HOGAN CLAIMS IMPROPER ACTION BY MILLER: The Hogan administration is charging that Senate President Mike Miller improperly held the nomination of the state health secretary hostage this spring in an effort to force the administration to stop Anne Arundel Medical Center from gaining the authority to perform open-heart surgeries, Michael Dresser of the Sun reports.
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Acting Health Secretary Dennis Schrader and a spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan made the accusations against Miller in what is the latest twist on an ongoing dispute over the appointment of Schrader and another Cabinet official, reports Bryan Sears in the Daily Record. That dispute is part of a constitutional standoff between the executive and legislative branches that could wind up in a courtroom.
DISTRICTING FIGHT BACK IN COURT: Republican voters who claim their constitutional rights were violated when Maryland redrew its congressional districts six years ago return to federal court today to argue that their case should move forward, even as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a similar dispute involving Wisconsin’s legislative map, Josh Hicks reports for the Post.
DEM MD CONGRESSMEN WARN TRUMP: Democratic senators from Maryland and New York warned the Trump administration Thursday against returning Russian diplomatic compounds seized in retaliation for that country’s interference in last year’s presidential election, reports John Fritze for the Sun. In a letter signed by Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland as well as Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the lawmakers wrote that “the Russian government has done nothing to deserve renewed access to these compounds.”