WBAL: Maryland becomes 13th state to join State Freedom Caucus Network
Maryland will become the 13th state to join the State Freedom Caucus Network.
The network is an extension of the right-leaning House Freedom Caucus in Washington. Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly intend to use the caucus as a way to tackle fiscal issues, something they feel the Assembly needs fixed.
U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-District 1, who leads the House Freedom Caucus, joined legislators Tuesday for the announcement.
“The bottom line is the way to secure your freedom is you limit the size and scope of government interfering in decisions by businesses and individuals who can help to grow the economy,” Harris said.
“The folks behind me and others are here for the right reason. There’s a lot of ego in politics, there’s a lot of ‘me, me, me, me.’ But these are difficult times — the numbers are real, the challenges are real … in difficult times, people are challenged, and that means leaders emerge, and the people behind me are leaders,” said former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, a Republican.
St. Mary’s County Delegate Matt Morgan, R-District 29A, will lead the Maryland Freedom Caucus, which will soon seek official status within the General Assembly.
The lawmakers attacked Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, for blaming former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, for the state’s budget shortfall.
WBAL-TV 11 News asked Moore about the claims at a separate event on Tuesday.
“I don’t point fingers, I point direction. The direction we’re going is growth, and if people want to spend their time saying which party is responsible for this, which party is responsible for that, I think those are the political games that, frankly, exhaust us as Marylanders because what Marylanders are looking for is a future-facing direction about how do we get out of this fiscal crisis,” Moore said.
Last week, Moore launched a new government efficiency initiative by hiring a consulting group to save $50 million in taxpayer dollars.