These news briefs are part of The Connecticut Mirror’s 2026 political coverage. For more Connecticut political news, sign up here for The Issue, the CT Mirror’s weekly politics newsletter.
Bronin pushes for stock trading ban
Following his victory in the midterm elections, Luke Bronin said one of his priorities to combat corruption and self-enrichment in government was to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.
He joined dozens of other newly elected members this week in calling on House Democratic leadership to push for such a prohibition in the early days of the party’s majority next year.
Bronin and others want to see a rule barring members and their spouses from “owning or trading stocks, commodities, futures, derivatives, and other related securities.” Exceptions would include a diversified mutual fund or investments in a qualified blind trust.
— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter
Major Richard Star Act passes U.S. House
All five Democrats in Connecticut’s congressional delegation joined an overwhelming majority in the House to pass legislation that would allow combat-injured veterans to collect full benefits.
Veterans who were medically retired and served less than 20 years cannot collect full retirement benefits when they also receive disability compensation. The Major Richard Star Act seeks to change that.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has tried several times to move the bill forward in the Senate through unanimous consent. But it was blocked each time since it only takes one member to object to such a request. He hopes Congress can get this fully passed by the end of the year.
— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter
Round 2 open for farm disaster grants
A second round opened this week for eligible farmers to apply for funds from Connecticut’s $53 million federal disaster relief program. The application period runs from Nov. 9 through Dec. 9.
Farmers can access relief after experiencing damages caused by disasters and extreme weather events in 2023 and 2024. The money can be put toward crop production loss, damages to agricultural structures and farm infrastructure, or perennial crop losses that lead to multi-year production losses.
During the first round, 145 applications were submitted for a total of $67 million in requested relief. Those initial requests exceeded the total amount allocated to the state-run program.
— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter
CT Dems vote to impeach Hegseth. The effort failed.
After a House Republican sought to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the GOP moved on a vote to effectively kill that effort. But all five Democrats in Connecticut’s delegation voted against referring the resolution to committee. Nearly a dozen other Democrats missed the vote, and Republicans ultimately had the numbers.
It’s unclear if House Democrats will take it up again when they’re in the majority. And broader questions remain among Democrats about impeachment of President Trump.
“I think impeachment could potentially be a blind alley, futile and frustrating,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday, “and also a diversion from the focus that we really need, which is on affordability and accountability.”
— Lisa Hagen, Federal Policy Reporter
West Hartford aerospace workers hold strike
State officials and local legislators joined striking union workers in West Hartford on Veterans Day, more than a week after workers at Triumph Group first walked off of the job in protest.
The company, which builds components for military aircraft, employs more than 170 members of UAW Local 405. The workers said despite recent profits, employees hasn’t seen corresponding growth in pay or benefits. This prompted workers to begin their strike at the company earlier this month.
On Veterans Day, workers continued to call for the company to meet them at the negotiation table, arguing that the company was failing to support its own workers, many of whom are veterans.
— P.R. Lockhart, Economic Development Reporter