Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is once again taking aim at what he calls “partisan politics that divide” Washington and he’s pleading with politicians on both sides of the aisle to settle their differences and provide additional stimulus for the health and safety of the American people.

President Donald Trump continues to contest the election and deny daily briefing access about the status of the pandemic to President-Elect Joe Biden’s transition team. Meanwhile, both parties in Congress have yet to come to an agreement on another round of COVID-19 stimulus funding. Hogan, who has been at odds with Trump since the beginning of his presidency, says he’s concerned that the “gridlock” and lack of action in Washington is having an adverse effect on Maryland and other states that are now witnessing spikes in COVID-19 cases.

“This new surge of COVID-19 is going to continue placing enormous strain on both our healthcare systems and on our economy,” Hogan told reporters Tuesday. “Everyone on both sides of the aisle in Washington needs to come together and get this done for the American people.”

Dr. Eric Toner, a senior researcher and professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, says a delay in funding could spell trouble for local health departments.

“It will probably mean that health departments will have to stop doing the other things that they normally do. So…they will have to divert resources to the pandemic,” Toner said.

Programs that could lose funding include disease surveillance, food and restaurant inspections, screenings for tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus, addiction prevention, and disaster planning. Toner says health departments “will need either additional resources or they’ll have to cannibalize” these other programs.

Lack of resources and funding for health departments represents a larger trend. A Kaiser Health News and the Associated Press study found that since 2010, spending by state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and spending by local health departments has fallen by 18%. Toner says with this second surge of more than 12 million confirmed cases and 250,000 deaths due to the virus,  health departments need more resources.

On Friday, Maryland reported 2,300 new coronavirus cases. It was the fifth time the state has reported 2,000 or more cases in the past five days after not reporting a single day over 2,000 previously during the pandemic, according to state health data. Virginia recorded 2,500 new cases on Friday after seeing a record high of 2,677 cases on Monday. The District also saw its highest numbers of daily infections on Tuesday with 245 new cases–a number the city hasn’t seen since May 8.

However David Lublin, a political science professor at American University, WAMU/DCist’s license holder, takes issue with Hogan’s characterization that the delay in funding is due to partisan gridlock.

“Governors who plan to run for president have been saying that for as long as I can recall. The unfortunate truth is it’s not gridlock in Washington. It’s the Republican Party,” Lublin says, referring to Trump’s refusal to concede the election.

Whether it’s partisan fighting or one party, Toner says states are running dry on federal funding.

Time Running Out

The first round of federal funding, $1.5 billion, from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, released in late March, was divided equally among all states, including the District. The money must be used by December 30th or it will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

“The strict deadline does not allow counties to plan for future costs in 2021 and beyond,” the National Association of Counties said in a recent statement.

A bill to extend the deadline for states and local governments has been held up in a Senate committee since August.

Meanwhile, Hogan is pleading for Congress and Trump to extend the National Guard’s funding through the end of March 2021. This funding is separate from the CARES Act. However, National Guard troops have been helping states with test distribution, operating testing sites, and, eventually, will assist with vaccination logistics.

“The Maryland National Guard remains a crucial part of the State’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hogan wrote in a letter to Trump Monday. “It is important to retain the proper authority to bring MDNG members onto orders as needed to meet the current surge in this emergency and to assist with vaccine distribution.”

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has asked the same for his National Guard troops.

“Throughout this pandemic, our Virginia National Guard has been a critical partner helping move supplies and especially helping provide manpower and logistics for testing advance,” Northam said in a press conference earlier this week.

Hogan, who tightened COVID-19 restrictions in the state on Tuesday, says he met with both the Trump and Biden administrations this week to discuss their priorities for a seamless transition.

“I’m very concerned that we’re in the middle of this battle with people dying and hospitals overflowing in every state in the country and we have to make sure that there is a smooth handoff,” Hogan told reporters Tuesday. “I’m hopeful we will and I think it’s getting better, but we have a brand new team that’s not been involved and doesn’t know much about what’s currently happening and that’s a problem.”

Lublin says Hogan wants this transition to go smoothly because he has many constituents that work for the federal government and commute into the District.

“Part of [the Hogan] administration’s approach and part of this administration’s pride has been that they do their best to make things run well and more smoothly,” Lublin said. “And so, you know, to the extent that problems with the federal government or lack of funding impede that, that’s going to impede [Hogan] from performing his job as well as he’d like.”