The brewing political battle between President Donald Trump and Maryland Governor Wes Moore reached a new level over the President’s Day holiday weekend after Trump took aim at America’s only Black governor over a sewage spill in the Potomac River.
“There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland. A sewer line breach in Maryland has caused millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped directly into the Potomac River,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Trump, who recently disinvited Moore from an upcoming White House dinner without reason, blamed the spill on Moore and what he called “incompetent Local and State Management of Essential Waste Management Systems.”
“This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a Bridge. It is clear Local Authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity,” said Trump, referring to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which partially collapsed in 2024 as a result of a malfunctioned container ship striking the bridge, which was a major cargo shipping route.
President Trump said he ordered federal authorities to “immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac, the Water Supply in the Capital Region, and our treasured National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City.”
“While State and Local Authorities have failed to request needed Emergency Help, I cannot allow incompetent Local “Leadership” to turn the River in the Heart of Washington into a Disaster Zone,” the post continued.
In a statement provided to theGrio, a spokesperson for Moore disputed the president’s claim that the Maryland governor was responsible for the spill.
“The President has his facts wrong—again. Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak,” said Ammar Moussa.
The Moore spokesperson slammed the Trump administration for failing to act for four weeks and “shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk.”
“Notably, the president’s own EPA explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday. Apparently, the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here,” said Moussa. “Where the president has failed to act, Maryland has played its part to protect residents, protect drinking water, and ensure accountability.”
The Moore official added, “If the federal government is just now showing up to take action, we will work collaboratively—as we always do—to be responsive and keep the public informed about the federal government’s plan to remediate the damage. The Potomac isn’t a talking point, and the people of the region deserve serious leadership that meets the moment.”
The governor’s office noted that the affected Potomac Interceptor, which collapsed and caused the sewage spill, is owned and operated by DC Water, a utility based in the District of Columbia and therefore federally regulated infrastructure under the oversight of the Trump administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Ironically, on Friday, when Maryland officials convened for their legislative hearing on the sewage spill that EPA did not attend, EPA Administrator Chris Wright announced alongside President Trump the EPA’s reversal of the more than 15-year-long endangerment ruling, which critics say will further expose Americans to pollution and health risks associated with climate change.
Trump and Governor Moore have clashed several times in the past year over the president’s withholding of FEMA funds for disaster relief following devastating floods in Maryland, as well as Trump’s repeated threats to send the National Guard to Baltimore, Maryland’s majority Black and largest city, which the president called a “hellhole.” Trump also repeated a false story about his first and only encounter with Moore at last year’s Army-Navy football game.
Their most recent clash was over Moore’s disinvitation by Trump to an annual White House dinner with the nation’s governors. During a recent town hall on CBS, Moore said of the incident, “I do want to be clear to the President respectfully, you do not determine my worthiness. God determines my worthiness.”
He added, “If the point of the meeting he singled me out for and told me I’m disinvited from is to turn it into name-calling, or to follow what he did in this most recent tweet, which is full of lies, ignorance, and is unhinged…then my answer to the president is very clear: Nah, I’m good…I will not go, absolutely not.”
