The General Assembly's two top leaders dismissed a Twitter message from Gov. Larry Hogan's camp boasting of having won their districts in last year's election, saying Thursday that they took it in stride even as their staff members expressed outrage.
Hogan's political organization, Change Maryland, sent out a tweet Wednesday giving an implicit warning to the two legislative leaders as lawmakers continue to balk at much of Hogan's legislative agenda.
"We won Miller and Busch's districts overwhelmingly - hopefully they're paying attention," the tweet said.
Busch said he the message was "certainly not helpful" as the legislature and the governor struggle to resolve wide difference over the state budget and other issues. But the speaker said he was not concerned about the message's implications.
"I think both President Miller and I have weathered many storms and won numerous elections," he said, noting that he has been elected in his Annapolis district eight times and that Miller has had a more than 40-year legislative career.
Busch noted that Hogan is serving his first year in elected office.
"When Governor Hogan can win more than one election in a row, let him and his staff comment on other elected officials," Busch said.
Miller said he remains committed to working with the administration to bring the session to an amicable conclusion Monday night, but he questioned the timing of the Change Maryland comment.
"There's a time for governance and a time for campaigning and three years from now we can get in the campaign mode and now's not the time," he said.
Other Democratic lawmakers were more critical of the Hogan camp's statement.
"Seeking to antagonize the people who you are negotiating with is an interesting tactic - especially since Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. has been working hard to build consensus in the General Assembly on a final budget compromise," Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., a Montgomery County Democrat, said on his Facebook page.
Sen. Jamie Raskin, also from Montgomery County, said there's always an understanding that official can try to knock off opponents at the polls.
"It does seem to be better form not to mention it," he said. "This is probably a slight breach of political etiquette."
Neither the governor's office nor Hogan's political operation returned messages seeking a comment.