“There really is no room for jubilation after so many months of dismantling,” said Andrew Kreider, a longtime Environmental Protection Agency communications and government affairs officer who is on administrative leave.

Many Democratic lawmakers, too, were ambivalent about a bipartisan, Senate-passed measure to fund the government through Jan. 30. Democrats in Maryland and elsewhere were strategizing how to push for expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits without the leverage a shutdown provides.

But Republicans cheered the anticipated end of the record-long shutdown, which began Oct. 1.

“We’re opening up our country. Should have never been closed,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday in Veterans’ Day remarks.

The Senate legislation, which must still be passed by the House, reverses the mass firing of employees during the shutdown and prevents more firings through Jan. 30, 2026, while promising to hold a vote on expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits in December.

But there is no assurance the health care subsidies — which Democrats consider critical to keeping premiums affordable — will be voted on by the House.

That uncertainty left Democrats, and some federal workers, with mixed feelings about the shutdown’s possible end.

“Speaking on behalf of myself, I am relieved that I will be returning to work,” Environmental Protection Agency employee Justin Chen said in an interview.

“However, there is a lot of uncertainty with this compromise,” said Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238.

“It doesn’t fund EPA  past Jan. 30,” said Chen, whose council represents about 8,000 EPA employees nationwide. Nor does it contain a renewal of the health care subsidies.

“We cannot build a healthy nation while denying Americans the right to access affordable health care,” Chen said earlier in a prepared statement.

The tax credits, introduced during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and subsequently extended, increased the amount of aid that eligible recipients were already receiving.

“Look, COVID is over,” Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who represents Harford County and the Eastern Shore, told The Sun in an interview. “We have to return to pre-COVID policies.”

Harris supports the Senate plan. But Democrats are trying to determine what comes next.

First, they will need to move on from the frustration of a failed shutdown and that might take a beat.

“There’s half the world, I think, that’s just like, ‘What the f — did we do with all that? Why did we go through all that?’” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist. “‘Why did people go through so much pain, just to make a point that Republicans are bullheaded and stubborn?’”

Another half feels like there was some success. Senate Democrats were able to guarantee a vote on the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits in that chamber. Such a vote forces Republicans to answer to their constituents on why they supported or opposed it — in theory.

“That’s all hogwash,” Ceraso said. “We should’ve f — ing saw this through.”

Even before a deal was in place, the shutdown had deteriorated for Democrats behind closed doors. One Democratic Senate staffer described the mood to The Sun last week. The staffer said everyone knew the party would cave and reopen the government, with no policy victories to show for it. Democrats had screwed it up, yet again, they added.

The House will have to pass the bill on Wednesday, and then the president has to sign it to officially reopen the government. The postmortem has begun, as the party looks for another way to address health care policies. But some aren’t sure what that looks like.

“I don’t know,” Ceraso said when asked about the party’s next step. “How much of it is symbolic? … How much of this is people trying to prove that they have backbone against Trump? How much of this is ego?”

“There’s not, like, a universality to all this,” Ceraso added.

One path being discussed is a procedural move to force a vote without the approval of the Speaker of the House, Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson. Democratic lawmakers would start a legislative petition, known as a discharge petition, on extending the Obamacare tax credits. If the petition reached 218 signatures, the House would vote on it.

“I’m certainly hearing grumblings,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski, a Baltimore County Democrat, said about a potential discharge petition. “It’s reflective of the fact that it’s not just Democrats who want to see action taken on extending the subsidies — at least in the short term — so that we can have a longer term conversation about how we keep health care affordable and available for Americans.”

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com and Ben Mause at bmause@baltsun.com.

Maryland Reps. Johnny Olszewski Jr., Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney and others expressed deep reservations about the plan, which has split Democrats nationally because it contains no firm commitment to continue subsidies to help people pay Affordable Care Act premiums. They joined Democratic Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, who earlier released statements opposing the plan.

The plan presents difficult choices for Maryland lawmakers, such as Democratic Rep. April McClain Delaney, whose Western Maryland district is more closely split among Democratic and Republican voters than any in the state.

“No one wants to open the government as much as I do. I have 35,000 government workers in the Sixth District,” McClain Delaney told The Sun.

