WASHINGTON — With Donald Trump’s presidency fueling partisan fires in Congress, a group of centrist Democrats led by Rep. Jim Himes is trying to find common ground with GOP counterparts. The goal is to determine whether they could come together on infrastructure, budget, tax and other issues.
Elizabeth Esty
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CT a likely target of Trump’s new immigration policy
Washington – With its policy of not turning over all undocumented aliens requested by federal officials, Connecticut is likely to be in the cross hairs of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policy, outlined in twin executive orders issued Wednesday.
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Thousands from CT heading to D.C. to celebrate – and protest – inauguration
WASHINGTON — The inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump and related events may bring a record number of Connecticut residents to Washington, both to support the swearing in of the 45th president and to protest policies they expect him to implement.
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Newtown activists come to an election-changed Washington
WASHINGTON — On their first pilgrimage here since the election, relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and other incidents of gun violence and their allies asked President-elect Donald Trump to abandon his hard-line stance against gun control. But chances of that are slim.
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Senate approves Murphy mental health bill
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy had a significant win Wednesday as the Senate gave final approval to a bill that included his legislation to overhaul the mental health system. “For all the downsides about this job, this is one of those moments that keeps you coming back,” he said.
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Himes to head centrist Dem group
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jim Himes was elected on Thursday to head the centrist New Democrat Coalition in the next Congress, a group that says it’s “moderate,” “pro-growth,” and has about 50 members.
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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.
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Incumbent Democrats win U.S. House races
Connecticut’s five Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives were projected as winners on election night. All of them won their race by large margins.
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CT lawmakers spend millions fending off underfunded foes
WASHINGTON — Boosted by their success at fundraising, members of the all-Democratic Connecticut delegation to the House of Representatives have spent a total of nearly $5 million to stave off woefully underfunded challengers this year.
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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.
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Fundraising for GOP congressional candidates in CT hits new low
Updated at 9 a.m.
Donors are shunning all five Republican campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives in Connecticut, setting a new mark for fundraising futility: Contributions in the 4th and 5th Congressional Districts are less than 10 percent of what previous GOP challengers raised in previous cycles.
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Esty and Cope disagree, if amiably, on gun control and climate change
DANBURY — America’s approach to regulating the sale of guns was the brightest line dividing U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and Republican Clay Cope, on Thursday in the first debate of what’s been an unexpectedly quiet congressional campaign. Another wedge issue was climate change: Cope is unsure about its cause, saying, “I’m not a scientist.”
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CT says it’s on track to end chronic homelessness by year end
WATERBURY — Connecticut is on pace to eliminate chronic homelessness by the end of the year, the state’s top housing official said at a press conference in Waterbury Tuesday.
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CT lawmakers raise millions in political cash, challengers not so much
Washington – Connecticut’s incumbents continued to outpace their challengers in campaign fundraising by wide margins, according to the latest reports with the Federal Elections Commission.
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CT Dems take stand on opioid funding – and lose
WASHINGTON — Despite protests and high drama over the level of money the federal government will spend fighting heroin addiction and prescription pain pill abuse, Democrats lost their battle this week to increase federal funds by nearly $1 billion to pay for additional treatment for addicts.