Maryland's Andy Harris is giving Trump something he didn't have in his first term

BALTIMORE -- President-elect Donald Trump will come into power next month with something he didn’t have in his first term: a friendly House Freedom Caucus.

He has Maryland Congressman Andy Harris to thank for that — at least partially.

Typically viewed as an ultraconservative flank of the GOP, the Freedom Caucus has often been a headache to leaders of its Republican Party. They tangled with Trump during his first term, which the president said would “hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team.” Trump vowed to fight Freedom Caucus members and Democrats in the 2018 midterms.

But his second presidency is starting with stronger support from the caucus and its top leader.

“We’re going to follow the lead of President Trump,” Harris recently told The Baltimore Sun. “His coattails brought us the House majority, and his coattails brought us a larger Senate majority than we would have otherwise had. So I think Congress is, to a large extent, going to take the lead of the president.”

It’s also a big political moment for Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation. With the GOP holding a trifecta in Washington in 2025 — capturing the White House, Senate and House in the most recent election — Harris will be one of the most powerful Republican representatives from a blue state that Trump lost. He’s leading the Freedom Caucus and holds a spot on key committees, having an outsized role in determining how the government spends taxpayer money.

Harris said voters can expect a more unified Republican Party in Trump’s second term and one that will deliver on the president-elect’s campaign promises. That includes tax cuts, controlling the border, safer communities, and lower inflation and energy costs, Harris said.

The congressman said Trump will also end all offshore wind development on his first day in office, a plan that may be of high interest to residents on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Republicans may also roll back some of President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

“We certainly should look at the so-called Inflation Reduction Act because it’s a giveaway to large companies with their tax credits — large companies on Wall Street, to be honest with you. With billions of dollars in tax credits, I think we have to revisit that,” Harris said. “I think we have to revisit some of the spending in the infrastructure bills that goes to climate initiatives that basically we can’t afford with $36 trillion-dollar debt and a $2 trillion-dollar deficit.”

But Harris doesn’t think Republicans on Capitol Hill just owe Trump for their congressional majorities. He thinks voters should get their due for the mandate they gave Trump on Election Day.

Harris sees that mandate as one to restore the confidence of working men and women in the country “that their government is working for them” — not for big corporations, government entities or “the deep state.”

“I think President Trump promised to deliver on that,” Harris said. “I think we’re going to deliver a lot of things that he promised and, again, I think the American public is going to be appreciative of that.”

There’s also a chance for consensus among Harris and Maryland Democrats, especially when it comes to Congress fully funding the Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement. “That’s something we see eye to eye on,” Harris said.

Agreement on fully funding the bridge replacement is a lighter lift than where the two parties stand on immigration.

“There won’t be a bipartisan bill because the Democrats want an open border,” Harris said. “That’s the bottom line.”

But the real bottom line may be that, whether they like it or not, there’s not much that Democrats can do to stop the Republican agenda.

“We are really limited when it comes to checks and balances with a Republican trifecta,” said U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Baltimore County Democrat who is retiring at the end of the year.

“The good news is that the Republicans will only have a slim majority in the House and there will hopefully be a few pragmatic lawmakers who are willing to work with Democrats to get work done on behalf of all of our constituents,” he added. “These elections were not landslides by historical measures — Democrats won four Senate races in key battleground states — and this so-called mandate for radical reform just doesn’t exist. The American people want us to work together.”

Maryland Democrats have several areas of concern: infrastructure spending, slashing the federal workforce, slashing federal programs “and totally eliminating the Chesapeake Bay Program, which President Trump attempted to do during his previous administration,” Ruppersberger said.

“Another major concern I have is the intelligence community — President-elect Trump has shown a pattern of dismissing the importance of good intelligence, which is the best defense against terrorism,” he said. “His cabinet appointments in this area are extremely alarming if not downright dangerous and I am worried about funding for the National Security Agency and other IC agencies.”

Former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Maryland’s longest-serving congressman, sounds a bit more optimistic about what Democrats can do as the minority party in Washington.

“While the election did not turn out the way I had hoped, and I’m sure there will be much soul-searching within the party, Democrats cannot forget our crucial accountability and oversight role these next few years,” he said. “We will cast a light on unpopular Republican policies and their damaging effects on the American people.”

That includes some of the tariffs Trump is already threatening to impose.

“Republicans talk a big game about delivering for the working class,” Hoyer said. “We need to, and will, remind the country how their agenda hurts our workers and families — from tariffs that raise consumer costs to new tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.”

Hoyer does see some room for compromise with the GOP.

If the Republican majority is willing to cooperate on “sensible” legislation that advances the mission of lowering costs, creating jobs and safer communities, and boosting the economy, “we are willing to work across the aisle — just as we did with a handful of Republicans on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science and Act, the Honoring Our PACT Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and other key legislation in the 117th Congress,” Hoyer said.

But, ultimately, Democrats won’t be calling the shots next year on Capitol Hill, according to Casey Burgat, a professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.

“If Republicans stay united, there’s very little Democrats can do,” he said.

And if the House Freedom Caucus is more of a band of support than a thorn in the side of leadership, the Republican trifecta could be more powerful.

The Freedom Caucus has always tried to push presidents and House speakers further to the right. Now, they’re getting their way.

“They see Trump more in line with what they want,” Burgat said. “By supporting Trump and getting Trump’s support, they may feel like they have a direct ear to the White House.”