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.
Senate Judiciary Committee
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal asks DOJ to stop Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna mergers
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and six other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to block two proposed mergers involving Connecticut health insurers, Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal aims to help families who lost art to Nazis
WASHINGTON — Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Ted Cruz rarely see eye to eye on issues, but they are partners in an effort to change federal law to help victims of the greatt art theft – the massive Nazi confiscations during World War II. “The time is long past to return the ill-gotten gains of that unspeakable horror,” Blumenthal said.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Murphy, Blumenthal say Supreme Court diminished by vacancy
WASHINGTON – Pressing for a vote on President Obama’s stalled nomination of Merrick Garland for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Sen. Chris Murphy said the nation may be heading for an “era” when there will be fewer than nine justices to interpret the nation’s laws.
Posted inPolitics
Next up, Blumenthal’s turn to meet with Garland
WASHINGTON — Merrick Garland has become a familiar face on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol since he was picked last month by President Obama to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, making a round of courtesy visits to Senate offices. On Thursday, it’s Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s turn.
Posted inPolitics
CT senators say Supreme Court nominee Garland has a chance
WASHINGTON — Despite a huge Republican wall of resistance to having President Obama fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Connecticut’s Democratic senators say there’s a chance of confirmation.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal blasts GOP refusal to hold hearing for Supreme Court nominee
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s blasted GOP senators on Tuesday because they said they won’t hold a confirmation hearing for any candidate for the Supreme Court that President Obama selects.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal wants quick action to replace Scalia; GOP leader says no
WASHINGTON – Like other Democrats, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hopes the Senate will act quickly on a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death was announced Saturday. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said not so fast.
Posted inPolitics
Congress takes aim at epidemic of opioid abuse
WASHINGTON — After states have spent years grappling with the problem, Congress may finally address the epidemic of heroin use and abuse of prescription pain killers which has affected Connecticut and the rest of New England more than much of the country.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, others grill Aetna, Anthem chiefs about mergers
WASHINGTON – Skeptical members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday questioned Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini and Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish about their plans to merge with other large insurers, citing concerns about the consolidation’s impact on consumers.
Posted inPolitics
Republicans in Congress target state, local immigration policies
WASHINGTON – Local and state immigration policies, including Connecticut’s, are under scrutiny by congressional Republicans as a reaction to the July 1 killing of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant with an extensive criminal record.
Posted inNews
Tremors from Puerto Rican debt crisis likely to be felt in CT
WASHINGTON – Connecticut will feel fallout from Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, analysts say, rippling through the state’s financial sector and opening the door to new migration if Puerto Ricans flee the island’s deteriorating economy and austerity measures.
Posted inNews
Police violence cases spurring CT proposals for body cameras
WASHINGTON — A rash of cases involving police violence against young black men — most recently including the death of a Baltimore man in police custody — has bolstered the case for body-worn police video cameras both in Connecticut and Washington. Several Connecticut departments are exploring the idea, and the U.S. Senate will hold a hearing on the issue this week.
Posted inPolitics
Despite GOP opposition, Senate confirms Bolden to federal bench
WASHINGTON – New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Allen Bolden was confirmed by the U.S. Senate Thursday to a federal judgeship in Connecticut on a narrow 49-46 vote. All Senate Republicans opposed the nomination of Bolden, 49, who has served as an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Posted inPolitics
Bolden nomination to U.S. court advances despite GOP opposition
Saying he is an “activist” who would not interpret the law without bias, a key Republican lawmaker led GOP opposition Thursday to the nomination of New Haven Corporation Counsel Victor Allen Bolden as a U.S. District court judge for Connecticut. Nonetheless, Bolden’s nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line 10-8 vote.
