Christian Olaniran is a digital producer for CBS Baltimore, where he writes stories on diverse topics including politics, arts and culture. With a passion for storytelling and content creation, he produces engaging visual content for social media and other platforms.
Maryland is rolling out measures to protect workers and programs as a federal government shutdown took effect early Wednesday after lawmakers failed to agree on extending government funding.
Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday that he had directed state agencies to "use contingency plans" to keep critical services running. He added that he would address Marylanders again on Wednesday evening to discuss the impact of the shutdown.
During a government shutdown, federal agencies halt nonessential functions.
Each agency decides which employees are essential. Active-duty military personnel, federal law enforcement officers, federally funded hospital staff, air traffic controllers, and Transportation Security Administration officers typically remain on the job.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday that about 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed, though they would receive back pay once the shutdown ends.
Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force notices, or layoffs, for employees in discretionary programs. The budget office said the effects of a shutdown "depend on its duration and on an administration's decisions about how to proceed."
Maryland is home to more than 160,000 federal civilian jobs and about 225,000 jobs supported by federal contracts, according to the governor's office.
Earlier in the week, many federal workers in Maryland told WJZ they were concerned about the shutdown and the threat of layoffs under President Trump.
In Howard County, home to about 20,000 federal employees, County Executive Calvin Ball announced expanded resources to help workers worried about missed paychecks.
Moore said Wednesday that Maryland will work to ensure federal programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and Head Start continue to operate. He also said the state is protecting veterans' access to essential services and shielding federal workers from eviction, foreclosure, and utility shutoffs by coordinating with the private sector.
"The longer this unnecessary federal government shutdown goes on, the harder it is for us to keep services going," Moore said.
The governor said he has reminded the state judiciary and utility companies of their legal obligations to protect government employees without paychecks. He also said Maryland is expanding emergency assistance programs for federal workers.