But she said: “I think for me I’m a ‘no’ because I need to make sure there is going to be some negotiation and our most needy are not going to have either a doubling or a tripling of their premiums.”

Rep. Andy Harris, the state delegation’s only Republican, criticized his fellow Marylanders for not standing with eight Democratic senators from other states who have bucked their party by backing the GOP plan to reopen the government.

House members were returning to Washington in anticipation of a possible vote this week on the Senate plan.

“I’m glad that eight Democratic senators came to the rational decision that we have to end this shutdown and continue to negotiate on other things,” Harris, who represents Harford County and the Eastern Shore, told The Baltimore Sun. “I’m just disappointed that my two senators didn’t join.”

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Congress failed to approve measures – one proposed by Republicans, the other by Democrats – to keep the government funded.

Democrats in Maryland and elsewhere say many people will be unable to afford Affordable Care Act premiums without the expiring subsidies.

“After 40 days, we know that this is a proposed end to the shutdown that does absolutely nothing for Americans who are being crushed by the cost of health care,” Olszewski told reporters at his district office in Towson.

He added, “I am pleased to see we actually are seeing senators start to talk to each other.”

An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation concluded that premium Affordable Care Act payments would significantly rise on average next year if the enhanced tax credits lapse.

Van Hollen, the state’s senior senator, said  the plan fails “to address the impending explosion in working Americans’ health insurance costs.”

The plan would ensure states would be reimbursed for food aid expenditures under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. It would guarantee that furloughed federal workers would receive back pay that has been placed in doubt by the Trump administration.

Van Hollen and Olszewski, among others, had also wanted a provision blocking President Donald Trump from continuing to freeze or claw back federal funds previously approved by Congress.

Alsobrooks, who was first elected last year, said the plan reaffirms Republicans’ “indifference to the health care crisis and growing unaffordability of our country.”

The credits, introduced during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and subsequently extended, increased the amount of aid that eligible recipients were already receiving.

Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has not committed yet to holding a House vote on the subsidies even if the Senate acts.

Elfreth said it was insufficient to have been promised  “a handshake agreement for a future vote on health care in the Senate, but not in the House.”

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

‘The Prodigal Hon’

Of all the names Rep. Nancy Pelosi has been called –many of them unprintable here – my favorite is “The Prodigal Hon.”

An observer coined the phrase at an event honoring Pelosi. It was 2007 and Pelosi, the native Baltimorean who announced last week that she won’t seek reelection, was being honored in the city’s Little Italy on the day after becoming the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

“Every step that I took to the speakership began in this neighborhood,” Pelosi said then, from a stage set up in front of her childhood home on Albemarle Street.

Pelosi, the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors, has a sort of Baltimore grit. An edge. Her admirers celebrate it. Not so much President Donald Trump, who last week called her an “evil woman” and said he is glad she is retiring.

In 2020, Pelosi tore up a printed version of Trump’s State of the Union address.

A few years ago, a video was released showing her on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of  Trump.

Pelosi is heard saying in the video that she hopes Trump arrives so she can “punch him out.”

Popular posts on social media quickly followed, some saying her feistiness was evidence of “The Baltimore” coming out in her.

“Baltimore is a better predictor of her behavior than San Francisco,” which she represented in Congress, Thomas Mann, of the Brookings Institution, once said.

“Sports Czar’

I can’t remember a president with as much interest in – and opinions about – sports as Trump.  He could almost be called the “sports czar.”

Since beginning his second term, Trump has been outspoken about everything from new NFL kickoff rules (he says they cause “sissy football”) to whether the Washington Commanders should revert to their former team name (he says yes). Trump has been supportive of a push by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz to restructure college sports.

The president, though, hasn’t attended many World Series games.

Trump attended one game of the 2019 World Series (Washington vs. Houston) and another in the 2021 series (Atlanta vs. Houston). That puts him ahead of his predecessor, Joe Biden, but behind other presidents such as Bill Clinton and both Bushes. Granted, presidents are busy, the chief executive’s visits carry huge security requirements, and Trump’s second term will present more opportunities.

But consider the locations of this past year’s World Series, neither of them remotely Trump-friendly.

There was Los Angeles, in a state governed by Democrat Gavin Newsom, whom the president openly derides (and vice versa).

