Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee vowed to give Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, tough scrutiny, setting the groundwork for a contentious confirmation hearing.
Donald Trump
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers hail likely return of reviled earmarks
WASHINGTON – U.S. House Republicans were stopped from bringing back a practice that once funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Connecticut – but the once reviled earmark, or special project, looks like it’s going to make a comeback anyway.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal no longer top Dem on VA panel
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal has been toppled from his job as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal: Lame duck need not be lame
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to work this week for a lame-duck session aimed at trying to set aside partisan differences long enough to keep the government from closing. Connecticut’s two Democratic senators also hope some of the state’s priorities will survive in the next six weeks.
Posted inPolitics
CT immigrants fear Trump-led backlash
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s policies on immigration are roiling the immigrant community in Connecticut, as they are across the nation. “Right now people don’t know what to expect,” said Carolina Bortolleto, an immigrant activist. “Everybody in the [immigrant] community feels things are dangerous and are scared.”
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers returning to D.C. with Dem Party in disarray
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s members of the U.S. House, all Democrats who were re-elected by healthy margins in a bad year for their party, will return to work next week amid a new political reality and with a Democratic Party in disarray.
Posted inPolitics
CT election autopsy: Trump expands map
After a night of big gains in the state legislature, Republicans say the unpopularity of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy outweighed any negative effects from President-elect Donald J. Trump at the top of the ticket.
Posted inHealth
With Obamacare’s future in doubt, officials urge people to keep signing up
Come January, the nation will have a president and Congress that have pledged repeatedly to repeal Obamacare. But in the meantime, there’s a sign-up period going on for people to buy coverage through the insurance exchanges created by the health law. So what happens now?
Posted inPolitics
Trump agenda clashes with that of CT lawmakers
WASHINGTON – The day after Donald Trump’s stunning victory, Connecticut lawmakers said they would give the new president-elect a honeymoon period, but it may be short lived.
Posted inPolitics
Clinton carries CT but not the nation amid voter angst
While Connecticut voters backed Hillary Clinton in a losing effort against Donald J. Trump Tuesday, one of the most contentious presidential races in modern history polarized residents on both sides of the debate. Many of the state’s voters reflected national polls showing they weren’t excited about either presidential contender, and – in some cases – repulsed by both.
Posted inPolitics
Esty, Cope differ sharply, and sometimes agree, in a civil race
WASHINGTON — Overshadowed like other congressional races in Connecticut by the loud and vitriolic presidential race, the matchup between Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty and GOP challenger Clay Cope has been a civil contest between party moderates.
Posted inPolitics
As ACA faces new challenges, fixes not assured
WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act is facing more challenges than at any time since its initial enrollment period in 2013, when the program was bedeviled by technical glitches. Besides rising premiums and fewer choices in Connecticut and elsewhere, there’s uncertainty a new Congress and a new administration will make fixes to the ACA that will improve its health.
Posted inPolitics
In CT, most Republican mega-donors steer clear of Trump
WASHINGTON — With the notable exception of Linda McMahon, Connecticut’s Republican mega-donors have largely steered clear of helping their party’s standard bearer – Donald J. Trump. Instead, some of Connecticut’s richest Republicans gave to other candidates running in the GOP primaries and even to the anti-Trump Our Principles PAC.
Posted inPolitics
CT GOP helps Trump mega-donors bypass campaign limits, legally
Some eye-popping numbers are listed in the Connecticut Republican Party’s latest finance report: On a single day, nearly $900,000 flowed from across the U.S. into its account, nearly doubling its receipts. But the money bounced to the Republican National Committee, a legal trick practiced by both parties to help megadonors evade contribution limits.
Posted inPolitics
Elite group in CT raising millions for Clinton
WASHINGTON — An exclusive group of about two dozen Connecticut residents has raised millions of dollars to help put Hillary Clinton in the White House by “bundling” contributions from friends, associates and anyone else willing to give to the candidate. The Trump campaign has not disclosed its bundlers.
