First-day struggles for the new administration

Starting a new job is a challenge, and even more so when the whole team is new and the boss decides that the first day will involve a busy schedule of public events.

Gov. Wes Moore’s team had some bumps on their first full day at work on Thursday, and there was a bit of a frenetic energy in the air in the State House.

One administration staffer got their government-issued cellphone, but wasn’t sure what the number was. Others didn’t have their email accounts yet.

More than 20 members of Moore’s cabinet headed to the second floor for a meeting with the governor; some didn’t yet have state employee ID cards to show the state troopers guarding the office. “I’ll vouch for you,” announced Tisha Edwards, Moore’s appointments secretary, to those lacking IDs.

They went around the table making introductions a bit like the first day of school; no one had a sign with their name on it.

The governor’s press office announced that Moore would have his shoes shined, only to learn that the shoeshine stand in the basement of the State House wasn’t open for business.

And the facilities crew with the Department of General Services had to rearrange the furniture in the Governor’s Reception Room three times in three hours, moving around podiums and tables and chairs for a flurry of events, including signing executive orders, a press conference, and a cabinet meeting.

A few things did go according to plan on the first full day.

The Maryland Department of Transportation got the governor’s name and his slogan, “Leave No One Behind” on 59 signs on highways, train lines, toll facilities, the airport and the Port of Baltimore.

And outside the governor’s office, a TV screen that once flashed pictures of former Gov. Larry Hogan now flips through pictures from Moore’s campaign and inauguration.

U.S. Rep. Harris gets a gavel

Maryland’s U.S. Rep. Andy Harris was named chairman of the agriculture subcommittee of the important Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Harris, the state’s only Republican in Congress, had been one of the holdouts in the drawn-out election of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after Republicans took control following the midterm elections. Harris didn’t vote for McCarthy until the 13th round of voting; McCarthy was elected speaker on the 15th ballot.

Harris and the other conservative holdouts reportedly won concessions from McCarthy before voting in favor of him as the new speaker.

Harris said in a statement that he’s looking forward to leading the subcommittee, which he’s served on since 2015. It oversees appropriations for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies. As a medical doctor, Harris said he’s excited to work with the FDA “to ensure the safety and efficacy of the latest developments in drug and medical device research, as well as food safety.”

“I look forward to the important work we will do in the coming months as we address many issues in this subcommittee’s jurisdiction,” he said in the statement.

Larry Hogan still popular as he ended his term

As Larry Hogan ended his second term as governor this week, he continued to enjoy massive approval ratings, according to one last public opinion poll.

The Republican had a 77% approval rating in a poll of 823 registered voters conducted by Gonzales Research & Media Services, the highest approval rating that firm has ever recorded for Hogan. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5%.

Pollster Patrick Gonzales noted that his team measured Hogan’s approval ratings 15 times and only once did Hogan dip below 70%. Hogan was most popular among Democrats (81% approval), followed by unaffiliated voters (76%) and lastly by Republicans (68%).

Hogan also enjoyed 81% job approval from African American voters who were polled. As noted in the poll summary: “We would reckon there’s scant few Republican officeholders in America who have eighty-one percent approval among African American voters.”

Other polls have had Hogan’s approval rating consistently in the 60-70% range.

As Hogan wrapped up his last full day in office on Tuesday, he touted the poll results and released a three-minute hype video through his advocacy organization, An America United.

The video is titled “Promise” and draws from Hogan’s farewell speech from a week ago, interspersed with footage from his snowy first inauguration in 2015 to his official portrait unveiling this month. It’s posted on YouTube.