The Maryland General Assembly formed a new federal action oversight committee Monday that will track federal policy and evaluate its impacts on the state.
State Senate president Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House of Delegates speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) announced the bipartisan joint committee to help the state navigate federal policy changes while the General Assembly is in recess until January 2026.
The committee was announced on the final day of Maryland’s 2025 legislative session.
“[The committee] ensures that when federal changes are coming, Maryland is at the table and absolutely will not be the last to know,” Ferguson said at a Tuesday bill signing session. “We’re taking proactive steps to ensure that our state’s interests are not just represented, but protected together.”
The committee will consist of 13 legislators from each chamber, including Ferguson and Jones, who will serve as the co-chairs.
There are six Republicans on the 26-person committee, including Senate minority leader Stephen Hershey (R-Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s) and House minority leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany), WBAL-TV, on Channel 11, reported Tuesday. Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s), who represents College Park, will also serve on the committee, the station reported.
[Maryland legislature finalizes budget plan that reduces USM funding by $155 million]
The committee’s formation comes after U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to reduce federal funding for Medicaid and significantly shrink the federal workforce
Maryland’s revenues board predicted in March that the state would lose more than 28,000 jobs under the Trump administration.
The committee will also work with Gov. Wes Moore and state agencies to coordinate responses to federal action, Ferguson said.
“It’s about readiness,” Ferguson said. “Marylanders deserve a government that sees what’s coming and is prepared to act and prepared to act in a unified way.”
During its 2025 session, the General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation to protect federal workers from mass layoffs.
In March, Moore’s administration also announced five actions his administration is taking to help federal workers, including recruiting federal employees to available state jobs and teaching positions.
“At a time when we are watching thousands of federal workers being laid off because of an ideology … Maryland is mobilizing in support of our workers and in support of our middle-class families,” Moore said at the bill-signing ceremony.
