WASHINGTON – Followed by a phalanx of journalists, Rep. Jahana Hayes joined a group of House Democratic freshmen Wednesday who went on the hunt for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pressure him to hold votes on Democratic bills that would end the shutdown. They did not find McConnell, but even if they had, there’s little evidence they would succeeded in ending a 26-day stalemate.
Mitch McConnell
Posted inNews
FBI report splits Congress along party lines; Blumenthal calls it a ‘cover up’
WASHINGTON – The finished FBI investigation of sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has deepened the divisiveness in Congress. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the probe “a whitewash” and Sen. Chris Murphy has determined Kavanaugh “is the most dangerous nominee to the Supreme Court in a lifetime.” Meanwhile Republican senators say the FBI’s probe fails to corroborate any of the sexual assault allegations against the judge.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy says GOP should adhere to ‘Merrick rule’ with new Supreme Court pick
Washington — President Donald Trump has not named a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement Wednesday, but that hasn’t stopped Sen. Chris Murphy from saying he’ll block the president’s pick.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Budget deal has plenty for Connecticut
WASHINGTON – In rare bipartisan agreement, Congress on Friday approved a massive budget deal that will increase federal spending in Connecticut, providing big boosts for the state’s defense industry and health care programs and even helping schools educate displaced students from Puerto Rico. Every member of Connecticut’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, voted for the package.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, Murphy help sink abortion bill
Updated at 7:10 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s Democratic senators on Monday helped block a bill in the Senate that would have outlawed abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Gun background check bill wins key GOP support
WASHINGTON — An effort to strengthen the gun buyer background check system received a big boost on Tuesday as both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer became co-sponsors of the legislation. The “Fix NICs” bill in the Senate now has 11 Republican co-sponsors and 11 Democratic co-sponsors, and Sen. Chris Murphy says its filibuster-proof.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy says he’s ahead in fundraising effort for Roy Moore’s rival
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy began to try to raise money for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore’s Democratic opponent after Moore boasted last week that he had a fundraising windfall from the Washington Post story that said the former judge – as a young man in his 30s – pursued improper relationships with teenagers, including sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl.
Posted inJustice, Politics
GOP blasts Dems for ‘politicizing’ Las Vegas as CT lawmakers continue gun control push
WASHINGTON — The Las Vegas shooting on Sunday has widened the fissure between congressional Democrats – who have renewed a push for gun control legislation – and Republicans who are condemning their political rivals for “politicizing” the issue.
Posted inPolitics
Trump remarks roil CT Dems, and GOP colleagues
President Donald Trump’s revival of a declaration that “both sides” were to blame for the deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., has drawn swift rebukes from Connecticut members of Congress — and a growing number of their GOP colleagues.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CBO: Obamacare repeal bill would result in 32 million additional uninsured
WASHINGTON — Federal auditors said Wednesday a Senate plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would increase the number of uninsured by 17 million next year and by 32 million in 2026.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT Dems willing to compromise on Obamacare, Trump says let it fail
WASHINGTON — After the collapse of the GOP Senate health care bill, Sen. Chris Murphy said Tuesday he is willing to compromise, including allowing health plans on the individual marketplace that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inHealth, Politics
McConnell tweaks health care bill to win conservative support
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell rolled out a new health care bill that is broadly similar to the one that foundered in the Senate last month, but contains a few new provisions aimed at winning over recalcitrant Republican senators. The new bill was excoriated by Connecticut Democrats, and increased Democratic opposition to the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inHealth, Politics
GOP still trying, but Blumenthal says Obamacare repeal in ‘total disarray’
WASHINGTON — The Senate returns from its Fourth of July break this week without a firm strategy on how to move forward on a health care bill that has little public support and has split Republicans. GOP leaders hope to fashion a bill that would win 50 votes, but that appears harder than ever now.
Posted inPolitics
Q Poll: Support of Senate health care bill at 16 percent
WASHINGTON — Only 16 percent of American voters approve of a Senate health care bill that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a new Quinnipiac University poll said.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy: Senate bill would cost CT billions, end health care for thousands
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate’s health care bill would result in “devastating” Medicaid cuts to Connecticut, reaching $2.9 billion per year by 2026 and stripping tens of thousands of state residents of health care, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday. “Plain and simple — the Senate Republican version of Trumpcare is a greater disaster for the people of Connecticut…and needs to be stopped in its tracks,” Malloy said.