Governor Wes Moore tells Trump: ‘Get to work!’
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has been highly critical of President Trump’s response to a broken pipe that is spilling sewage into the Potomac River.
WASHINGTON — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore sent a message to President Donald Trump to “get to work” after a sewer pipe collapse spilled sewage into the Potomac River.
President Trump blamed Moore and other Democrats for the spill that contaminated a river that runs through Washington, D.C., and near the White House. In a series of inflammatory social media posts, President Trump removed Moore from a bipartisan event gathering the nation’s governors.
In an interview with USA TODAY, Maryland’s governor fired back by claiming the damage was in a DC line on federal land.
“I have no idea how Maryland could get into this. It’s just a very creative fact from the president of the United States,” Moore said.
The problem began on January 19 with a sewer line failure in Montgomery County, Maryland, outside Washington. A leak at the Potomac Interceptor, operated by DC Water, spilled more than 200 million gallons of wastewater into the 383-mile-long river. DC Water, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, handles wastewater treatment for the region.
In a Feb. 16 social media post, President Trump said the broken sewer pipes were the result of poor sewage management by state and local governments. He directed federal authorities to take over the cleanup.
The next day, President Trump said the leaders of the two affected states, Virginia and Maryland, and the mayor of Washington, D.C., should get to work. All are Democrats.
“If they can’t do their job, they should call me and politely ask me to fix the problem. The federal government had no part in what happened, but we can fix the problem,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “With all the talk they’re making about carbon emissions and everything else, they’re pouring hundreds of tons of sewage into the Mighty Potomac River, significantly reducing its impact. Act fast. I’m waiting for your call.”
Wes Moore asks Trump, “Will you start working?”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has sent a blunt message to President Donald Trump amid the controversy over the polluted Potomac River spill.
Moore said in an interview that the Maryland state government was involved from the beginning and helped test the water quality in Washington, D.C.
“I wanted to make sure we didn’t have an outbreak of a contagious disease hitting Maryland, and I believe we can help our neighbors,” he told USA TODAY. “It has been over a week since this spill issue was resolved and the issue has been resolved.”
Moore took a direct shot at President Trump, adding, “The president wants to reach out, but not only is he saying this is our fault and we had nothing to do with this, he’s not acknowledging the fact that this is the president’s fault. It’s the federal government’s job to do this. And they didn’t do it, so I did it.”
“So, if the President would like to ask me politely, I would ask: Mr. President, yes, I have had to do your job for the last month, but please, could you please start working?”
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt also attacked Moore, declaring at a press conference that day that the administration needed to formally ask the federal government to take control of local infrastructure.
Levitt said the facility “has been neglected and ignored by Maryland’s Governor Moore for far too long,” and that it is “no secret” that the state’s water and infrastructure is “in dire need of repair.”
“He has clearly shown that he is not capable of solving this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to intervene,” she said.
Contributor: Carissa Wadick, rebecca morin
