MARYLAND (WBFF) — More than a year after Maryland paid roughly $240,000 in taxpayer funds to Accenture to help prepare for a second Trump presidency, there is still no public record of what the firm produced or what taxpayers received in return.
The contract, approved in late 2024 and extended through March 1, 2025, was intended to help Gov. Wes Moore and his administration anticipate and respond to policy changes under President Donald Trump.
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But when Spotlight on Maryland asked the governor’s office to provide any reports, findings or outcomes tied to the work and to explain how the contract benefited taxpayers, the office did not respond.
The lack of transparency is drawing scrutiny from policy experts, who say the public has a right to understand how taxpayer money is used.
“I think there’s every reason to want to share the outcome or the findings with the taxpayers,” said Todd Eberly, a professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
High stakes for Maryland
Maryland’s proximity to Washington, D.C., and its heavy reliance on federal employment make it particularly vulnerable to changes at the federal level.
Those pressures have been visible over the past year.
Maryland has faced federal workforce cuts tied to broader restructuring efforts under Trump, while also navigating the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and the complex process of securing federal funding for rebuilding. At the same time, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has filed more than 100 legal actions against the Trump administration. Brown declined an interview with Spotlight on Maryland to discuss his decisions to challenge Trump.
Eberly said that environment underscores why planning ahead, including hiring outside consultants, can be valuable.
“There is a great degree of unpredictability about President Trump,” Eberly said. “In fact, I think Trump himself used that as a strength. He wants you to be surprised and not quite know what to expect.”
He said Maryland has faced less direct targeting from Trump compared to other Democratic-led states, noting that governors like Tim Walz in Minnesota, Gavin Newsom in California and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois have drawn more attention and national headlines. Eberly said Maryland has not experienced the same level of federal intervention.
The short-term contract with Accenture was aimed to examine Trump’s impact on programs and funding that are directly tied to Maryland. According to the signed agreement, the consulting firm offered risk assessment with options for how the state could respond.
Still, Eberly added, the public cannot assess whether the consulting work helped because the results have not been disclosed.
“Whether or not we learned something from the Accenture report, I can’t really answer,” he said. “Because we don’t know what their recommendations to the state were.”
Why hire consultants?
The Moore administration’s decision to bring in outside help for a limited period for roughly four months may reflect the scale and speed of changes coming out of Washington, according to Flavio Hickel, an associate professor of political science at Washington College.
“My understanding of the project is that they’re looking at what are the likely administrative actions, executive orders, congressional legislation and how will this directly impact the state of Maryland,” Hickel said.
Typically, that kind of analysis is handled internally by state agencies, he said. But the pace of Trump’s second term may have stretched resources.
“The Trump administration is moving extremely quickly and rapidly to very different topics and very different battles,” Hickel said.
Looking back, Hickel said, the decision to hire outside consultants may have been justified.
Transparency questions remain
Even so, Hickel said the use of taxpayer money comes with an expectation of public accountability.
“A general good policy of democracy and accountability is that if taxpayer money is being used to fund something, then taxpayers have a right to examine the results of that in some sort of timely fashion,” he said.
Hickel noted that while not all internal government analyses are immediately made public, administrations are generally expected to provide some level of disclosure, whether proactively or through public records requests.
“My expectation is they probably would release something at some point or at least they should,” he said.
Spotlight on Maryland has filed a public records request seeking any reports, assessments or documented outcomes from the Accenture contract. A response is expected within 30 days.
What did taxpayers get?
Economist Anirban Basu of Sage Policy Group said the core issue is not whether the state hired consultants but whether the work served Maryland residents.
“I have no problem at all with a public official hiring consultants,” Basu said. “That happens all the time.”
However, he said, the lack of public information makes it difficult to determine whether the spending delivered tangible value.
“It may exist internally,” Basu said of any report or findings. “But it wasn’t for the people of Maryland, because we haven’t seen it.”
Basu added that at a time when residents are facing economic pressures including rising prices, higher fees and concerns about job stability, transparency about government spending is especially important.
“People are upset about higher taxes and fees. They’re upset about rising unemployment, they’re upset about rising prices,” he said.
If the consulting work was focused more on political strategy than direct benefits to the state, he said, that raises concerns.
“To the extent that Accenture is helping that part of the equation,” Basu said, “that does not benefit the taxpayer of Maryland.”
Without public documentation of what Accenture produced, it remains unclear whether the consulting work helped Maryland navigate federal challenges or how its impact, if any, should be measured.
For now, experts say, that leaves a fundamental question unanswered: What did Maryland taxpayers get for $240,000?
Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun. Have a story tip? Email spotlightonmaryland@sbgtv.com or call 410-467-4670. Investigative reporter Tessa Bentulan can be reached at tbentulan@sbgtv.com.
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