On Wednesday morning, the Protect Federal Workers Act came up for second reader in the House of Delegates, where a floor amendment debate got heated.
Minority Leader, Del. Jason Buckel, proposed an amendment to remove the portion of the bill that allows the Attorney General of Maryland to bring suit against the federal government over DOGE layoffs.
"We've got to stop being a ward of the federal government," he told his colleagues in the House.
Majority Whip, Del. Jazz Lewis, opposed the amendment.
"What this amendment does is says that Maryland is going to fight with our hands behind our back," he argued.
Following Minority Whip, Del. Jesse Pippy's standing in support of the amendment, Del. Lewis's rebuttal prompted many Republicans in the House to stand.
"[E]verything I'm standing up to say is about protecting our workers, our citizens all across the state," Del. Lewis said. "I have not heard you all [the minority party] stand up once to talk about how you are going to stand up for the workers in your districts."
"Mr. Speaker, we're more than willing to stand up for our citizens," said Delegate Matthew Morgan, Republican from St. Mary's County.
Delegate Buckel added, "We're not here to debate whether DOGE is good or whether DOGE is bad."
Del. Lewis got up and apologized to fellow delegates he offended.
"We have an ideological difference," he said.
Del. Ben Barnes, a Democrat, and chair of the Appropriations Committee at one point, told the chamber, "You're damn right we're going to fight."
The amendment failed 39-97. The bill moves on to a third reader.
