ANNAPOLIS, Md. — U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, came to Annapolis on Wednesday morning to meet with lawmakers, including Senate President Bill Ferguson.
Jeffries, along with Governor Wes Moore, called on Ferguson to allow the redistricting bill to be brought to the floor for a vote in the Senate last month.
"I appreciated the meeting with Leader Jeffries this morning," said Ferguson in a statement. "It's precisely because we want Leader Jeffries in the majority that most members in the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus do not support moving forward with the mid-cycle redistricting that will backfire in our State courts and lose Democrats in Congress."
Jeffries shared a statement on Wednesday afternoon about the meetings with leaders in both chambers.
"I.. met with State Senate President Bill Ferguson to respectfully share our perspective on the need for a forceful Democratic response in Maryland to Donald Trump's malignant effort to rig the midterm elections," Jeffries said. "Bill Ferguson authentically believes that the votes don't exist in the State Senate to move forward. The only way to find out is to allow an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor with respect to the new congressional map passed by the House of Delegates."
Thank you to Leader @RepJeffries for coming to Annapolis today to stand with us during this critical moment in our democracy. pic.twitter.com/qPNwtOTeqT
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) February 18, 2026
RELATED: How'd they vote? Redistricting bill in the House
The Maryland House Freedom Caucus was upset about the delay to the start of the session this morning, as well as the push for redistricting.
Breaking 🚨 Today’s House Floor session was delayed 25 minutes thanks to an unscheduled visit from Congressional House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Instead of focusing on the real issues Marylanders care about, like lower energy bills, affordable housing, and better schools,… pic.twitter.com/riDw7BUoEe
— Maryland Freedom Caucus (@MDFreedomCaucus) February 18, 2026
House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk acknowledged the delay at the start of the session, saying she had meetings.
In a statement, she said Jeffries had thanked the House members for passing the redistricting map.
“If Congress were doing its job as a coequal branch of government, it would be checking the actions of our out–of–control Executive, and there would not be talk of midcycle redistricting," said Peña-Melnyk. "Unfortunately, that’s not currently happening. So the Maryland House stepped up to cause some good trouble.”
Ferguson said that he and Jeffries discussed other topics during their meeting.
"In addition to redistricting," added Ferguson, "we also discussed the importance of responding to the lawless Trump Administration through economic, social, and immigration policies. The Senate of Maryland will continue advancing legislation that responds to Project 2025 by protecting Marylanders from this reckless federal Administration as systematically as they are pursuing it, and stands ready to partner with anyone working towards that shared objective."
