Today, hundreds of thousands of people are attending more than 1,000 “Hands Off!”-related protests nationwide focused on President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Including Maryland. The “ Hands Off Social Security ” protest kicked off Saturday morning with protesters gathering outside the administration’s headquarters in Baltimore County. Organizers said they intend to push back against the “greatest threat” Social Security has every faced. The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one. Speakers included former Gov. Martin O’Malley , who was head of Social Security for part of the Biden administration. After being welcomed by the applause of hundreds in Woodlawn, O’Malley led a chant that had rumbled throughout the crowd several times previously Saturday morning: “Hands Off!” “Let’s hear it from ya for Social Security!” O’Malley said, joking that he hadn’t seen so many people in the courtyard “since we adjusted on site work rules.” O’Malley laid into Musk, which he referred to as the “co-president,” and cuts his DOGE organization has made across the federal government, including Social Security. “Bitcoin might be a Ponzi scheme - but not Social Security,” O’Malley said. The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one. O’Malley said that those who can’t work, including the elderly and those with disabilities, are the “waste and inefficiency that Elon Musk is going after,” before telling the crowd that “you and I are different” in their belief of what America means. “The greatness of our country is not the amount of wealth we amass nor is it the size of our armies. It is the care and compassion that we demonstrate for one another to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, to heal the sick, to care for widows and orphans,” he said, each example permeated by a large “Yes!” from the crowd. “This is our greatness as a people. And this is why we are never gonna give up in this fight for Social Security.” He then asked the crowd if they could be numbed into positivity, to which they responded with a resounding “Hell no!” As the response transformed into a chant, O’ Malley held his microphone out to the crowd. More than 150 political groups worked together to organize what could be the single biggest day of protest of the second Trump administration. Tens of thousands of federal employees have lost their jobs in recent months because of cuts implemented by the Trump administration. Many of those cuts have been driven by Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which have been targeting government spending. The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one. The broad cuts to federal programs and departments have had ripple effects across the country, including in Maryland. The state’s proximity to Washington , and the high number of federal contractors and employees, have made Maryland particularly vulnerable. Officials with Social Security, which is headquartered near Baltimore, said sweeping changes are coming to the agency, including cutting 7,000 positions and closing offices around the country. About 10,000 Marylanders worked for the agency last year. Earlier this week, nearly 3,000 jobs were cut across 11 federal offices in Maryland as part of mass layoffs within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nonprofits affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University have also laid off thousands of workers in response to federal funding cuts.
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