Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan&#8217;s ex-aide Roy McGrath, who has been on the run for three weeks, died after he was apprehended Monday by law enforcement in Knoxville, Tennessee.
McGrath&#8217;s lawyer, Joseph Murtha, said he received a gunshot wound and later died of the injury, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-top-aide-ex-maryland-gov-larry-hogan-dies-manhunt-lawyer-says-rcna78055">according</a> to NBC News. The FBI said an &#8220;agent-involved shooting&#8221; was under review but gave no further details.
“The FBI has confirmed that Roy succumbed to the injuries inflicted earlier in the evening. It is a tragic ending to three weeks of uncertainty,” Murtha <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/politics/roy-mcgrath-manhunt-shooting-fbi-hogan-aide/index.html">told</a> CNN. “I think it is important to stress that Roy never waivered about his innocence.”
The manhunt for McGrath began after he skipped court and was not found after a welfare check was performed at his Naples, Florida, home.
“We’re concerned that something may have happened,” an FBI agent said in a recording <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/roy-mcgrath-fugitive-found-manhunt-QBUF7AKQM5DN3PQD2OYJI43MA4/">obtained</a> by The Baltimore Banner. “He doesn’t have any kind of violent criminal past, but we are concerned he may have committed suicide at this point.”
McGrath’s attorney, Joseph Murtha, said he was concerned about his client and unsure of what was happening.
“I haven’t a clue. I didn’t see this coming,” Murtha said after his client went missing. “This behavior is so out of the ordinary for him. Obviously his personal safety is a concern.”
McGrath, 53, resigned as Hogan’s chief of staff in 2020 after he was accused of fraudulently securing a severance package of $233,648, equal to a year’s salary, from his prior job leading the Maryland Environmental Service.
McGrath pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud and theft charges. State charges accuse him of illegally recording private conversations with senior officials. If convicted, McGrath could face decades in prison.
McGrath has a long history working with Hogan, who once described McGrath as a “trusted adviser” and key to helping him build his administration after winning the Maryland governor’s race in 2014, according to The Washington Post.
Hogan, who could be called as a witness in the McGrath case, denies approving McGrath’s large severance. Murtha said McGrath “firmly stands by the fact that Governor Hogan formally approved of his compensation from Maryland Environmental Service, and sadly, turned his back on Mr. McGrath to avoid the political fall out of his decision.”
The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service had offered $10,000 each for information leading to McGrath’s capture.

Roy McGrath

Manhunt For Larry Hogan’s Ex-Aide Ends, Suspect Dead

Florida

Fraud

Larry Hogan

manhunt

U.S.

Federal law enforcement officials are offering up to $20,000 for information leading to the capture of former Maryland Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/larry-hogan-reveals-decision-on-2024-presidential-run/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Larry Hogan</a>&#8216;s ex-chief of staff after he failed to appear in court for his criminal trial.
Authorities began searching for fugitive Roy McGrath two weeks ago after he failed to show up for his corruption trial in Baltimore. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are now <a href="https://apnews.com/article/maryland-hogan-mcgrath-fugitive-manhunt-18df36cd141dc409e5e7dc7cb5e4ee69" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offering</a> $10,000 each for information leading to McGrath&#8217;s capture.
Officials say he is considered an international flight risk because he was born in Europe. McGrath also has several aliases, including Roy Baisliadou and RC Mak-Grath.
McGrath&#8217;s attorney, Joseph Murtha, said he was concerned about his client and unsure of what was happening.
“I haven’t a clue. I didn’t see this coming,” said Murtha. “This behavior is so out of the ordinary for him. Obviously his personal safety is a concern.”
McGrath, 53, resigned as Hogan’s chief of staff in 2020 after he was accused of fraudulently securing a severance package of $233,648, equal to a year’s salary, from his prior job leading the Maryland Environmental Service.
McGrath pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud and theft charges. His court appearance Monday morning was set to begin with an arraignment for a superseding indictment. State charges accuse him of illegally recording private conversations with senior officials. If convicted, McGrath could face decades in prison.
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McGrath has a long history working with Hogan, who once described McGrath as a “trusted adviser” and key to helping him build his administration after winning the Maryland governor’s race in 2014, according to The Washington Post.
Hogan, who could be called as a witness in the McGrath case, denies approving McGrath’s large severance. Murtha said McGrath “firmly stands by the fact that Governor Hogan formally approved of his compensation from Maryland Environmental Service, and sadly, turned his back on Mr. McGrath to avoid the political fall out of his decision.”
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

