The following is the transcript of an interview with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 16, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to the Democratic governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, who joins us this morning from Annapolis. Welcome back to Face the Nation.
GOV. WES MOORE: Thank you. Great to be back.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you have in your state the Port of Baltimore, one of the country’s largest ports. The President has put all these tariffs in place, teed them up, and on April 2, is poised to enact 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Do you have any idea when you will see the impact on shipping volume, what the impact on your state’s economy will be?
GOV. WES MOORE: We’re already seeing the impacts of these- of these- of these disastrous and, frankly, not very well thought out policies when it comes to tariffs. You know, tariffs are a tool. They’re not an ideology, but this administration is using it like an ideology. And so while the decisions are being made- made not with us, they’re being made to us, we’re already seeing how this is going to have a significant impact on the Port of Baltimore, which is really one of these country- one of the country’s largest and most effective ports. It’s the largest port for roll-on, roll-off vehicles. It is also seeing how the tariff policies are having disastrous impacts on our farmers over in the Eastern Shore and our chicken farmers in the eastern shore. This lack of predictability, this erratic behavior and this- and the indecisive decision making that’s being made is already having very real impact on costs, it’s having a very real impact on our businesses and our small businesses, it’s having a very real impact on our economic engines and American competitiveness, as well as our national security, and so these are the type of things- this erratic behavior is the things that people were concerned about, and we are now seeing in real time in our states.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, your state was one of 20 that decided to legally challenge the Trump administration on the decision to dismiss 1300 workers at the Education Department. I’m wondering, as you sit there, how do you choose which issues to fight legally? And is litigation the Democrats’ only tool here?
GOV. WES MOORE: Well, it’s not. I mean, when you look at the- at the flurry of executive actions and executive orders that have been laid out by this administration thus far, they really fall into three different categories. It’s either ineffective, it is performative or it is illegal, right? Those are the three buckets that all these executive actions are falling under. And the ones that are illegal, we are going to take legal action to make sure that there are legal consequences for making these decisions that, frankly, the President of the United States does not have the authority to make unilaterally. And so when we talk about the different tools that we have- just in this past week alone, you know, I signed- I signed executive action, executive orders focusing on supporting law enforcement and our police officers and our firefighters and giving them pay raises. Because on the federal side, we’ve seen continued attacks on our public servants and our law enforcement and the cutting of first responders like FEMA. That just this past week, I have focused on things like lowering prescription drugs costs and actually creating partnerships with the private sector to lower prescription drug costs, that we’re working on legislation right now to increase housing inventory that can bring housing prices down, and that is all in- that is all contrary to what we’re seeing from the federal government. So the legal tool in working with our Attorney General closely to be able to file suit when the federal government oversteps his bounds is one tool, but we are going to use every tool at our disposal to make sure that the people of Maryland are protected, and we’re making sure we’re putting extra resources and money back into their pockets.
MARGARET BRENNAN: On Friday, President Trump went to the Justice Department, and while he was there, he said that the FBI headquarters will no longer be moved from Washington, DC out to the state of Maryland. He called Maryland a “liberal state,” and he said he’s going to stop it. I know your office thought this was going to bring in 7,500 new jobs. Have you reached out to the White House to try to persuade them not to take it away?
GOV. WES MOORE: Here’s- here’s the ironic thing about it is, I found out about that announcement from the president via the news. That goes to show the level of partnership that this administration is- is that they- that they have and they would like from our nation’s governors and from our nation’s chief executives and so- so the thing that we know about this this is a direct attack and a direct assault on law enforcement, a direct attack on the FBI, because Maryland is the place and we’ve gone- we went through this process, not just for these past couple years, since I’ve been the governor, but for the past decade, where Maryland- where Maryland won this- this element, this competition, fair and square, quantitatively, where we showed that we could be the place that it was the only site-ready place to build, build-ready site. That we’re the place that we could actually have national security assets that they could leverage, particularly when you’re talking about the future mission of the FBI, which a lot of it is cyber. That we were the only place that had transportation assets that were close and nearby, that the workers could be able to benefit from. And the place that could get it done cheapest to the American taxpayer by talking about putting it anywhere else, you’re talking about adding over a billion dollars in costs to the American taxpayer than what we have already gone through this process with the GSA, the General Service Administration for the state of Maryland. So the building is ready to go in the state of Maryland, but the President has just decided to politicize it by talking about- but he doesn’t want it to go to a liberal state. We cannot continue to politicize national security when it is too important to the people who are serving us–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Have you called him? Have you called the White House?
