Reeling from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is urging business leaders to take risks in 2026 and curb the state economy’s reliance on what he called “eds, feds and meds.”
“I want economic growth, economic diversification, and I want to move fast,” he said.
Moore told a group of business leaders gathered at a Greater Washington Board of Trade meeting at National Harbor on Tuesday that Maryland, and the greater D.C. region, needs to diversify its economic bases.
“I think, for anyone in the region, we all understand the complication of thinking that if you have a reliance on Washington, D.C., that somehow that is a good bet,” he said.
Traditionally, Moore said, Maryland’s economy has been built on three things — education, the federal government and health care.
“The challenge is when you have one of those stools that has not just been altered, in many ways it’s been severed, how do you come up with new ways to focus on economic growth?” he said.
Moore said he wants to make it simpler for businesses to come to Maryland, stay in Maryland and grow industries that can provide long-term employment.