US-CRIME-shooting-SUSPECT

Feds Offer Big Reward In Manhunt For Top Aide To Ex-GOP Governor

Courts

Maryland

Law enforcement officials began a search for Roy McGrath, a one-time chief of staff to former Republican Maryland Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/larry-hogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Larry Hogan</a>, after he failed to show up Monday in court this week for a criminal trial in Baltimore.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a warrant seeking the arrest of McGrath, who faces wire fraud and embezzlement charges, following his no-show surprise Monday morning.
McGrath&#8217;s attorney, Joseph Murtha, told reporters he was <a href="https://www.fox5dc.com/news/arrest-warrant-issued-for-former-maryland-gov-l" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;shocked&#8221; by his client&#8217;s absence</a>. After having a &#8220;substantively productive conversation&#8221; with his client on Sunday, McGrath said he planned to meet McGrath outside the courthouse ahead of the trial, but McGrath never appeared.
Authorities conducted a welfare check at McGrath&#8217;s home in Naples, Florida, but he was not at the residence, <a href="https://wjla.com/newsletter-daily/arrest-warrant-issued-for-former-hogan-official-mike-mcgrath#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to multiple reports</a>.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Murtha <a href="https://twitter.com/KateRyanWTOP/status/1635683978832216067" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told news radio station WTOP</a> there were no updates on his client&#8217;s whereabouts. The <a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/roy-mcgrath-B2QKSFW22BHMZKAFQP2XA5DB5E/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baltimore Banner reported</a> that the U.S. Marshals Service considers McGrath to be a fugitive, and a wanted poster was released on Tuesday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: Here’s a wanted poster from the US Marshals Service for Roy McGrath, former Gov. Larry Hogan’s ex-chief of staff. 
McGrath was scheduled to appear for his federal fraud trail in Baltimore yesterday. His attorney says he has no idea where McGrath may be. <a href="https://t.co/bqnXK5zTAd">pic.twitter.com/bqnXK5zTAd</a>
&mdash; Mikenzie Frost (@MikenzieFrost) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikenzieFrost/status/1635696480584445955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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McGrath, 53, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/under-scrutiny-for-receiving-a-large-severance-hogans-chief-of-staff-resigns/2020/08/17/137ff084-e0d0-11ea-8dd2-d07812bf00f7_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resigned as Hogan&#8217;s chief of staff</a> in 2020 after the revelation that McGrath received a severance package of more than $230,000, equal to a year&#8217;s salary, from his prior job of leading the Maryland Environmental Service.
McGrath <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-mcgrath-plea-20211119-xqxthryggbgbdf4mtsolkkgqci-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleaded not guilty</a> to federal wire fraud and theft charges. His court appearance Monday morning was set to begin with an arraignment for <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/superseding-indictment-charges-former-executive-director-maryland-environmental-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a superseding indictment</a>. State charges accuse him of illegally recording private conversations with senior officials. If convicted, McGrath could face decades in prison.
McGrath has a long history working with Hogan, who once described McGrath as a &#8220;trusted adviser&#8221; and key to helping him build his administration after winning the Maryland governor&#8217;s race in 2014, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/13/roy-mcgrath-hogan-warrant-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Washington Post</a>.
Hogan, who could be called as a witness in the McGrath case, <a href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/11/05/hogan-denies-former-aides-claim-that-he-approved-hefty-severance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denies approving McGrath&#8217;s large severance</a>. Murtha said McGrath “firmly stands by the fact that Governor Hogan formally approved of his compensation from Maryland Environmental Service, and sadly, turned his back on Mr. McGrath to avoid the political fall out of his decision.”
Hogan left office in January as a relatively popular governor in deep-blue Maryland and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/larry-hogan-reveals-decision-on-2024-presidential-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced this month that he will not run for president in 2024</a>.

Authorities Launch Manhunt For Former Larry Hogan Aide

Crime

Former Maryland Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/larry-hogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Larry Hogan</a> announced on Sunday that he would not pursue the GOP nomination for the White House in 2024.
&#8220;I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party,&#8221; Hogan said in a statement. &#8220;That is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party. That is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.
My full statement on the 2024 Presidential race. <a href="https://t.co/1uanfEkjkp">pic.twitter.com/1uanfEkjkp</a>
&mdash; Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1632378210016022528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Hogan, who left office in January as a relatively popular governor in deep-blue Maryland, has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/larry-hogan-claims-school-curriculum-fight-reeks-of-big-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered a potential anti-Trump candidate</a> since the 2020 election. In recent months, he said he was giving serious consideration to a presidential campaign. In August, Hogan visited the Iowa State Fair, a key stop for presidential hopefuls.
But by Sunday, Hogan said he has &#8220;no desire&#8221; to put his family through &#8220;another grueling campaign just for the experience.&#8221;
Former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nikki-haley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikki Haley</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-anti-woke-capital-crusader-announces-2024-white-house-bid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy</a> have entered the contest for the 2024 Republican nomination. So far, polling generally favors Trump and Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not declared candidacy for the White House.
Hogan encouraged Republicans to move away from Trump, though he <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3840973-larry-hogan-says-he-will-support-trump-if-hes-the-nominee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated last month</a> that he might support Trump if he became the GOP nominee.
&#8220;To once again be a successful governing party, we must move on from Donald Trump. There are several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead,&#8221; Hogan said. &#8220;But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.&#8221;
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Among Democrats, President Joe Biden has said he intends to run again, though he has not formally declared his candidacy, and Marianne Williamson recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/us/politics/marianne-williamson-presidential-campaign.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched a campaign</a>.
In his statement, Hogan said he still believes in the Republican Party on core tenets such as fiscal responsibility, standing up for the rule of law, &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; abroad, and small government. Hogan also said he believes in a GOP that honors &#8220;the peaceful transfer of power&#8221; in elections.
Hogan did not endorse anyone for president in his statement Sunday, but the former governor stressed that he has &#8220;only just begun fighting&#8221; for a Republican Party that &#8220;can deliver for working people.&#8221;

