At his weekly press briefing on Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich described several ways the county has been negatively impacted since the start of the new administration.
He began with what he called “an assault on science,” which he said has decimated programs at county-based agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.
“Having them attacked and dismantled is not a small thing.” He added, “I didn’t enjoy the first Trump administration. I spent two years at County Executive under it, and this one seems to be even worse.”
He continued, “There isn’t a county or city in this nation that has not felt the impacts of this chaos, but we have and will continue to feel worse than most. Montgomery County has experienced more job loss due to the firing of federal government workers in the first hundred days of this administration than it did in the last two years combined.”
Elrich hoped the ongoing damage inspires civic activism. “The public is starting to notice. Polls analyzing President Trump’s first hundred days are now showing the lowest approval ratings at this point of any presidency in modern history….We have to use this anger and frustration over Trump and Elon Musk led Doge efforts to spark a change and we really do need change.”