And then there was Toronto.

We can’t even imagine the sort of reception Trump would have received in Canada, where his tariffs and (joking?) references to our northern neighbor as America’s “51st state” make him hugely unpopular.

For the record, the White House didn’t address a question about the World Series games he’s skipped.

‘No Kings’

We know that “No Kings” has become a catch-all phrase for anti-Trump protests by people worrying the nation is veering into authoritarianism.

But does anyone own the phrase? Is it patented?

There sure are lots of “No Kings” protest signs and T-shirts for sale, some with images of crowns or American flags, or of Trump himself.

A review of online U.S. Patent and Trademark records shows several “No Kings” claims or applications in various stages of review. The applications variously seek use of the phrase for different sorts of merchandise, everything from merchandise to games.

Think there will be any lawsuits over the use of “No Kings” to sell goods? Litigation seems as American as the protests themselves.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com.

The request comes on the heels of The Baltimore Sun breaking the story about Bisignano’s possible conflict of interest with the debit card contract.

The letter request, which The Sun received an advance copy of and was sent by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, also asks for information about Bisignano’s activities at Fiserv Inc., the Wisconsin firm whose stock prices tanked earlier this year after it withdrew certain economic projections it could not meet.

The Democrats expressed concerns “about his ability to serve” as Social Security commissioner and chief executive officer of the Internal Revenue Service, a post he was appointed to fill on Oct. 6 while also continuing at SSA.

“Because of Mr. Bisignano’s mismanagement, many Fiserv investors, including retirees and members of the public, lost money — a fate Mr. Bisignano avoided,” the letter said. “Bisignano’s required divestment of company stock helped him avoid about $300 million in losses caused by the stock’s price decline by over 50%.”

In July,  a group of investors sued Fiserv, Bisignano and others, saying, according to the complaint, that the defendants “misled investors by artificially inflating its growth numbers.”

The letter to Fiserv CEO Mike Lyons poses a series of questions and requests responses by Nov. 20.

Fiserv and Bisignano — through SSA — did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Bisignano was confirmed as commissioner of the Social Security Administration in May. SSA is based in Woodlawn, Baltimore County.

“At a minimum, Mr. Bisignano appears to have failed to manage Fiserv effectively, and may have misled investors and the public about the company’s financial status, raising concerns about his ability to serve as a key Social Security and IRS official in the Trump Administration,” the letter said.

Warren is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Wyden holds the same position on the Senate Finance Committee.

Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, the Finance Committee chairman, did not return a request for comment.

The Sun first reported that Senate Democrats were investigating whether Bisignano knew during his confirmation procedures that Fiserv had bid — or was planning to — on a pending 5-year Direct Express contract, which distributes government benefits to about 3.4 million Americans via prepaid cards.

An agency spokesperson wrote in response that  “throughout the process and following his confirmation by the Senate, Commissioner Bisignano fully complied with all obligations required under his federal government ethics agreement as a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee.”

Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume called Monday for a “full and honest” congressional review of the circumstances surrounding Bisignano’s former company winning the contract. The Baltimore lawmaker’s request came as more  Democrats — including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and former agency Commissioner Martin O’Malley — raised questions about the contract. O’Malley is a former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor.

The contract was awarded to  Fifth Third, an Ohio-based bank, and began on Sept. 9, according to the company’s news release that day naming Money Network Financial, LLC as the program’s manager. Money Network Financial is a subsidiary of Fiserv, the company  Bisignano headed as chairman and CEO until stepping down on May 6 to take over the federal agency.

Bisignano, whose former company is one  of the world’s largest payment and financial technology firms, told the Senate panel in a March 25 question-and-answer document: “I have committed to divest all Fiserv holdings if confirmed.”

There was no mention of the contract in the 54-page document. “During his confirmation process, Mr. Bisignano did not disclose any active contract negotiations between Fiserv or its subsidiaries with the federal government,” the letter said.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com.

Democrats proposed removing some Republican areas of Harris’ 1st District, which includes Harford County and the Eastern Shore, and extending it across the Bay Bridge and into Democrat-friendly areas of Anne Arundel County.

The effort flopped. Judge Lynne A. Battaglia sided with Republican challengers in 2022 who argued the map was drawn with “partisanship as a predominant interest,” and ordered legislators to quickly craft a new one.