Larry Hogan Reveals Decision On 2024 Presidential Run

Blue State Republican Governor Reveals Decision on 2024 Presidential Run

2024

2024 Election

2024 Primaries

Donald Trump

Elections

Politics

Republican Primary

Former Maryland Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/larry-hogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Larry Hogan</a>, who is considering a run for president, said Sunday that elected officials dictating school curricula reeks of big government.
During an appearance on NBC News&#8217;s &#8220;Meet The Press,&#8221; Hogan illustrated a stark contrast between himself and another Republican who may enter the 2024 ring, Florida Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-desantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron DeSantis</a>, on governing what is taught in schools. DeSantis, notably, took stances on keeping woke topics out of schools and not teaching young children about sexual orientation.
&#8220;I think that some of this rhetoric is &#8230; demanding that things be done a certain way — that you can&#8217;t say this, you can&#8217;t say that. We&#8217;ve got to be really careful,&#8221; Hogan said.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a small-government, common-sense conservative and, to me, it sounds like big government and authoritarian,&#8221; he added later.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Potential GOP WH candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have made education a key issue and are cracking down on schools teaching race or gender.<a href="https://twitter.com/LarryHogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LarryHogan</a>: &quot;I&#39;m a small-government, common-sense conservative and, to me, it sounds like big government&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Y1Uog9WAmA">pic.twitter.com/Y1Uog9WAmA</a>
&mdash; Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1627321256805638149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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His conversation with anchor Chuck Todd hinged on how Republicans, particularly those in Florida led by DeSantis, are cracking down on lessons that politicize race or talk about sexual orientation in public schools.
This month, DeSantis scored a victory when the College Board released a revised curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies after Republicans raised concerns about the previous version serving as a front for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/revised-version-of-ap-african-american-studies-course-tones-down-wokeness-desantis-admin-reviewing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;radical&#8221; extreme left-wing ideology.</a> DeSantis raised particular concerns about the inclusion of queer theory, Black Lives Matter, and intersectionality. The College Board has revised the course&#8217;s framework but says it was not in response to Florida.
During their conversation, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-february-19-2023-n1303027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Todd played clips</a> of Republicans including DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence raising concerns about indoctrination in schools and a loss of parental rights.
One Republican who has officially declared a 2024 campaign, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, argued a bill signed last year into law by DeSantis that <a href="https://flgov.com/2022/03/28/governor-ron-desantis-signs-historic-bill-to-protect-parental-rights-in-education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibits classroom instruction</a> on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade did not go far enough.
“Basically what it said was, you shouldn’t have to talk about gender before third grade,” Haley said during a recent event in New Hampshire, <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nikki-haley-says-floridas-parental-rights-law-doesnt-go-far-enough/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per National Review</a>. “I’m sorry, I don’t think that goes far enough. When I was in school you didn’t have sex ed until seventh grade.”
Hogan left office last month as a relatively popular governor in deep-blue Maryland, but he — along with Haley and Pence — has not gained much traction in 2024 presidential campaign polling compared to the likes of DeSantis and former President Donald Trump.
During his interview Sunday, Hogan conceded that &#8220;most people just don&#8217;t think we should be talking about things like sex to young kids, and the parents want to be more involved in the decisions about what their kids are being taught.&#8221;
But Hogan insisted voters have higher priorities than education.
&#8220;It&#8217;s an issue. It&#8217;s not the most important issue,&#8221; Hogan said. The former governor said he believes people are more concerned about the economy, inflation, and crime. Still, he said education is &#8220;one of the things we&#8217;ve got to talk about.&#8221;

Larry Hogan Claims School Curriculum Fight Reeks Of ‘Big Government’

Larry Hogan Claims School Curriculum Fight Reeks Of 'Big Government'

