**Interview with Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Food Aid, Government Shutdown, and Redistricting**
*Air Date: November 9, 2025*
*Program: Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan*
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**Margaret Brennan:** We’re joined now by the Democratic governor of Maryland, Wes Moore. Good to have you here in person.
**Governor Wes Moore:** Great to be with you. Thank you.
**Margaret Brennan:** Governor, one in eight Americans use food stamps. In Maryland, about 700,000 people rely on this aid for food. Since the Supreme Court put that stay in place on Friday, do you know whether that money will actually be available to residents in your state to buy food?
**Gov. Moore:** We don’t know, and that’s why we’re not waiting. Just in the past few days, I have authorized over $10 million going towards heating assistance for people in Maryland. Over $10 million has also gone to our Maryland food banks. We have made public transportation free for all of our federal workers, many of whom are going to work without pay. Additionally, I have authorized $62 million to go towards SNAP to ensure that SNAP benefits are not interrupted for Marylanders for as long as possible.
We are still waiting for the President of the United States to do his job. We are watching an administration literally breaking the law so people can starve—but we are not going to tolerate that in our state.
**Margaret Brennan:** You just heard Director Hassett say they’re trying to follow the law, which is why they went to the courts. The USDA said they were aiming to implement full payments, and then the Supreme Court put that stay in place. Do you have clarity on when money might be coming through or what the federal government is telling you?
**Gov. Moore:** There is no clarity at all. In the past six days, we’ve received four different sets of guidance from the USDA and from the Trump administration on how to handle this. Initially, they said states should help and support, even though this program was built as a partnership between the federal government and the states. The federal government was supposed to underwrite these costs.
Then, once we decided to step up and front the money to support our people, we’ve now received guidance threatening that states will be punished for doing so. There is chaos — and it is intentional chaos from this administration. They have funds for everything—wars, ballrooms—yet when it comes to supporting the American people, suddenly they’re crying broke. That is not what the law requires.
**Margaret Brennan:** The White House says the sponsorships for the ballrooms are separate from government money. On the issue of the shutdown itself, on Friday, Democratic Leader Schumer offered to end it if Republicans agreed to a one-year extension of the Obamacare health care subsidies. Republicans called that a nonstarter, making this a big issue for the midterms.
Would you tell Democrats on Capitol Hill to dig in? To suggest that the pain people are experiencing in your state is somehow worth it for an extension of a tax credit?
**Gov. Moore:** There is no pain that is worth it. Our people are hurting, and they are hurting because of these games being played in Washington, DC.
**Margaret Brennan:** But would you tell Democrats just to take the vote, open the government, and then keep negotiating health care?
**Gov. Moore:** I want the government reopened now. No state is dealing with more impact from this than Maryland. We have over 260,000 federal workers here. Even before the shutdown, Donald Trump had fired over 15,000 Maryland federal workers—more than any other state.
But reopening the government shouldn’t come with prerequisites that increase premiums by 90% or kick people off health care. That demand is barbaric, especially when the Trump administration controls the White House, House, and Senate. They could resolve this with a simple phone call but are allowing this pain to persist.
**Margaret Brennan:** Democrats also have a promise from the Republican leader in the Senate to discuss health care if they reopen the government. Why isn’t that sufficient? Would you tell your party members to relieve the pain in the immediate term in your state?
**Gov. Moore:** We must ensure reopening the government does not mean kicking people off health care. Right now, in Western Maryland and Appalachia—where I serve as co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission—we hear from folks seeing their premiums rise. No one in Maryland would agree to reopening the government if it means losing their health care.
**Margaret Brennan:** Health care prices are going up in the private market as well. Shifting topics to Maryland politics: This past Tuesday in California, 64% of voters supported Proposition 50 on redistricting, potentially allowing Governor Gavin Newsom to gain five more Democratic congressional seats—an example of gerrymandering.
You’re also looking at midterm redistricting in Maryland. Out of eight districts, only one is Republican. Do you think Maryland’s maps are unfair now?
**Gov. Moore:** I ordered the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission to ensure a bipartisan group reviews Maryland’s maps. This process happens every decade. If other states conduct mid-decade reviews on fairness, Maryland should too.
I don’t see why we should play by different rules than Texas, Florida, Ohio, or others.
**Margaret Brennan:** Because you say those states have unfair maps, why adopt unfair policies here?
**Gov. Moore:** This is about ensuring fair and representative maps through a transparent process. I put together this commission not to draw the maps myself, but to allow a bipartisan group to listen to the people and carry out their work.
We won’t just sit on our hands because Donald Trump tells us to. That’s not how this process will work.
**Margaret Brennan:** Your State Senate President, Democrat Bill Ferguson, says this could backfire. He wrote that mid-cycle redistricting twists rules for short-term advantage, undermining trust in institutions and democracy. He calls it too risky and could jeopardize Maryland’s ability to fight against the Trump administration.
How do you make sure it doesn’t backfire? Would you accept a map that creates more Republican districts? You’re not going to do that.
**Gov. Moore:** Fighting for democracy is never risky—that’s our job as leaders. The Senate President and I agree on the crisis Donald Trump has put us in and on the abuse of the Constitution. Where we differ is on the urgency and the fight this moment requires.
Personally, I am not going to let Donald Trump decide whether Maryland preserves democracy.
**Margaret Brennan:** Governor Moore, thank you for your time this morning.
**Gov. Moore:** Thank you so much.
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Stay tuned for more *Face the Nation*.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wes-moore-maryland-governor-face-the-nation-transcript-11-09-2025/