Larry Hogan says Trump ordering Republicans to block bipartisan border bill made him ‘angry enough’ to run for Senate

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan revealed Monday that he was convinced to launch his Senate campaign after witnessing former President Donald Trump’s overt influence on the debate surrounding a bipartisan border bill last month.  

“It’s why I decided to run for Senate,” the Republican Maryland Senate candidate said during an appearance on MSNBC. 

Hogan, 67, announced his bid for the Senate seat currently occupied by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Feb. 9. The former governor had previously dismissed having any interest in serving in the upper chamber, citing the quarrelsome nature of life in the Senate. 

“Actually, I had never given any consideration to this race,” Hogan said. “I’d said 100 times I didn’t aspire to become a senator. I didn’t need a job. I wasn’t looking for another title.

“But three weeks ago on a Wednesday night, when I saw a real solution to secure the border and provide funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan — something that most of the Republican senators had said was, all those things were important, and they were told to vote against what they believed in — it made me frustrated and angry enough to say, I think I’m gonna go down there and try to do something about this.”

The $118 billion border bill, negotiated by the Biden administration and a bipartisan group of senators, was defeated in a Feb. 7 vote after Trump, 77, slammed it as a “great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party.” 

President Biden and other Democrats have accused the 2024 GOP front-runner of orchestrating Republican opposition to the agreement in order to keep the border a live issue ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The legislation included billions of dollars in military assistance for Ukraine and Israel, as well as billions of dollars in border security measures and a Title 42-style authority that would allow Biden, 81, to shut down crossings when migrant encounters exceeded a 5,000-per-day average over a one-week period.

Since the bill’s failure, lawmakers have been unable to pass standalone legislation providing military aid to Israel or Ukraine. 

The anti-Trump, centrist former governor slammed the “new strain of isolationism in the Republican Party” and accused the GOP caucus of harboring “Putin sympathizers.”

“I think if we don’t do something to help Ukraine right now, then we’re going to be forced to send American soldiers because we’re going to be defending NATO countries,” Hogan said of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. 

Hogan noted another former president was also influential and getting him back on the campaign trail. 

“Probably the most convincing guy was George Bush, who called me and said that he thought that I had an important voice that was needed for the party,” Hogan said. “He thought that there was a missing voice for our party to get back on track to the more Reagan-esque bigger-tent party. And he said, you know, even though you probably don’t want to be a senator, we need you.”

Hogan is considered the favorite in the Maryland GOP Senate primary. The state hasn’t elected a Republican senator in 37 years.

His top opponents on the Democratic side are the deep-pocketed founder of alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

The Maryland primary will be held on May 14.