Education

Former Maryland Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/larry-hogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Larry Hogan</a> (R) said during an interview Monday that the classified document scandal that has engulfed several top U.S. political leaders is a &#8220;mess&#8221; and that politics needs to be kept out of the investigations.
Hogans&#8217; remarks come after former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both found themselves under active criminal investigations for their handling of classified material. Former Vice President Mike Pence self-reported finding classified material in his home, although it is unclear if there is an ongoing investigation into him.
&#8220;We ought to get to the facts and have a fair investigation and try to keep the politics out of it. And we probably ought to consider whether we&#8217;re over-classifying some of these documents,&#8221; Hogan said. &#8220;We just don&#8217;t know at this point who had what documents and why or how dangerous they were.&#8221;
Hogan says that he believes that Pence handled his situation better than both Trump and Biden.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) tells Neil Cavuto that he doesn&#39;t think Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, says he&#39;ll certainly be challenged by other Republicans, and that if he were to be nominated, he likely wouldn&#39;t win. <a href="https://t.co/xnhDXUnglI">pic.twitter.com/xnhDXUnglI</a>
&mdash; Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1620592068111536128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
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TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Governor, I&#8217;d be curious.
I know a governor gets to see some classified documents now and then. I don&#8217;t know how you respond to what&#8217;s been happening. And you&#8217;re hearing about this president, the former president, the former vice president, who knows how many others down the road.
What do you think of this whole classified document mess and, if you became president, how you would try to police it?
FMR. GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Well, I think it is a mess.
And, quite frankly, we don&#8217;t have all the answers. And I think we need to get to the bottom of it.
But there&#8217;s an &#8212; it&#8217;s just like everything else in Washington. There&#8217;s a lot of kind of noise. And I think the average person just doesn&#8217;t understand. You got Republicans blaming Democrats, and Democrats blaming Republicans.
And, look, we ought to get to the facts and have a fair investigation and try to keep the politics out of it. And we probably ought to consider whether we&#8217;re overclassifying some of these documents. We just don&#8217;t know at this point who had what documents and why or how dangerous they were.
I think we should get to the bottom of it. We should try to fix it, so it doesn&#8217;t continue to happen. I think Rob Hur, who was the Trump U.S. attorney for Maryland, is a really sharp, fair guy who&#8217;s going to do a thorough investigation.
And I think Mike Pence handled it the right way. He came out right away, admitted the mistake, and cooperated, and apologized. And I think that probably he handled it better than either President Trump or President Biden did.
CAVUTO: But, obviously, it is something that&#8217;s out of control, to your point, Governor.
I&#8217;m just wondering, many of these cases have involved aides or something who are packing up for the boss. In this case, it could be the former vice president, even the past president or the present president, and they see this stuff.
Now, whether they start rifling through it themselves is anyone&#8217;s guess. But the fact that at least President Biden and Vice President Pence have said they were unaware &#8212; that&#8217;s not quite the same with President Trump, as you know &#8212; is that itself even more dangerous than being aware?
HOGAN: Well, I guess we &#8212; it potentially is pretty dangerous, and which is why we &#8212; I think we got to get to the bottom of it and trying to find a fair and objective process, so we just &#8212; it&#8217;s not just all politics, and we actually try to fix a problem that appears to exist.
And, yes, we don&#8217;t know who packed up the documents, what the documents were, whose responsibility it was. But it&#8217;s a problem. And it&#8217;s a mistake that we have got to figure out how to fix.</blockquote>

Top GOP Leaders Attend Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Meeting In Las Vegas

Larry Hogan On Classified Documents Scandal Engulfing Trump, Pence, Biden: ‘Try To Keep The Politics Out Of It’

Larry Hogan On Classified Documents Scandal Engulfing Trump, Pence, Biden: 'Try To Keep The Politics Out Of It'

Executive

Joe Biden

Mike Pence

Scandals

Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced a ban of the Chinese-owned app TikTok from the state&#8217;s government devices Tuesday.
The TikTok ban was included in an emergency cybersecurity directive aimed at multiple Chinese and Russian apps and products.
“There may be no greater threat to our personal safety and our national security than the cyber vulnerabilities that support our daily lives,” Hogan <a class="Link" href="https://governor.maryland.gov/2022/12/06/governor-hogan-announces-emergency-directive-to-prohibit-use-of-tiktok-china-and-russia-based-products-and-platforms-in-state-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “To further protect our systems, we are issuing this emergency directive against foreign actors and organizations that seek to weaken and divide us.”
“This action represents a critical step in protecting Maryland State systems from the cybersecurity threats caused by foreign organizations,” Maryland&#8217;s Chief Information Security Officer Chip Stewart added.
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The new ban comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned about the national security concerns surrounding TikTok.
&#8220;The Chinese government has shown a willingness to steal Americans’ data on a scale that dwarfs any other,&#8221; Wray <a href="https://time.com/6238540/tiktok-fbi-security-concerns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Friday at the University of Michigan.
Maryland&#8217;s ban adds to a growing number of states that are moving to ban the social media platform.
On Monday, Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-clear-and-present-danger-to-its-users-south-carolina-gov-bans-state-employees-from-using-tiktok-amid-national-security-concerns">issued</a> an executive order banning TikTok from government devices.
“Protecting our State’s critical cyber infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats is key to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens and businesses,” McMaster wrote in the <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2022-12/gov-henry-mcmaster-blocks-tiktok-state-government-devices">letter</a> to the state’s Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams.
Last month, Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem became the first governor to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/south-dakota-governor-noem-blocks-state-employees-from-downloading-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban</a> TikTok from state devices, including making it a criminal offense to download the app on a state device.
“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a <a href="https://news.sd.gov/newsitem.aspx?id=31872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and other Wisconsin lawmakers sent a letter to Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers calling for <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ron-johnson-wisconsin-tony-evers-ban-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">similar action</a> in their state, asking him to &#8220;ban TikTok from Wisconsin government devices and to lead by example and delete TikTok from your own devices.&#8221;
In Arkansas, state Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R) filed a bill on Monday that would enact a similar TikTok ban on state devices.
At the national level, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduced legislation last month to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-to-introduce-legislation-banning-tiktok-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban the app</a> in the U.S. outright.
“TikTok is a major threat to U.S. national security. Yet Biden is encouraging greater engagement with the platform by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/27/tiktok-democrats-influencers-biden/?itid=lk_inline_manual_26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directly courting</a> TikTok influencers,” they wrote in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.
TikTok has faced scrutiny about the security risks it poses, both to individual data privacy and to national security. The concerns reach back to the Trump administration when then-President Donald Trump pushed to ban the app from the U.S.

