BALTIMORE — Maryland Sen. Arthur Ellis, a Charles County Democrat, said he will refuse to mark his attendance on the Senate floor until the chamber hears a proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps — a protest intended to pressure staunch opponent, Senate President Bill Ferguson, to change course.

The escalation comes just days after the Maryland House of Delegates passed House Bill 488, fast-tracking a new map to the Senate Rules Committee. The bill would implement new congressional boundaries recently recommended by Gov. Wes Moore’s Redistricting Advisory Committee, which would significantly reshape the 1st and 3rd congressional districts and could put Rep. Andy Harris, the state’s lone Republican member of Congress, at a substantial electoral disadvantage. Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth, who represents the third district, could potentially face off with Harris if the new map is enacted.

Ferguson has repeatedly said the Senate is “unified” in opposition to the bill.

“What are you doing today, when so many people’s rights are being trampled, and we have modern protesters being murdered in the streets of America? What are you doing?” Ellis asked his colleagues during a speech. He began his remarks on Thursday morning by honoring prominent women leaders in the Civil Rights Movement, such as Fani Lou Hamer and Pauli Murray. Ellis also accused President Donald Trump’s administration of disproportionately harming Black women through cuts to the federal workforce, noting that Maryland has lost more than 25,000 federal jobs. “So many Black women in Maryland and my district have been fired because of their race by this administration. Women with PhDs [have been] fired,” Ellis added. “I have a cousin who was fired. It is unacceptable for us to sit back and act like we cannot do anything about it.”

He continued, urging Maryland Democrats to be “part of the revolution to send Washington a message that what they’re doing to our citizens is unacceptable.”

Ellis’ remarks are the latest in a statewide pressure campaign aimed at convincing Ferguson to reverse course on mid-cycle redistricting. Moore and House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk appeared on MS Now on Tuesday, urging Senate action, while House Democrats have echoed those calls in committee hearings and on the House floor. Grassroots organizations have also funded social media ads arguing Maryland should join other Democratic-led states in countering GOP redistricting efforts to ensure Democrats a chance at winning the 2026 midterm elections.

Gov. Wes Moore’s office echoed Ellis’ sense of urgency. Ammar Moussa, Moore’s senior press secretary, said Ellis is reflecting growing frustration among Marylanders as the state absorbs the effects of federal actions. Moussa also cited the state’s recent loss of federal jobs, rising costs, and threats to civil rights, arguing that the Senate should debate the map and take a vote as a necessary check on the Trump administration. “This is about protecting our democracy and ensuring there is a meaningful check on this administration. Standing with democracy means taking up this map, debating it, and taking a vote—and that is our ask of the Maryland Senate,” Moussa said.

Ferguson appeared stone-faced as Ellis delivered his speech and after, said “Thank you, senator” as the Charles County Democrat walked out of the chamber in protest before the chamber adjourned for the day.

Rep. Andy Harris reiterated his support for Ferguson’s stance. “If the Senate concurs with the House, we will win in court and actually gain a Republican seat. I doubt that’s what Senator Ellis wants,” Harris wrote in a statement to The Sun. “But he’s just another Western Shore politician who wants to unfairly, and unconstitutionally, break up the Eastern Shore.”

The Sun reached out to all four members of Republican leadership in the Maryland General Assembly. Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, a very vocal opponent to the proposed map, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline, while Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready declined to comment. In separate texts to The Sun, House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said, “I can’t imagine [Ellis’ protest] will have much, if any, impact on the resolution of the issue,” and House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy added, “it appears that not all Democrats in the Senate are on the same page on redistricting.”

National Democratic figures have also urged Maryland lawmakers to consider mid-decade redistricting. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in December, met with members of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus to make the case for redistricting, Ellis confirmed Thursday. Jeffries and Gov. Wes Moore have also publicly called on Ferguson to allow a Senate vote.

Democrats nationwide are considering new mid-cycle congressional maps in response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in states such as Texas, Ohio and North Carolina. Democratic leaders in California have already advanced new congressional maps as part of that broader strategy, potentially guaranteeing Democrats in the state five additional congressional seats. The Supreme Court upheld California’s new map on Wednesday.

Does the protest signal what’s to come?

Following his floor remarks, Ellis said his protest was a matter of free speech and intimidation, adding that he was summoned to an hour-long meeting with Ferguson on Tuesday afternoon after asking for a straw poll to gauge support for the legislation, calling the response an attempt to silence him.

“As an independent senator, I have the right to bring up anything that’s important to my constituents and to be heard,” he said.

Ellis said leadership told him it was “inappropriate” to raise the issue in caucus but did not specify who delivered the message or why. He declined to estimate how many senators support the bill but said he believes support exists among Black and Democratic members.

David Schuhlein, Ferguson’s communications director, said the Senate president did not meet with Ellis at any point after Tuesday’s standing Democratic caucus, where the senator brought up redistricting in a manner similar to his remarks during Thursday’s session. He also confirmed that no senators, including the Senate president, knew Ellis would raise redistricting on the Senate floor Thursday, though he said it is “totally within [Ellis’] rights.”

Still, Schuhlein said Ellis’ remarks do not reflect broader support within the chamber. He said the Senate remains largely unified in opposing the measure, citing legal and political concerns, including the risk of losing a congressional seat if the map is challenged in court.

Ellis’ protest plans include withholding his participation in forming a quorum — or marking his attendance — on the Senate floor, a protest he said will last “as long as it takes.” He added that he will continue attending the State House, participating in committee hearings and engaging senators in caucus meetings and private discussions, and plans to raise midcycle redistricting “every day” in every forum available to him until the bill receives a floor vote.

“I dare anyone to try to punish me and kill those bills – bills that are great for women, for veterans, for children, men. I dare them to kill those bills, to punish me,” Ellis said.

Asked whether he is influenced by the governor or national Democrats such as Jeffries, Ellis told The Baltimore Sun, “Yes, I am persuaded by those leaders,” including Moore and Pena-Melnyk.

Moore and Ferguson have both denied that Maryland’s redistricting debate is being driven by national Democrats. Republicans have accused party leaders of responding to pressure from outside the state as Democrats weigh countermeasures to GOP-led redistricting.

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