Before President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan to prevent a government shutdown, D.C. and Maryland were included in the stopgap spending measure lawmakers unveiled Tuesday.
As part of the deal, D.C. would have gotten to control the land from the federal government around the old RFK Stadium site, setting up a plan to try and bring the Washington Commanders back to the District
As a trade off, Maryland would get F-16s for its National Guard unit from D.C. But the state seems to still be hoping for the Landover site to remain the home of the Commanders.
Maryland was also slated federal money to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP anchors Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer on Wednesday to talk about the deal that now seems to be in jeopardy.
Listen to their conversation below or check back for the transcript of the interview:
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Anne Kramer: Let’s start with this District deal. So if Congress approves the short term spending plan, D.C. gets from the federal government the land around the old RFK Stadium site, with the hopes the Commanders return to the District to play their games. You have been a big proponent of keeping the Commanders in Prince George’s County. So was the trade off to get the F-16s good enough when the state could lose all the money from not having the Commanders there in Landover?
Wes Moore: When you look at the continued resolution, this is a huge win for the state of Maryland. In addition to the full financing for the Key Bridge and also getting the fighter missions, it also ensures that no matter what decision the Washington Commanders make about where they’re going to play football, that the area is not going to be left behind. It’s actually going to be even better because if you look at the area right now, we’re talking about a 200-acre parcel of land that is used eight times of the year for two hours during the day.
We know that the vision that we have for that area is something where you can have a live, work and play environment that is mixed-use, that the entire community can benefit from. And while we believe that the best site for the Commanders is still Maryland, even though this option does open up RFK as a potential option for the Commanders, we also know that no matter what decision the Washington Commanders make, that Maryland is going to be in a better place.
And so this is a huge win for the state, and one we worked very hard for, and we’re very proud of.
Shawn Anderson: Talk about the F-16s that your National Guard units will get. What does that mean for the state?
Wes Moore: Well, it’s a very big deal, and the reason that we advocated vigorously to maintain Maryland’s flying mission is both because this served the interest of national security, but also it preserves Maryland’s jobs. It protects the livelihood of hundreds of Maryland families.
We know that in having this as part of our fleet, as part of our Army National Guard and part of our Air Guard, it’s a big deal because we have some of the best trained soldiers and Airmen in the country here in the state of Maryland. And adding this F-16 fleet to us is not just advantageous to the state of Maryland, but we also think advantageous to national security.
Anne Kramer: Governor, the Key Bridge replacement funding is also in the short-term spending plan, as you mentioned. How confident are you that if it is passed now by Congress, that the money will still come when Donald Trump takes office?
Wes Moore: Well, we’re very confident with passage of the (continuing resolution), what it essentially means is that the full financing for the Key Bridge is now locked in. And it’s important to remember that when we’re talking about the full financing, the Key Bridge and the rebuild of the Key Bridge is unique, because it wasn’t a hurricane nor tornado that caused that tear down. It was negligence, and it’s something that we’re in court to deal with right now through our Attorney General.
And so we know that the multinational is going to be held accountable and responsible for it. We know that the insurance payment that came from the collapse of the Key Bridge has already been put in terms of the financing for the bridge, and also that the American people will be made whole upon the completion of litigation.
The reason for the 100% financing is we cannot wait for that to be completed, and so this gives us the ability to have both speed and certainty to get the Key Bridge rebuilt. And so while this deadly tragedy occurred during our time, we also know that with the passage of the CR that the rebuild of the Key Bridge will also happen under our watch.
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