TIkTok

Another Governor Bans TikTok From State Devices

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Bans TikTok From State Devices

Big Tech

TikTok

Maryland just became yet another state where Democratic legislators have sought to create more access to abortion in anticipation of an upcoming Supreme Court decision.
Democrats voted to override Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of an abortion bill that broadens who can perform abortions in the state, widening that pool to include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certain midwives.
The debate on both sides of the bill has been intense.
Republican Delegate Matthew Morgan said, per <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/09/maryland-lawmakers-override-hogan/">The Washington Post</a>, “You could easily rename this bill ‘The Abortion Tourism Act of 2022’ because that’s what this bill really does,” adding, “It basically expands it to anybody but the receptionist.”
House Government Operations Chairwoman Shane Pendergrass, a Democrat, said on Saturday, “Your conscience is a personal thing,” adding, “Your conscience and your religion is not my conscience and my religion. We are allowing women the autonomy — to use their brains and their conscience — to make decisions about their lives.”
As NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/11/1091967163/abortion-rights-health-insurance-larry-hogan-maryland-veto-fetus">reported</a>, “Maryland House members voted 90-46 on Saturday to reverse the governor&#8217;s decision, while state Senate members voted 29-15.” Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maryland-dems-override-governors-veto-to-fund-abortion-training-allow-non-doctors-to-perform-abortions">added</a>, &#8220;The two houses of the Maryland General Assembly passed the bill last month, with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposing it.&#8221;
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/maryland-abortion-rights-veto.html">reported</a>, &#8220;Under the new law, which will take effect July 1, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and trained physician assistants will be able to perform abortions.&#8221;
In a letter explaining the veto, Hogan <a href="https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/UPDATED-HB-937-Abortion-Care-Access-Act-Veto.pdf">said</a>, “As governor, I have upheld my commitment to take no action that would affect Maryland law where it concerns reproductive rights. With this action, I am reaffirming that commitment.”
He said the bill “endangers the health and lives of women by allowing non-physicians to perform abortions. The bill risks lowering the high standard of reproductive health care services received by women in Maryland. These procedures are complex, and can, and often do, result in significant medical complications that require the attention of a licensed physician.”
He added, “The only impact that this bill would have on women’s reproductive rights would be to set back standards for women’s health care and safety.” 
The <a href="https://legiscan.com/MD/text/HB937/2022">bill</a> is also intended to establish the “Abortion Clinical Care Training Program,” and support it by providing $3.5 million each year in funding. The program is meant to “protect access to abortion care by ensuring that there are a sufficient number of health professionals to provide abortion care.”
The bill states that the “Department shall contract with a coordinating organization to administer the program.”
The organization will “support abortion care clinical training to qualified providers… and to the clinical care teams of the qualified providers” to “expand the number of health care professionals with abortion care training” and “increase the racial and ethnic diversity among health care professionals with abortion care training.”
It also would “support the identification, screening, and placement of qualified providers at training sites.”
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-passes-15-week-abortion-ban">reported</a>, the high court heard oral arguments late last year in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case out of Mississippi over a law that doesn’t allow abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The court could choose to uphold the Mississippi law, cutting away at the precedent established by Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade. The justices could also decide to overturn Roe entirely or to strike down the Mississippi law. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the decisions regarding abortion would be returned to the states rather than made legal on a broad scale across the country. 
Several states have taken action to pass pro-life or pro-abortion legislation. Florida, Arizona, and Kentucky have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/oklahoma-legislature-passes-near-total-ban-on-abortion-11649192968">passed</a> bills that prohibit abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, while Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) signed a bill that codifies abortion access into law.
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whitmer-files-lawsuit-challenging-1931-pro-life-law">filed</a> a lawsuit on Thursday directed at Michigan’s state law from 1931 prohibiting abortion.

