Politics

A government shutdown could have an immediate impact on WIC — a program that provides grocery assistance to 7 million pregnant people, mothers and children, including more than half of all newborns in the United States. Some recipients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children may be turned away from stores as early as next week, said Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy at Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit organization for eradicating hunger and undernutrition.

Senate Democrats and Republicans announced a short-term funding deal Tuesday night in a show of force against House Republicans, who have largely abandoned passing a stopgap measure ahead of a possible government shutdown in four days. The Senate deal, reached days before the government would shut down on Sunday, cleared its first procedural hurdle Tuesday night, passing 77-19. If adopted, it would fund the government for six weeks while including additional money for Ukraine and domestic disaster relief.

If you had trouble keeping your Patrick Hogans straight, this probably won’t help. Patrick N. Hogan, the former state delegate from Frederick County, is heading off to the land of contract lobbying at an Annapolis firm headed by another former state lawmaker with an all too familiar name. Hogan announced Tuesday that he will leave his position as vice chancellor of government relations for the University System of Maryland at the end of October.

While the Purple Line light rail is expected to be completed around 2027, Montgomery County officials say they don’t want to wait that long for repairs to the roads damaged by the project. Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large) urged action to help drivers and pedestrians safely commute past and around construction of the 16.2-mile light-rail transit line that stretches from Bethesda to New Carrollton.

A controversial vote against loosening virtual meeting participation rules for Prince George’s County Council members made in the weeks before council member Krystal Oriadha (D-District 7) goes on maternity leave will get another look, after public outcry. In a committee-of-the-whole meeting Tuesday, at-large council members Mel Franklin (D) and Calvin S. Hawkins II (D) flipped their votes to support the resolution they previously opposed, providing the eight votes needed for it to be presented before the council.

With the return of Baltimore’s marquee Artscape festival now in the books, a Baltimore City Council committee voted in favor of restoring $581,334 Tuesday to the beleaguered Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. The funding represents one-quarter of BOPA’s operating budget that is not dedicated to grants for arts organizations. The money will cover the group’s operations from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. The restoration, already approved by the city’s Board of Estimates, still faces a final vote of the full council on Oct. 2.

With a government shutdown five days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means curtailing federal services for millions of Americans. There’s no clear path ahead as lawmakers return with tensions high and options limited. The House is expected to vote Tuesday evening on a package of bills to fund parts of the government, but it’s not at all clear that McCarthy has the support needed to move ahead.