Five years later, as state Democrats again ponder redrawing congressional boundary lines, Battaglia’s ruling looms as a cautionary tale.

The message seems to be that judges, not legislators, are often the final arbiters of redistricting.

A reconfigured map created by State House lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is likely to end up in court, just like in 2022, according to Montgomery County attorney and longtime gerrymandering opponent Stephen M. Shapiro.

“I think there are two possibilities,” Shapiro told The Baltimore Sun. “One is that another judge would allow the legislature to essentially do what it wants. The other possibility is that a  judge might come to the same decision Judge Battaglia did.”

Shapiro, who calls himself a moderate Democrat, led a previous challenge to Maryland redistricting efforts that ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2019  that federal courts were not the proper forum to address partisan gerrymandering.

Battaglia, a retired state appeals court judge assigned to the Anne Arundel Circuit Court case, found in 2022 that the map violated the state constitution’s equal protection and free speech clauses, as well as a clause protecting the right to participate in elections.

State House Democrats then pitched a new map that, while not enthusiastically embraced by either party, was acceptable to both and was signed into law by then-Gov. Larry Hogan without either side appealing Battaglia’s decision.

The current redistricting effort comes as national Republicans, led by President Donald  Trump’s administration, are pressuring red states like Texas and Indiana to launch unusual, mid-decade redistricting to create more GOP-leaning districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. Redistricting normally only occurs following the census — conducted every 10 years — to ensure that congressional, state and local districts maintain relatively equal populations.

National Democrats have followed suit, saying they cannot cede the GOP  a significant redistricting advantage as the parties compete for control of the House. Republicans currently hold a slim majority.

Moore on Tuesday announced he will convene the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission to provide recommendations about the district boundaries of the state’s eight U.S  House seats.

In a written statement, the Republican Harris, now in his eighth term,  called the commission “rigged” to favor Democrats, and said Republicans were being denied fair representation.

“In a state that elected Republicans in two out of the last four gubernatorial elections, I look forward to ‘fair’ maps that would increase our Republican representation in Congress to two or maybe even three,” he said.

State Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has resisted new redistricting, saying it could “backfire in our courts” and hurt Democrats.

But Moore recently posted on X: “I’ve been clear from Day One. If other states are determining whether or not they will have fair maps, so will Maryland.” His decision has been applauded by national Democratic leaders.

The commission is to be made up of five members, three of whom are appointed by Moore: Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who will serve as chair, former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, another Democrat, and Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss, who is listed as non-partisan. Ferguson and Democratic House Speaker Adrienne Jones or their designees will also serve on the panel. Jones announced she will appoint Del. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat, as her designee to the commission.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

“In an effort to satisfy national Democrats, the governor has tasked his allies with reopening Maryland’s congressional map in the middle of the decade,” Hogan said in a statement in response to The Baltimore Sun’s redistricting questions.

Hogan, who served two terms before Moore took office in 2023, said Moore “should not disenfranchise Marylanders to serve his national ambitions.”

Asked for comment on Hogan’s remarks, a Moore spokesperson referenced a reply the governor gave to radio station WTOP: “I have not paid attention to Republican Larry Hogan’s tweets — we’ve been busy over here.”

Moore on Tuesday said he will convene the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission to provide recommendations about district boundaries of the state’s eight U.S  House seats.  The governor said the goal is to ensure “the people are heard” and that “Maryland has fair and representative maps.”

Redistricting normally follows the census only every 10 years to ensure that congressional, state and local districts maintain relatively equal populations. But redistricting is about much more than that. Analysts said parties controlling statehouses around the country, such as Democrats in Maryland and Republicans in North Carolina, use redistricting as a political scalpel, carving up maps to assign their party’s voters to districts where they can best influence elections.

Redistricting often leads to gerrymandering, in which large numbers of the opposite party’s voters, or members of a racial or ethnic group, are often packed into a limited number of districts, leaving that party or group with too few voters to compete elsewhere.

This year, national Republicans led by President Donald  Trump’s administration are pressuring red states like Texas and Indiana to launch mid-decade redistricting to create more GOP-leaning districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Democrats have followed suit, saying they cannot allow the GOP such a significant redistricting advantage as the parties compete for control of the House. Republicans currently hold a slim majority.