D90B3088-8F2A-4641-A959-C377418B3384_1_201_a

Maryland Republican: ‘Anybody But The Receptionist’ Can Perform Abortions Under New Law

Abortion

Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) is blaming teachers unions for keeping schools in his state closed even though he has met their main demands for reopening schools.
The Washington Examiner’s David Drucker <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/larry-hogan-charges-teachers-unions-with-blocking-school-openings">reported</a> Wednesday that Hogan said in an interview that he has invested $1 billion of federal aid given to Maryland to retrofit school buildings to protect the health and safety of students and teachers, provided 1 million coronavirus test kits to schools, and ensured that teachers were at the front of the line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Despite all this, teachers unions refuse to return to schools, which Hogan said is leading to learning gaps among groups of students.
“It’s critically important that we get our kids back in school. It’s been nearly a year, and the learning loss is incredible, particularly among the most disadvantaged kids from minority communities,” Hogan told the Examiner. “Most of the teachers that we talk to, everywhere, are dying to get back in the classroom. It’s a union organizer-type thing. I don’t really know why.”
Though he believes “Biden wants to get [children] back in school,” Hogan he lamented the pressure that teachers unions appear to have put on the president.
“He’s very passionate about it. But it’s a tug of the teachers union and his base … so he changed his mind,” Hogan said.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-moves-goalposts-again-now-says-schools-need-better-ventilation-to-combat-asthma-mold-before-reopening">reported</a>, the Biden administration keeps shifting the goalposts on what it will take to get schools to reopen. In December, Biden said he wanted to open most schools within the first 100 days as president. Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration meant for 50% of schools to be open at least one day a week. Biden on Tuesday called this a “mistake in the communications,” insisting he did mean that schools would be open “five days a week.”
Other states have also acquiesced to the demands of teachers unions, like moving them to the front of the line for the vaccine, yet they refuse to return to work. Biden has called for increased school funding, yet schools have already been appropriated billions in extra funding and have spent a small fraction of those funds.
Hogan, Drucker reported, is “not empowered” to force schools to reopen.
“In Maryland, much of that power rests with elected school boards. The governor said state and county health officials, as well as school superintendents throughout Maryland, support the reopening of public schools. It’s the school boards, sympathetic to the teachers unions, that continue to waver. So far, less than half of Maryland school districts have reopened campuses for some version of in-person education, particularly those in rural areas,” Drucker reported.
Hogan also decried the fact that keeping public schools closed will further impact disadvantaged students.
“The bigger school systems with the most powerful teachers unions did not” reopen, Hogan told the Examiner. “All the private schools in the state opened in August, so it’s, again, exacerbating the [learning] gap between students that are struggling” and those who are not.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Blames Teachers Unions For Keeping Schools Closed

Teachers Unions

A Montgomery County, Maryland, public health official indicated that public school teachers, who are teaching remotely, will receive priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine over private school teachers who are teaching in-person.  
According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/vaccination-discrimination-d-c-suburb-appears-to-put-at-home-public-school-teachers-ahead-of-in-class-private-school-teachers">Washington Examiner</a>, Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles announced that public school teachers will be the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine through the county’s partnership with Johns Hopkins University and Suburban Hospital. Gayles added that the county is anticipating working with private schools, but plans are still “in the works.” 
“They also will be working with our school systems, starting with the public schools, to provide opportunities for vaccination for educators and teachers,” Gayle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1420&amp;v=_nlr04wV5n0&amp;feature=youtu.be">said</a>. “[Vaccinations] will be a critical component to being able to bring kids back into the school setting, by offering additional protection for our educators and staff. We anticipate they will also be working with our nonpublic schools, and so all of those things are in the works.”
Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) district — one of the largest districts in the nation — sent an <a href="https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/dhhs-johns-hopkins-medicine-to-deliver-vaccines-to-mcps-staff/">email</a> to employees informing them that the state’s Health and Human Services department and Johns Hopkins Medicine were working to provide all MCPS employees access to the coronavirus vaccine. 
There is no specific instruction under Maryland’s phased vaccination <a href="https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Phases-One-Pager-1.pdf">plan</a> to vaccinate public school teachers over private school teachers. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan made clear that any COVID-19 vaccine provider who discriminates against private school teachers in administering the vaccine could face future vaccine reallocations. 
“Discriminating against private school teachers in administering the vaccine is wrong and against state policy,” Hogan <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1355908951842324480">tweeted</a>. “Any COVID-19 vaccine provider who does so will have future vaccine allocations reduced or reallocated to other providers.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Discriminating against private school teachers in administering the vaccine is wrong and against state policy. Any COVID-19 vaccine provider who does so will have future vaccine allocations reduced or reallocated to other providers. <a href="https://t.co/weHawQ4eKW">https://t.co/weHawQ4eKW</a>
&mdash; Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1355908951842324480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Public school teachers are receiving vaccines despite their refusal to return to classroom learning. The push to remain online has been coordinated by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA), a Maryland teacher union connected to the National Education Association — the largest teacher union in the nation. 
In a Jan. 26 <a href="https://marylandeducators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hogan_Salmon-Response-LH-vfinal.pdf">letter</a> to Hogan, MSEA President Cheryl Bost blasted Hogan for aiming to reopen schools and claimed the state’s vaccination efforts were not sufficient for teachers, many of whom have received full vaccination before the most vulnerable members of society.  
“Many educators are hearing at your press conferences that they can now get vaccines only to find no vaccine available to them in their counties,” the letter reads. “It is deeply disappointing that you are spending your time and energy blaming and threatening educators rather than fixing the problems that are making it harder to reopen our schools and state more broadly.” 
Hogan’s <a href="https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MD-School-Reopening-Guidance.pdf">plan</a> for returning to school is guided by data that show schools are not driving coronavirus transmission. The guidance calls for special education and students with disabilities to return to classroom learning and a mixed approach of “hybrid learning” and “phased in daily in-person learning” for K-12 students. 
The plan notes that any form of in-person instruction can take place only if health and safety requirements can be met.

