HARTFORD, CT — As the federal government shutdown drags on, threatening funding for numerous services that state residents depend on, state Senate leaders are urging Gov. Ned Lamont to be more aggressive in publicly assigning blame toward the national Republicans.
Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Majority Leader Bob Duff. D-Norwalk, have called on Lamont to follow the example of Pennsylvania and other states and prominently post information on state agency websites pinning the recent service disruptions on what they called inept Republican governance.
FILE PHOTO: Senate President Martin Looney listens to a reporter’s question outside the Senate chamber during the special session on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the state Capitol in Hartford. Credit: Doug Hardy / CTNewsJunkie
The administration of President Donald Trump also has taken similar action, ordering a video featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for flight delays to be played at airports. Locally, Bradley International Airport is not playing the video. The administration also sent mass emails to federal workers blaming Democrats for the shutdown and changed out-of-office replies to repeat the message.
“The ongoing Republican shutdown threatens critical services that Connecticut families depend on, including nutrition assistance, Head Start programs, and healthcare services,” the two stated. “Although these are federal programs, residents often interact with state agencies to access these services, making clear communication about disruptions essential.”
Looney cited Republican control over the federal government.
“Working-class Connecticut residents deserve to know who turned their backs on them,” he said. “President Trump and Congressional Republicans control every branch of the federal government, yet they have chosen to shut it down rather than work constructively to protect working families.”
Duff said the recent demolition of the White House’s East Wing illustrated contempt for working people and said Pennsylvania had shown the way to respond.
“Nothing illustrates Republican contempt for working people more clearly than President Trump demolishing an entire wing of the White House during his own shutdown to build a lavish ballroom for his rich friends,” Senator Duff said. “Pennsylvania has shown the way forward. Governor Shapiro’s administration is clearly communicating to residents why their services are disrupted. Our state government has the same responsibility.”
Pennsylvania’s state Department of Human Services website has a banner that reads “Because Republicans in Washington D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown, November 2025 SNAP benefits cannot be paid.”
The legislative leaders specifically called for Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, to inform enrollees that the premium increases they will face next year are a direct consequence of the Republicans’ refusal to accept the Congressional Democrats’ proposal to protect Americans from these hikes.
With Republicans in complete control of the federal government — the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives — there is no ambiguity about who is responsible for the shutdown and its consequences for Connecticut families,” they said.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, in a Monday statement that the federal government would not be using contingency funds to extend SNAP benefits, placed blame squarely on Congressional Democrats.
“The best way for SNAP benefits to be paid on time is for the Democrats to end their shutdown,” Johnson said Monday.
The government remains shut down with the two parties deadlocked over extending some enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.