Michael Erin "Coach" Busch[1] (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019.

Busch successfully leveraged his party's majority to advance his legislative goals over the objections of Republican Governors Larry Hogan and Bob Ehrlich.

Some significant veto overrides include raising the state's minimum wage,[6] twice,[7] restoring voting rights to felons,[8] closing a hotel sales tax loophole,[8] increasing funding for performing arts,[8] and creating a new Public Service Commission.

[9] Busch had significant knowledge of procedural rules of the House and occasionally maneuvered to block efforts by the minority party to advance legislation outside the normal committee process.

[10] Notably, in 2015 Busch blocked an attempt by Republicans to put forward legislation to ban gay marriage in the state by ending the day's session abruptly in a rare move.

He rallied his caucus to support legislation allowing visitation rights for unmarried partners before gay marriage was legalized in the state.

[18] Speaker Busch voted multiple times to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Anne Arundel County.

As his health declined, his supporters adopted the nickname "Iron Mike" to emphasize his strength and resilience as he tried to recover from the transplant.

His funeral took place on April 16 at St. John Neumann Church in Annapolis and was followed by a reception at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.