California voters on Tuesday approved new U.S. House district boundaries that could net Democrats five additional seats, the same amount Texas Republicans hope to gain from a similar move in their state.

Many government watchdog groups are opposed to the current flurry of redistricting if it leads to partisan gerrymandering. Analysts said Moore is pressured to launch Maryland redistricting because his national party considers it critical to counter the GOP.

“On one hand, you can’t really blame Democrats for trying to respond,” said Flavio Hickel, an associate political science professor at Washington College in Chestertown. “Taking the moral high ground at this point is not going to do you any favors, either with your base or politically.”

But a Maryland redistricting effort poses risk, according to state Senate President Bill Ferguson.

Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said last week that revisiting congressional boundaries could expose Maryland’s current map to new legal challenges and possibly lead to court-ordered revisions less favorable to Democrats.

He pointed to Szeliga v. Lamone, a 2022 redistricting case in which a judge struck down an earlier map favorable to Democrats as “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” The legislature later approved a revised version, which went unchallenged and remains in effect.

Maryland redistricting “could unintentionally give Donald Trump another one or two of Maryland’s congressional seats should this effort backfire in our courts,”  Ferguson’s statement said.

Maryland currently has seven U.S. House Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, whose district includes Harford County and the Eastern Shore.

Harris said in a statement Wednesday that the state’s redistricting commission is partisan and “was obviously rigged from the start.”

The commission is to be composed of five members, three of whom are appointed by Moore: Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who will serve as chair; former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, another Democrat; and Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss, who is listed as nonpartisan. Ferguson and Democratic House Speaker Adrienne Jones or their designees will also serve on the panel. Jones announced she will appoint Del. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat, as her designee to the commission.

“My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” Moore said in a news release.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com.

Mfume’s request came as more congressional Democrats—and former agency Commissioner Martin O’Malley—raised questions about what Commissioner Frank Bisignano knew and whether he should have disclosed that the company stood to benefit from the contract.

Democrat Chris Van Hollen, Maryland’s senior senator, told The Baltimore Sun that the “administration’s  decision to award a major contract to a company its current Administrator, Frank Bisignano, used to help lead stinks to high heaven.”

The Sun reported on Oct. 22 that the Senate Finance Committee’s Democratic staff, led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, is exploring whether Bisignano knew during his confirmation procedures that the firm, Fiserv,  had partnered — or was planning to —  with another firm on a pending 5-year Direct Express contract, which distributes government benefits to about 3.4 million Americans via prepaid cards.

“I stand in support of transparency and accountability within every level of our government,” said Mfume, the top Democrat on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee overseeing government operations.

“The recent revelations regarding Frank Bisignano’s leadership at  Fiserv and the company’s subsequent involvement in a major federal contract serving millions of Social Security beneficiaries clearly demand a full and honest review,” Mfume said. “ It’s not about partisan politics. It’s about public trust.”

Another lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr., of Baltimore County, said Congress “has an obligation to thoroughly investigate any potential conflicts of interest.”

The SSA did not make Bisignano available for interviews. But an agency spokesperson told The Sun in an email that  “throughout the process and following his confirmation by the Senate, Commissioner Bisignano fully complied with all obligations required under his federal government ethics agreement as a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee.”

Bisignano, whose former company is one  of the world’s largest payment and financial technology firms, told the Senate panel in a March 25 question-and-answer document: “I have committed to divest all Fiserv holdings if confirmed.”

The contract was awarded to Fifth Third, an Ohio-based bank, and began on Sept. 9, according to the company’s news release that day naming Money Network Financial, LLC as the program’s manager. Money Network Financial is a subsidiary of Fiserv, the company  Bisignano headed as chairman and CEO until stepping down on May 6 to take over the federal agency.

The contract was awarded by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which did not return email messages. The value of the contract was not immediately known.

Bisignano is not only the Social Security commissioner but is also serving as the chief executive officer of the Internal Revenue Service. An Oct. 6 Treasury Department release said he is “overseeing all day-to-day IRS operations while also continuing to serve in his role as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.”

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Bisignano, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump.

