Apparently a year of preparation is not enough to prepare for potential changes coming with the incoming Trump administration.
Maryland this month awarded a $190,000 contract to Accenture Services to help the state “research the president-elect’s party platform and campaign policy proposals … to understand the potential impact of changes to federal policies, funding, and programs on the Moore administration’s priorities.”
The contract was finalized Nov. 7, two days after the election — and one day before Gov. Wes Moore opened a post-election meeting by assuring Marylanders that his administration had been preparing since February “to begin scenario-planning for possible outcomes of the 2024 presidential election.”
“Our goal has been to secure Maryland’s transition under a new federal administration – in the event of any outcome,” Moore said then. “We have worked tirelessly for months, analyzing how Donald Trump’s plans might impact Maryland. … We have run and pressure-tested countless scenarios based on policy changes that might happen in Washington.”
Those changes could be significant for the state.
Moore pledges to work with Trump administration, vows to push back when necessary
Maryland’s economy is reliant on the federal goverment, with more than 162,000 federal workers living in the state last month, according to the latest numbers from the Maryland Department of Labor. The state is home to several massive federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Food and Drug Administration, among others, which act as a magnet for private companies that do business with those agencies.
But Trump has promised to slash federal spending and the federal workforce, and has talked about shuttering entire agencies, like the Department of Education. With Republicans gaining control of both the House and the Senate in the election, those campaign promises are that much closer to reality.
Trump has also promised a “mass deportation” of undocumented immigrants, a move that analysts worry could upend the state’s workforce. An estimated 225,000 undocumented immigrants live in Maryland, according to the most recent estimates by Migration Policy Institute.
Moore said after the election that his administration was prepared to work with the incoming Trump administration, but that it would “vigorously defend the interests of all Marylanders, and we are ready to push back on this new White House when necessary.”
A spokesperson for the governor said Tuesday that it was “imperative” to bring in an outside consultant to help the state prepare for the transition “at a time of greater potential risk in regards to Maryland’s reliance on the federal government … to prepare for any challenges we may face.”
“State employees have and will continue to lead this work, but Accenture will bring additional knowledge to inform the professionals of state government and capacity to extend their reach and bandwidth during this critical time,” Carter Elliott, the spokesperson, said in an email.
The two-month, $190,000 contract, first reported Tuesday by the Baltimore Sun, calls on Accenture to report on “the potential impact of changes to federal policies, funding, and programs on the Moore administration’s priorities.” It also calls on the consultants to build on the work already done by Maryland officials preparing for the transition and to identify areas to “focus State resources and efforts and consider potential avenues for legal challenges.”
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House Republicans blasted the consultant contract in a statement late Tuesday, with House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) calling it a partisan move that “is not in the best interests of any Marylander, particularly under the unified control of our federal government by Republicans.”
Buckel and House Minority Whip Jesse T. Pippy (R-Frederick) noted that the contract was awarded at a time when the state faces a potential deficit of $2.7 billion in fiscal 2026.
“Rather than hiring expensive taxpayer-funded consultants to blame Republicans on a national stage, Gov. Moore should instead focus on our state’s financial woes,” Buckel said in the statement.
Administration officials insisted that the contract is not aimed at Trump, but at protecting Marylanders at a time when changes on the federal level threaten to upend the state’s economy.
“With billions of dollars in potential liabilities for the state, it would be reckless of the Moore-Miller Administration to not be prepared for any challenges it may face due to new policy direction taken from the federal government,” Elliott’s email said.
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.