Former Top Senate Aide Weissmann To Take Over As Next Budget Secretary

By Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters

October 11, 2025

A former senior aide to two state Senate leaders is returning to Annapolis, this time as the new budget secretary in Gov. Wes Moore’s Cabinet.

Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann, currently the vice president of government relations and community affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will succeed Helene Grady, who announced this summer that she was leaving in October.

While Grady has a more traditional budget background, Weissmann brings a depth of relationships with the General Assembly to his new role, at a time when relations between the legislature and the Moore administration are strained.

In announcing the appointment Friday afternoon, Moore called Weissmann “an experienced public servant and one of the most effective policy minds in our state.”

“His deep understanding of the Maryland budget, developed over years in both the legislative branch and in local government, makes him uniquely qualified to lead DBM,” Moore said in a prepared statement.

He went on to call the appointment “critical as we continue to execute on our budget priorities to make Maryland more affordable, competitive, and ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

At UMBC, Weissmann worked to strengthen relationships with policymakers and secure operating and capital funding, according to the governor’s office. It said he has also served as an assistant chief administrative officer for Montgomery County, coordinating economic development and serving as the direct point of contact for several departments, including environmental protection, housing and community affairs, permitting services, and transportation.

Outgoing Maryland Budget Secretary Helene Grady. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

“I am humbled and excited to serve under Governor Moore and to honor his administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, even during deeply challenging times,” Weissmann said in the statement released by the governor’s office.

“Working in collaboration with our partners in the Maryland General Assembly, we will ensure the steady management and administration of a balanced budget that delivers for all Marylanders,” his statement said.

Weissmann emerged as a late contender for the secretary’s job. The administration had considered a pool of other candidates including Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard); Deputy Treasurer Jonathan Martin; Rich Madaleno, a former Montgomery County senator who served as vice chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, and the current county administrative officer to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich; and others.

News of Weissmann’s appointment came just two days after Deputy Budget Secretary Marc Nicole was named acting secretary on Wednesday. Nicole will assume that role on Oct. 15; Weissmann is slated to take over as secretary on Oct. 22.

Weissmann holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and later a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

He also currently serves on the Maryland State Board of Elections, a position he may have to give up as he assumes a job that determines the election agency’s budget.

Weissmann has a wealth of Annapolis experience, including three years as the top aide to two Senate leaders. After seven years as deputy chief of staff to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Weissmann took over as chief of staff. He remained in that position after Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) succeeded Miller. During his time as a senior adviser to Miller and Ferguson, he did help oversee legislative efforts on the budget.

Weissmann’s collegial demeanor and longstanding ties to the Senate, and by extension the General Assembly, could be an asset to Moore, who is entering the final legislative session of his first term.
Moore entered office riding a wave of excitement among legislative Democrats who had just finished eight years of partisan conflict with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. But the relationship between Moore and the legislature has shown signs of strain of late.

Moore’s public positions on issues such as ending automatic inflation-based increases to the gas tax and allowing the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores rankled legislators in his own party. Recent vetoes by Moore, including one on a bill to study the issue of reparations, have drawn open criticism from Democratic lawmakers who are threatening override votes.

Legislative audits are also becoming more critical of Moore’s departments and are becoming fodder for public hearings.

On budget issues, there have been frustrations between legislative budget committees and the administration over “miscalculations,” including hundreds of millions in underestimated Medicaid costs.

Weissmann’s knowledge of the legislature and personal relationships with many of its leaders could be a balm for Moore’s frayed legislative relationships.