Montgomery County Vaccines

Maryland County Chooses Public Schools Teachers Over Private School Teachers For Vaccine

Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan broadcast the fact that he wrote in former President Ronald Reagan on his mail-in ballot to protest both presidential candidates.
&#8220;I know it’s simply symbolic,&#8221; Hogan told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/larry-hogan-ronald-reagan/2020/10/16/ad14ecca-0f53-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Washington Post</a> in an interview published Friday. &#8220;It’s not going to change the outcome in my state. But I thought it was important to just cast a vote that showed the kind of person I’d like to see in office.&#8221;
A frequent Trump critic, Hogan wrote <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/07/16/larry-hogan-trump-coronavirus/?arc404=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an op-ed</a> for The Washington Post in July excoriating the president for his response to the coronavirus pandemic. &#8220;It was hopeless, waiting around for him,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Governors were being told that we were on our own. It was sink or swim. And if I didn’t do something dramatic, we simply would not come close to having enough tests in Maryland.&#8221;
Hogan, who has been floated as a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/12/larry-hogan-2024-republicans-358051" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">potential 2024 candidate</a>, told The Washington Post that he was &#8220;a lifelong conservative Republican&#8221; who supported Reagan in his youth, for which reason he chose him as his candidate, despite the fact that he has been dead for 16 years. &#8220;Reagan was the guy,&#8221; Hogan said. &#8220;I marched around as a college kid on the floor of the convention with a Reagan hat and a Reagan sign.&#8221;
“People really want someone who’s pragmatic, who’s not afraid to compromise,” Hogan continued, denouncing the &#8220;extremes&#8221; of both political parties.
In his memoir, Hogan <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maryland-larry-hogan-write-in-vote-ronald-reagan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claimed he was pressured</a> from many sources to primary Trump. &#8220;On cable news. In private phone calls. In conversations with fellow Republicans, donors and members of the media. Even with a couple of Trump administration cabinet secretaries,&#8221; he wrote.
&#8220;The media, I understood. They were itching for a tussle in 2020,&#8221; Hogan said. &#8220;They were also enamored by the idea of a popular Republican governor, a real Republican, with a proven record of electoral success, going toe to toe with Donald Trump inside the GOP.&#8221;
&#8220;But cabinet secretaries? Encouraging me to consider running against their boss, the president? That one surprised me,&#8221; he added.
Hogan also seemingly hit at Trump during his second inaugural address when he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/16/politics/larry-hogan-ronald-reagan-donald-trump/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a>, &#8220;Let&#8217;s repudiate the debilitating politics practiced elsewhere—including just down the road in Washington—where insults substitute for debate, recriminations for negotiation, and gridlock for compromise; where the heat, finger-pointing and rancor suffocates the light, and the only result is divisiveness and dysfunction. Most of us are sick and tired of all that drama.&#8221;
Regarding the 2019 government shutdown, Hogan said, &#8220;It&#8217;s absurd and ridiculous, and every single person in Washington is to blame. It&#8217;s, like, it&#8217;s crazy. It&#8217;s &#8216;If I don&#8217;t get my wall, I&#8217;m going to shut down the government.&#8217; And, &#8216;If you don&#8217;t open the government, you can&#8217;t speak in our chamber.&#8217; It&#8217;s a bunch of 2-year-olds, you know?&#8221;
&#8220;My concern is that the president does a pretty good job of speaking to a portion of the base,&#8221; Hogan added. &#8220;He’s not doing a good job of reaching out to the voters we are going to need to win back elections in the future.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maryland-to-begin-stage-one-of-state-reopening-on-friday-max-50-capacity-for-churches-encouraged" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maryland To Begin ‘Stage One’ Of State Reopening On Friday, Max 50% Capacity For Churches Encouraged</a>

