Transcript: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Nov. 9, 2025

The following is the transcript of the interview with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Nov. 9, 2025.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined now by the Democratic governor of Maryland, Wes Moore. Good to have you here in person.

GOV. WES MOORE: Great to be with you. Thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, Governor, one in eight Americans use food stamps. In Maryland, you have about 700,000 people, as I understand it, who rely on this for food aid. 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. It is why, just in the past few days, I have authorized over $10 million that's going towards heating assistance for people in the state of Maryland. Over $10 million has gone to our Maryland food banks that we have made public transportation free for all of our federal workers, because they are, in many cases, are going to work and not being paid. And I have also authorized $62 million to go towards SNAP to make sure that SNAP is not going to be interrupted for the people of Maryland for as long as we can, despite the fact that we are waiting for the President of the United States to finally do his job. We are watching the president who is literally breaking the law so people can starve, but we're not going to sit there and tolerate in our state.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you just heard Director Hassett say that they are trying to follow the law, which is why they went to the courts. The USDA did say they were going to work towards implementing full payments and then there was this Supreme Court stay put in place. So, do you have clarity on when money might be coming through at all, what's the federal government telling you?

GOV. MOORE: There is no clarity- clarity at all. In the past- in the past six days, we've received four different measures of guidance from the USDA and from the Trump administration about how to handle it. Where initially it was said, well, listen, we want the states to help, to support and despite the fact that this program was built as a partnership between the federal government and the states, where the federal government were really helping to underwrite these costs for people, and then once we decided to step up and say, we are going to make sure that our people are going to be okay--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- You are fronting the money?--

GOV. MOORE: -- That we are going to front the money. We've now received guidance saying the states are going to be punished for fronting the money. There is a chaos, and it is an intentional chaos that we are seeing from this administration, and where they have money for everything. They got money to fight wars, they got money for ballrooms, they got money for everything, but when it comes to supporting the American people, that's now when they are crying, well, we're broke, and that's not what the law requires us to do.

MARGARET BRENNAN: As you know, the White House says those- those sponsorships for the ballroom are separate from government money. But on- on the issue, though, of the shutdown itself. On Friday, we did see the Democratic Leader Schumer offer to end it if Republicans agree to a one-year extension of the Obamacare health care subsidies. Republicans said that's a- that's a nonstarter. This is going to make this a big issue for the midterms. But would you- would you tell the Democrats on Capitol Hill to dig in? That the pain that the people who are living in your state is somehow going to be worth it in the end, for an extension of a tax credit?

GOV. MOORE: There is no pain that is worth it. Our people are hurting, and they're hurting because of these games that we continue to see from Washington, DC.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But would you tell Democrats, just take the vote, open the government, then keep negotiating health care?

GOV. MOORE: I want the government reopened now. There is no state that is dealing with more of an impact from this than the state of Maryland. We have over 260,000 federal workers within our state. That even before the shutdown, Donald Trump had fired over 15,000 Maryland workers, federal workers, more than any other state in this country. But I also know that saying that a prerequisite for having the federal government open shouldn't be kicking up premiums by 90%, by kicking people off of health care. There's a bar- there's a- there's a- there's a barbaric nature to this ask and this request, particularly when we're watching how the Trump you know- the Trump administration, they have the White House, the House and the Senate. They can get this deal done by just simply making a phone call, but they're allowing this pain to exist.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But Democrats also have a promise from the Republican leader in the Senate that he'll talk about health care if they reopen the government. Why isn't that good enough? Would you tell your members of the Democratic Party to- to relieve the pain in the immediate term from your state?

GOV. MOORE: I would tell them that we need to ensure that reopening the government does not mean kicking my people off of health care. That when we're spending time right now over in Western Maryland and Appalachia, and I'm proud to serve as the as the- as a co-chair of the Appalachian Regional- Regional Commission where we're serving Appalachia all throughout not just Maryland, but throughout West Virginia, throughout Tennessee and Pennsylvania. And when we're speaking to our folks out there who are already watching their premiums jump, who are already watching everything become more expensive because of these policies, I don't think that anybody, whether in Western Maryland or any part of my state, would say yes, it's okay, if you just watch my health care go away.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, health care prices are going up, even in the private market, for a lot of different reasons. But let me ask you about what's happening in Maryland. This past Tuesday, out in California, we saw this Proposition 50. 64% of California voters came out in support of what Gavin Newsom put out there with redistricting. This would allow him to charge ahead with plans to potentially gain an additional five Democratic congressional seats. This is gerrymandering. You are looking at midterm redistricting in your state as well. Of eight districts, you only have one Republican. Do you really think Maryland is drawn in an unfair way right now?

GOV. WES MOORE: I think that the reason that I ordered the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission is because I want to make sure that we can have a bipartisan group being able to look at the maps in the state of Maryland. This is something that happens every single--

MARGARET BRENNAN: You don't think these maps are fair now?

GOV. MOORE: --this is something that happens every single decade. And if other states are going to have this process and go through this- go through this journey of identifying whether or not they have fair maps in a mid-decade cycle, then so should Maryland. I'm just not sure why we should be playing by a different set of rules than Texas, or than Florida, or than Ohio or all these other places.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because you say those states are being unfair. So why adopt unfair policies in your state?

GOV. MOORE: This is just simply about making sure that we can have fair and representative maps and we can go through our process. It's the reason that I put together this commission where my job is not to draw the maps, that- what we've just simply said is I want this bipartisan commission to be able to actually speak with the people and to be able to go through their process and just simply say that if other states are going to go through this process, that we're not just going to sit on our hands because Donald Trump tells us to. That's not the way this process is going to work.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Your State Senate President, Democrat Bill Ferguson says this could backfire. He wrote, 'I believe mid cycle redistricting twist rules for potential short term advantage while undermining trust in institutions and ultimately, democracy. It's too risky and jeopardizes your state's ability to fight against the radical Trump administration.' How do you make sure it doesn't backfire? Do you accept a map that gives you more Republican districts? You're not going to do that.

GOV. MOORE: I think fighting for democracy is never risky. I think that's our job as leaders and elected officials, and--

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you're not committing to going with the outcome of what this Commission provides to you?

GOV. MOORE: No, I think the commission of what I want is for the commission to do their work and the commission to do their job. My job is not to draw the maps, and frankly, it's a state legislature's job to decide to vote on it. That is not my responsibility. My job is to make sure that I'm protecting the democratic process. And the Senate President and I, we agree on the crisis that Donald Trump has put us in. He agrees on the fact that we have watched a administration that's using the Constitution like it's a suggestion box. But what I'm simply- and where we- where we differ, is the urgency that this moment requires, the fight that this moment requires. And I personally am someone who is not going to allow Donald Trump to determine whether or not Maryland follows this idea of saying, are we going to do everything we can to make sure we're preserving our democracy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor Moore, thank you for your time this morning.

GOV. MOORE: Thank you so much.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we'll be right back with a lot more 'Face the Nation.' So, stay with us.

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