Maryland Gov. Wes Moore accused the Trump administration of blocking him from speaking at Tuesday’s announcement of a massive Anduril Industries shipbuilding expansion in Baltimore County.
The exclusion ignited a political dispute over a defense project that both state and federal officials project will bring thousands of jobs to Maryland.
Moore skipped the Sparrows Point event after the White House refused to grant him a speaking role, though White House officials maintained they invited him as a guest.
During the visit, President Donald Trump promoted Anduril’s planned two-million-square-foot facility designed to manufacture components for Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
The dispute came as Maryland officials celebrated what they described as the state’s largest private investment and biggest job-creating project in more than a decade. Anduril plans to invest $3.7 billion of its own money in the facility, while the U.S. Navy has awarded the company a separate $2.9 billion contract tied to the project.
The development is expected to create more than 3,100 permanent jobs and support more than 14,000 jobs overall.
Moore said Maryland officials spent more than a year helping bring Anduril to the former steelmaking site at Sparrows Point. He said the state worked with the company and local officials to make the project possible, making his exclusion from the program particularly frustrating.
“We have been working with them for over a year,” Moore told reporters Tuesday.
The governor then took aim at Trump’s decision to limit his role at the event.
“If the president of the United States wants to bring the circus into town,” Moore said, as reported by the Washington Examiner, “then I will let the circus be conducted” while he returned to his work for Maryland.
Moore’s office has maintained that the governor planned to participate in the event before the White House removed him from the speaking lineup. A spokesman said Moore remains committed to working with people across party lines when it benefits Maryland but will continue to defend the state’s interests.
The governor “has always said he will work with anyone when it comes to delivering for Marylanders but bow to no one when it comes to standing up for them,” CNN reported.
The White House rejected the governor’s characterization of what happened.
A White House official said Trump invited Moore to attend the announcement but did not promise him a speaking position. The administration accused the governor of turning an economic development announcement into a dispute over political credit.
“It’s unfortunate that the Governor is now making a multi-billion-dollar announcement about himself,” the White House said, criticizing Moore for what it described as a “tantrum.”
Moore’s absence did not go unnoticed.
Anduril co-founder and CEO Brian Schimpf specifically thanked Moore, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, members of Congress and other state and local officials for helping the company move forward with the investment.
“Gov. Moore, County Executive Klausmeier” and other Maryland leaders “have all moved with urgency,” Schimpf said.
The project, dubbed Arsenal-2, will occupy the Tradepoint Atlantic site in Sparrows Point — a location rooted in American steelmaking and naval shipbuilding history.
Anduril expects the facility to boost national submarine manufacturing capacity, targeting a 2030 production launch.
The initiative responds to federal pressure to speed up naval manufacturing after years of delays and labor shortages across U.S. shipyards.
Beyond national defense, state officials project the venture will deliver a massive economic return to Maryland, generating $2 billion in annual economic output and $312 million in yearly wages.
The political disagreement between Moore and Trump, however, predates Tuesday’s event.
The two have repeatedly clashed over Baltimore and Maryland’s direction. Trump has criticized the city’s crime and previously threatened to send National Guard troops there. Moore pushed back, pointing to declining crime rates and challenging Trump to visit Baltimore himself.
The president previously excluded Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, both Democrats, from a White House dinner for governors. Many view Moore as a prominent Democratic figure and mention him as a potential future presidential contender.
Trump and Moore’s strained relationship made Tuesday’s dispute especially notable because both publicly backed the Anduril project’s economic value despite disagreeing over who should take the stage.
“The Governor is proud to welcome Anduril to Baltimore County,” a spokesman said, pointing to the thousands of permanent jobs expected from the investment.
Some Maryland lawmakers also defended Moore’s role in bringing the project to the state.
“The governor had every right to be there and every right to speak,” state Sen. Guy Guzzone said.
The Moore administration continues to champion the investment as a major economic victory for Maryland, even as the governor and White House remain at odds over who deserves a place at the microphone.