In July,  a group of investors  sued Fiserv, Bisignano and others, saying, according to the complaint, that the defendants “misled investors by artificially inflating its growth numbers.” Fiserv’s stock price tanked after the company withdrew economic projections it could not meet.

Citing claims made in the lawsuit, Nancy Altman, president of  Social Security Works, a progressive group, said last week that Bisignano should resign “immediately.”

The SSA did not respond to The Sun’s questions regarding allegations about Bisignano in the suit.

O’Malley, also a former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor, told The Sun: “Given the importance of Social Security as a lifeline to 71 million Americans, I am quite sure leaders in Congress will be demanding answers in this swirling soup of allegations.”

With the House under GOP control, Mfume said he expected to reach out to Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, who chairs Mfume’s House Oversight subcommittee, “to try to impress upon him the need to fully establish transparency.”

A spokesperson for Sessions, Eleanor Allison, told The Sun: “Chairman Sessions has a good working relationship with Ranking Member Mfume and would hear him out and consider taking action if Congressman Mfume approached him on this topic.”

The Sun reached out to Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, the Finance Committee chairman, for comment and did not hear back by publication.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

A particular fascination surrounds what happened to the items from the demolished White House East Wing — even the dirt and debris. You’ll recall the wing was recently torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned, $300 million ballroom. Two Maryland contractors, Aceco and Clark Construction, were part of that historic demolition.

So what happened to the stuff?

Here, based on interviews with a White House official and others, we try to take this mystery apart – like the wing itself – bit by bit.

The debris

Rumors hit the internet that the building materials were being sold off. You can imagine the pitch: “Own a piece of the White House!”

But no evidence that it is really happening, at least not legitimately.

“Whatever isn’t being historically preserved is taken to local construction materials recycling plants where it’s being recycled,” said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.

He declined to say which recycling stations were being used. It’s not hard to imagine a feeding frenzy of media and budding entrepreneurs racing to collect items if they knew their whereabouts.

The dirt

Meanwhile, dirt from the excavation has been hauled to the nearby East Potomac Golf Course, according to The Washington Post. The newspaper published a Reuters photo of a golfer on his backswing with a dump truck exiting the course behind him.

It’s not clear how the dirt will be used, other than as fodder for late-night comedians’ monologues.

White House movie theater

It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s idea during the 1940s to convert an East Terrace cloakroom in the White House into a movie theater.

Like the White House bowling alleys, the theater held a “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” sort of allure.

“With 42 seats in tiered rows, the First Family and their guests can view current movies, sports games and TV shows,” said a White House webpage during President Barack Obama’s administration. It noted that director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks had joined Obama and others for a screening of a series called “The Pacific” about World War II.

The theater has been taken down with the rest of the East Wing.

The White House said the seats were preserved along with portraits and paintings and busts from the wing, some of which were relocated to other areas of the White House. But it’s not clear where the theater chairs will end up. So far, they are not on eBay.

Trees

The Johnson American Holly topiaries, planted in 1965, were transported to an off-site nursery, the White House said. The intent is to replant the topiaries on the White House grounds after the completion of the ballroom.

And finally…

East Wing ‘Never Forget’ shirts

Since America loves commemorative T-shirts, you knew it wouldn’t be long until somebody was hawking shirts on eBay memorializing the East Wing.

“The White House East Wing. (1942-2025),” reads the white lettering on black shirts sold by a company called Prime Tee Shop. “NEVER FORGET,” say the shirts, which feature an image of the departed wing.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrote to Aceco this week asking if it complied with safety protocols to “protect its workers and the public from exposure to hazardous materials.”

Hazards could have arisen, Markey wrote,  from the release of asbestos-laden “demolition debris and dust without proper containment.”

Aceco did not reply to Baltimore Sun questions on Friday.  A White House spokesperson told The Sun: “Any hazardous material abatement was done in September. A very extensive abatement and remediation assessment was followed, complying with all applicable federal standards.”

Aceco was a contractor in the recent tearing down of the two-story East Wing of drawing rooms and offices. It was part of  Trump’s plan to build a $300 million ballroom nearly twice the size of the White House.

Aceco faced pushback on social media over its role. So many people posted unflattering messages about the firm — giving it one-star reviews — that Yelp temporarily disabled further comments. Posts included: “Traitors to the United States,” “How dare you destroy part of OUR house,” and “Oops. Bad move, tearing down the People’s House.”

