellow Marylander, the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D). After winning the endorsement of the House Democratic Steering Committee last week, Raskin was elected by a 133-75 vote of the full Democratic caucus Thursday, defeating Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly. He succeeds outgoing New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who was defeated in a Democratic primary earlier this year.

On the final day of testimony in her eight-day disciplinary hearing, Prince George’s County Board of Education Chair Juanita Miller spoke for herself Wednesday. A state administrative judge will determine whether Miller should be removed from serving on the school board — but a decision isn’t expected for at least a few months. Since Miller’s appointment as chair in January 2021, the board has experienced frequent disagreements, many of which surfaced publicly. The current board leader said she wanted to establish a team effort but recognized there was already some “discourse” that imperiled efforts to unify the board members.

The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress. The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense and would finance federal agencies through the fiscal year at the end of September.