A protester stands outside the Library of Congress on Friday in support of Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress who was abruptly fired Thursday night. (Photo by Jess Daninhirsch/Capital News Service)
Maryland Democrats reacted swiftly, and angrily, Friday to news that President Donald Trump had fired the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, a former director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore who drew raves for her work there.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Friday that President Donald Trump fired Hayden Thursday night because of “quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”
“We don’t believe that she was serving the interest of the American taxpayer well so she has been removed from her position and the president is well within his rights to do that,” Leavitt said.
Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-2nd said late Thursday that Trump’s “callous dismissal of Carla Hayden is a disgraceful disservice to all Americans.”
“We must call this out for what it is: an attack on our democratic norms and yet another effort to replace dedicated public servants with MAGA allies,” Olszewski said in a statement.
A wall in the Library of Congress lists all of the past and current Librarians of Congress. (Photo by Jess Daninhirsch/Capital News Service)
When she was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016, Hayden was the 14th librarian of Congress but the first woman and the firs African American in the job, which has a term of 10 years.
Her term included the four years of Trump’s first term in office.
“Dr. Hayden deserves to serve out the remainder of her 10-year term and the country will be better off for it,” Olszewski said. “Congress must demand answers and be ready to fight for her reinstatement.”
Prior to her federal appointment, Hayden was CEO of the Enoch Pratt Library, a position she had held since 1993, according to her official Library of Congress biography.
Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg (D-Baltimore), who called Hayden’s termination a “Trumpian tragedy,” recalled her insistence on keeping the library open during the height of the unrest in Baltimore over Freddie Gray.
“The epicenter of the disturbances after Freddie Gray’s funeral was Pennsylvania and North Avenue,” Rosenberg said. “The library branch at that corner was kept open by Carla Hayden.”
Rosenberg said Hayden’s efforts “so impressed” then-House Speaker Michael Busch that he backed legislation mandating additional funding to the system for extended hours.
The bill, passed by the General Assembly, was vetoed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan, but that veto was susseqently overriden by lawmakers.
Roddy re-retires in Baltimore County
Patrick Roddy, a long-time Annapolis lobbyist, who retired in 2021 and then rejoined Baltimore County government this year, will re-retire at the end of the month.
A spokesperson for County Executive Kathy Klausmeier confirmed Roddy will retire from his position as director of government relations effective June 1. Roddy spent two decades in Baltimore County government as director of legislative affairs liaison and an assistant county attorney before joining Rifkin Weiner Livingston in 2003.
Roddy did not respond to a request for comment. In previous interviews, the former Annapolis lobbyist said he did not see his return to county government as permanent.
Klausmeier — the 15th Baltimore County executive and first woman to hold the position — tapped Roddy and his wife Valerie to join her administration just days after she was named to fill the vacancy created when Johnny Olszewski Jr. was elected to Congress. Both Roddys were initially named senior advisers, with Patrick moving into the county’s lobbying shop — a job he’d held previously. Valerie Roddy became deputy chief of staff.
The county spokesperson said Valerie Roddy will continue in her position. And while rumors of potential replacements for Patrick Roddy circulate, the spokesperson said a search is ongoing.
Five Maryland sites added to National Underground Railroad Network
Five Maryland sites have been added to the National Underground Railroad Network of Freedom Program.
The new sites join more than 90 others in the state as part of a National Park Service program aimed at promoting preservation and research of sites related to the Underground Railroad — part of an abolitionist effort that helped enslaved people escape.
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“By adding five historical sites here in Maryland to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, we are honoring the legacy and lives of the courageous men and women who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. At a time when this Administration is actively trying to erase American history, we in Maryland will never back down from this simple truth: our history makes us stronger, more resilient, and more prepared to never let the evils of our past repeat,” Maryland U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said in a joint statement from the Maryland delegation.
The five Maryland sites are:
Goshen Farm in Annapolis.
Issac Mason Escape Site in Chestertown.
St. Augustine Church in Chesapeake.
Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, Susquehanna State Park in Havre de Grace.
“I commend the preservation efforts of the National Underground Railroad Network. Three of the new historic sites – Isaac Mason Escape Site, St. Augustine Church and Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal – are located in the First Congressional District. The addition of these sites preserve the legacy and bravery of Marylanders who sacrificed their safety for the freedom of others,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) said in the joint statement from the Maryland delegation.
The five sites in Maryland are part of 31 additions to the National Park Service Program. Currently there are 800 sites in 41 states.
Group calls for veto of “Earned wage” bill
More than three dozen advocates, including the NAACP Maryland State Conference, are calling on Gov. Wes Moore to veto a bill meant to regulate so-called “earned wage access” loans.
In a letter sent to Moore, advocates said House Bill 1294 exempts app-based lenders from state laws that “prohibit lending that is discriminatory, is deceptive, or carries extremely high interest rates.”
“The NAACP is particularly concerned that certain companies have written themselves out of the anti-discrimination protections embedded in the small-dollar lending statute,” NAACP Maryland State Conference Political Action Chair Ricarra Jones, said in a statement. “At a time when the federal government is openly working to dismantle hard-won laws and policies that protect people of color, these industry-proposed rollbacks are especially harmful for the people of Maryland. We call on Governor Moore to stand firm in defense of civil rights and equal protection under the law.”
Earned wage access programs typically come in two versions – one offered by employers to their employees and another offered by private companies directly to workers. Both versions are intended to give early access to a portion of wages earned but not yet paid. The amount is then paid back typically through automatic deductions, usually with a fee or “tip.”
Jones and opponents of the House bill say those tips amount to finance charges that often can exceed 300% interest, higher than the state’s 33% limit. Allowing the bill to become law “removes the last and best defense against predatory lending in the state,” the group said in its letter to Moore.
House Republicans want Schiraldi fired
House Republicans are calling on Gov. Wes Moore to fire embattled Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi in the wake of a troubling new audit.
The 75-page report from the Office of Legislative Audits found scores of issues with the agency that is responsible for incarcerating minors. Included in the findings was a lack of criminal background checks by contractors on their employees. One contractor, who auditors said was convicted of second-degree assault and possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure, was still working for a DJS vendor as recently as January.
It’s the second time in less than a year that Republicans have called on Moore to fire Schiraldi. House Minority Leader Del. Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) called the audit “yet another troubling, but not surprising, example” of the department’s failure to protect children in its care.”
“This agency has a record of constant failure in its basic duties, and they have not once been held accountable,” Buckel said in a statement released by the House Republican Caucus. “With the hundreds of accusations of historic abuse being lodged at the DJS, one would think they would have a laser focus on those who were working directly with the children under their supervision, but again, this is not the case.”
In its reply to auditors, the department said it is working to correct the deficiencies cited in the audit — which, it noted, includes only one year of Moore’s term in office, and almost three years under the previous administration.
“This evaluation took place almost entirely during the previous administration and highlights the state of disrepair the department was in when Governor Moore assumed office,” Carter Elliott, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement. “Secretary Schiraldi and the Department of Juvenile Services have spent the last two years addressing deficiencies left by the previous administration and this is just the latest example.”
Even so, it has become another flash point for the secretary.
“Governor Moore’s all-of-the-above approach to public safety is seeing results across the state,” Elliott said. “Juvenile crime numbers in murder, auto theft, carjacking and other areas continue to drop because of the work the administration is doing in partnership with the general assembly, state attorneys, local leaders, and advocates.”