The company’s website was down on Friday,  with a note telling visitors, “This site is under construction.”

The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and expanded 40 years later.

The Republican president has said the wing  “is being fully modernized as part of this process” and that the work is being funded by “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly.”

Markey, the senior Democrat on a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions subcommittee, gave ACECO until Nov. 12 to answer a series of questions and provide “any contracts or other agreements covering the work.”

It’s uncertain whether the demolition contract was competitively bid. The White House declined to comment about that Friday,  and Markey’s office said it did not have information about the contract beyond what was in the letter to Aceco.

“Aceco’s refusal thus far to answer basic questions about permits and safety protocols raises serious concerns about whether your firm has complied with the law—or gambled with people’s health,” the senator wrote.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com

Coinbase, which says it operates in more than 100 countries and holds $425 billion in assets, has met with dozens of Maryland state lawmakers as it seeks sponsors for legislation that would codify the program, company officials said.

The measure being sought would effectively undo a 2023 “cease and desist” order by the attorney general’s securities division.

In the order, the state barred Coinbase from offering a procedure known as “staking” that can yield investors returns. In staking, digital asset holders may receive passive income, somewhat like interest or dividends. Customers temporarily freeze some of their assets that Coinbase uses to validate transactions, and then become eligible for rewards for essentially helping police the system.

The state’s order said the offerings constitute unregistered securities and pose a risk to investors. “During the designated lock-up period, investors take the risk of market events affecting the value of their staked assets,” it said.

The order — and Coinbase’s response — are the latest developments in a legal tussle across many states and the federal government over regulation of cryptocurrency platforms.

The company won a significant victory earlier this month when New York regulators ruled that state residents can stake cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Solana. That followed a 2023 announcement by New York’s Department of Financial Services of a $100 million settlement with Coinbase after an investigation found “significant failings in the company’s compliance program.”

Coinbase is an influential political player that has contributed heavily, according to federal records, to the Fairshake PAC, which advocates for policies favorable to crypto. Coinbase reported Thursday $1.8 billion in revenue and $433 million in net income — its strongest quarter since 2021.

The crypto giant donated an unspecified sum to America250, which organized an Army anniversary celebration on President Donald Trump’s birthday, and contributed—along with other companies— to Trump’s recent White House ballroom project. The ballroom project has been criticized by Democrats who say its private funding amounts to a “pay for play” maneuver by the White House.

Coinbase told The Sun in a statement that it “is pleased to support Trust for the National Mall, a [nonprofit] partner of the National Park Service.”

The company maintains that Maryland overreached and that its staking services do not violate securities laws.

“Whatever risk they believe exists, at best, is a theoretical one, not one that has ever materialized,” Ryan VanGrack, vice president of legal at Coinbase, told The Baltimore Sun. “And that is not the function of securities laws.”

He said Coinbase estimates that Marylanders missed at least $7 million in rewards they would have collected “had the AG not been an anomaly and allowed Marylanders to function just like Pennsylvanians and Virginians in being able to partake in Coinbase’s service.”

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said it could not comment on any ongoing case or order.

Coinbase said in a statement that its representatives have met with General Assembly members  “to help educate them on what staking is and understand our legislation.”

It said the aim is to pass legislation codifying staking as a service. “We’re trying to circulate that among members and make sure we get strong co-sponsors to introduce that come January, when the session starts,” the statement said.

The company did not identify which lawmakers might become advocates.

According to lobbying disclosure records, Coinbase has retained several lobbyists from Compass Government Relations Partners, LLC, which has offices in Annapolis, Rockville, and Dover, Delaware.

Coinbase officials call Maryland an “outlier” because it is among four states  — California, Wisconsin and New Jersey are the others — that continue to restrict staking.

Mark Hays, an official with a financial reform nonprofit group, said in an interview that it’s “perfectly reasonable for Maryland to make an independent determination about how securities law applies to this product and this service and this company, regardless of how other states have acted.”

Maryland “shouldn’t be cowed by an aggressive crypto industry firm,” said Hays, an associate director at  Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress. “The important thing is they’re an independent regulator,” he said.

Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com