GOV. WES MOORE: We tried calling the White House before, and there’s- there’s- there’s no response. And frankly, it just highlights the fact that, again, I found out about this announcement via news break–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you believe it?
GOV. WES MOORE: I did not find out about this announcement from the White House.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you believe it?
GOV. WES MOORE: The announcement?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
GOV. WES MOORE: Well, I believe that the President thinks he has the authority to do this, but I also think that that falls into line of a collection of other things that the President does not have the authority to do. Congress is the one who actually allocates the capital towards where federal agencies are going to go. It’s the GSA that made the decision that the new FBI building should be going to the state of Maryland, after going through a thorough and a very transparent process. And so I believe the President of the United States thinks that he can do this. But there’s one thing that I know, and I say this on a Sunday morning, I know there is a King of Kings and a Lord of Lords, and I know he does not live in the White House.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about a speech you gave last night. You represented your party at the Gridiron Dinner, an annual gathering of journalists here, and you dedicated your remarks to federal workers. You said there was dignity in the work that they do. You also spoke about your party, though, and the struggles that it is having. You said Democrats used to be the cool ones. You joked about the advanced age of your party’s leaders, saying their staff has to stand around with defibrillators. I know these are jokes, but- but you’re acknowledging something here. Is the issue with your party age? Or a lack of vision? And is the reset underway to fix those things?
GOV. MOORE: I think we need to be very clear about who we’re fighting for. And I think we need to be very clear about the vision that we are offering. You know, I think about what’s happening, you know, in this moment, even the conversation around the continuing resolution where- where we all know that the consequences of a federal government shutdown would have been disastrous on the state of Maryland, that we would have not only seen our economy completely downturn into- into a recession, that we would have seen our nation’s credit being downgraded, and along those lines, each and every one of us as states, our credit would have been downgraded as well because The United States decided that it’s now no longer paying its bills. And we would have seen thousands of federal workers unfairly now being laid off or furloughed. So we know the consequences. But one thing we did not do was offer an alternative. One thing we did not do was articulate the terms for the American people. And so I think when the American people, when they do not have an option, or they’re not seeing people fighting on their behalf, then yes, there is going to be a measurement of frustration. So we’ve got to do everything in our power. I know in the state of Maryland, we are mobilizing to make sure we’re protecting our federal workers, that we’re streamlining them into not just private sector jobs, but also state jobs that are open and available. That we’re making sure we’re increasing our unemployment insurance, and we are doing things like lowering the price of prescription drugs, and we’re doing things like increasing housing inventory, which is going to decrease the housing price. We’re doing everything in our power to fight for the people, and I think it becomes incredibly important, because people are paying attention who their fighters are and who their fighters are not.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, there were voices within your party on Capitol Hill who awful- offered alternatives. They just weren’t listened to. Do you think there is just no leader–
GOV. MOORE: I don’t see a difference–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –in the party?
GOV. MOORE: I don’t- I don’t see a difference. And frankly, I don’t think the American people see a difference. If they are not hearing an alternative, if they’re not hearing an alternative plan, if they’re not hearing the plan to push back and fight back, if they’re not seeing what we are doing in the streets and in the communities and in the neighborhoods to fight for their best interest, I think for the American people, they just look at it as theater. And that is the frustrating thing, the performative politics. People are done, and they are exhausted by it. They just want to see results, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to provide here in the state of Maryland.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor Moore, thank you for your time this morning.
GOV. MOORE: Thank you.
