ANNAPOLIS– The week of Jan. 20 has been almost a sacred one for Maryland lawmakers, as they reflect on the messages of two different icons – President Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday marked both Inauguration Day and MLK Day, conjuring a range of emotions in Maryland’s State House. For Republicans, it kicked off a week of exultation, and for Democrats, a call to vigilance.
“It’s an exciting time for supporters because they believe he will bring positive changes and shake things up in Washington,” Senate Republican Leader Stephen Hershey Jr. told Capital News Service.
For Democratic leaders, there are “mixed feelings,” as they weigh the legacy of King against the values of Trump.
“We’re going to protect the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” House Speaker Adrienne Jones told a crowd in the bitter cold, honoring King at his Memorial Tree near the State House on Monday. “Because Dr. King’s legacy is our legacy.”
This week’s events set the tone for a consequential legislative session in Maryland. Trump is a major player in almost every state conversation, especially those regarding the budget. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are acutely aware of the federal presence in their funding dynamic.
What Democrats fear, many Republicans welcome, including potential cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, stricter immigration enforcement and a reevaluation of policies both foreign and domestic.
“It’s a time to feel proud of the country and hopeful about the future,” said Hershey, who represents Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties.
Johnny Ray Salling, a state senator from Baltimore County, said he found Trump’s inauguration personally reassuring in its redirection of core policy initiatives.
“It means a lot to me,” Salling told CNS, “because I can see the change is for the better for our country.”
Salling, who has met with Trump personally on several occasions, said he believes the new administration can be good for Maryland.
“He’s not your enemy,” Salling said of Trump. “He just wants to make things better. I believe, open that door, and it never hurts, just having the conversation … Things can go better for your state.”
Salling also said that, while MLK Day is important and was celebrated as such on the Senate floor, there is no added significance to the holiday falling on the same day as Trump’s inauguration.
“It just happened that way,” Salling said. “There’s no meaning that it was (on the same day). However, if somebody likes to (say that), I think they’re just putting it out there to get some attention.”
But for Maryland Democrats, the subject is personal.
On Monday night, at the memorial tree, with dozens of lawmakers and supporters somberly gathered, Jones called on fellow lawmakers to be a guiding light through the challenges they anticipate.
“For the past 54 years, the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland has served as the conscience of the General Assembly,” said Jones, a Baltimore County resident and her chamber’s first African-American speaker. “We’ve never been afraid to tell the truth.”
Standing by the same tree that night, Moore also reflected on the day’s events. Trump’s words at his inauguration were “troubling,” Moore said, but appropriate against the backdrop of the federal holiday.
“To have that in the context of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is actually powerful,” Moore said, “because it does remind us that Dr. King never led in easy times.”
Moore said that this moment, with the inauguration and MLK Day coinciding, represents a chance to reflect on progress and the way forward in the wake of Trump’s return to the presidency.
“This becomes a moment when we speak up,” Moore said. “And this becomes the moment when, in the words of Dr. King, we can rise to the mountaintop and see the path that he helped to forge for us.”
Wherever that path may lead, both sides say they plan to work in the best interests of Maryland.
As the inaugural week drew to a close, both sides prepared to begin that effort in earnest.