Larry Hogan Ronald Reagan

‘I Thought It Was Important’: GOP Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Casts Write-In Vote For Ronald Reagan

2020 Election

Ronald Reagan

During a press conference on Wednesday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state will begin to lift restrictions put in place in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday evening.
“On March 5, I held a press conference informing Marylanders that we had confirmed the first three positive cases of coronavirus in Maryland,” the governor began. “In order to mobilize all available state resources, I immediately declared a state of emergency. Since then, we have taken a series of bold, aggressive actions to successfully flatten the curve and avoid the nightmare scenario projected by public health experts.”
After detailing the number of infected in the state as of Wednesday (34,812), the number of hospitalized (6,404), as well as the deceased (1,694), Hogan commended citizens for their efforts combating the virus:
<blockquote>But together, our actions and sacrifices prevented hundreds of thousands of Marylanders from being infected, and saved the lives of thousands of our friends, neighbors, and family members.</blockquote>
The governor also spoke about the “great hardship” the pandemic has caused, not only for those who were affected by the virus directly, but for “the front-line health care workers,” as well as those who have suffered from the indirect economic fallout.
“Unfortunately, the fight against this deadly disease is far from over,” Hogan said. “But because of the incredible courage you have shown and the extraordinary sacrifices you have made, Maryland and our nation can now at least begin to slowly recover.”
The governor then discussed the state’s “roadmap to recovery,” which will be implemented in stages.
Prior to the start of stage one, the plan required “expanded testing, increased hospital surge capacity, and supply of PPE, and a robust contact tracing operation,” according to Hogan.
With the “four building blocks in place, and a solid week of encouraging numbers, including a slight but significant decrease in hospitalizations, and a consistent plateauing of our ICU numbers,” Hogan stated, guidelines were revised last week to allow for greater flexibility in various sectors.
“Maryland has achieved the 14-day trend of plateauing and declining numbers,” the governor said, adding that COVID-19 hospitalizations are down, “the number of COVID ICU patients has plateaued for a significant period of time, and is trending down over the past 14 days.”
New fatalities are “also trending downward.”
As a result of these numbers, Governor Hogan announced that the first stage of the recovery program can begin.
<ul>
<li>Retail stores will be allowed to open at “up to 50% capacity, and with strong social distancing, masking, and other safety precautions” in place. “Curbside pickup and delivery” is still “strongly” promoted, according to Hogan.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Manufacturing will be allowed to come back online, with recommendations “encouraging multiple shifts to limit the number of people working at the same time,” as well as other standard COVID-related safety protocols.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Barbershops and salons will be allowed to “reopen at up to 50% capacity” and “by appointment only,” following standard COVID-related safety protocols.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Pet groomers and animal adoption centers, as well as several other businesses may reopen as well.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Hogan added that places of worship “may begin to safely hold religious services,” but he encouraged outdoor services, and urged church leaders “to do everything possible to keep their congregants safe,” especially the elderly and infirm. “Inside services may be permitted at 50% capacity or less, with appropriate distancing, masking, and safety protocols strongly advised,” the governor stated.</li>
</ul>
Governor Hogan then encouraged businesses to print a copy of the “Maryland Strong Back to Business Pledge,” and place it in their windows in order to reassure customers that “they are adhering to best practices and strict safety guidelines&#8230;”
The governor stated that various jurisdictions will have some flexibility in reopening due to variances in COVID-19 case load.
Despite the promise of reopening, Hogan reiterated caution:
<blockquote>I want to be very clear, while lifting the stay-at-home order and gradually moving into stage one of our recovery is a positive step forward, it does not mean that we are safe, or that this crisis is over. “Low risk” does not mean “no risk.” All Marylanders, particularly those older and more vulnerable populations, are advised to continue staying home as much as possible.
Employers should continue to encourage telework for their employees whenever possible; individuals who can work from home should continue to do so.
People should continue wearing masks in indoor public areas, retail stores, and on public transportation. We know that in general, outside activity is safer than inside activity, and that at all times and everywhere, Marylanders should continue practicing physical distancing &#8230; and to continue avoiding close gatherings of ten people or more. Everyone should keep washing their hands often and frequently sanitizing high-touch areas.</blockquote>
The governor concluded by saying that if stage one goes well, stage two can then be implemented.
The full press conference can be watched below, and more details pertaining to the guidelines announced by Governor Hogan can be found <a href="https://governor.maryland.gov/2020/05/13/stage-one-governor-hogan-announces-gradual-reopenings-with-flexible-community-based-approach/">here</a>.
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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Maryland To Begin ‘Stage One’ Of State Reopening On Friday, Max 50% Capacity For Churches Encouraged

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