by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — Congressional Democrats will have their hands full in the coming months, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday.
In addition to tackling issues like affordability, the war in Iran, and immigration enforcement actions, the party also intends to use its new majority status to launch investigations. Those would target what Blumenthal characterized as corruption and incompetence in the administration of President Donald Trump and various federal agencies.
In response to a question about prioritizing a legislative agenda with expected investigations, Blumenthal was unequivocal where he believed the investigations should begin.
“I think we should begin impeachment today, of Pete Hegseth,” Blumenthal said of the current secretary of defense, who has held the post since 2025. Blumenthal clarified that the House of Representatives is responsible for impeachment and the Senate tries impeached officials. He said he believed the votes were there to impeach Hegseth.
Hegseth impeachment a better strategy, Blumenthal says
But while he backed a Hegseth impeachment, Blumenthal doubted there was sufficient support for a third impeachment of Trump, and said the effort could be a blind alley.
“Futile and frustrating, and also a diversion from the focus that we really need, which is on affordability and accountability,” he said. “Accountability doesn’t necessarily mean impeachment. It means uncovering corruption that then can be addressed by prosecution in a future Department of Justice or by other action that the Congress could take, like impeachment.”
Blumenthal said Americans deserved to know the truth about things like the Epstein files and the pay-to-play allegations surrounding Trump’s vanity projects, such as the White House ballroom and a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch.
“Investigation and accountability are what Americans want,” he said. “But at the same time, they want us to move forward to meet the needs of housing, health care, data centers and AI, other kinds of pressing needs that were the reason for the blue tornado.”
Affordability and accountability
Blumenthal had opened the 20-minute media briefing by saying that he was looking forward to beginning a new session in January, and that he would be meeting with his new colleagues and forming an agenda for the next two years. But, he added, Republicans face a test of whether they are hearing and heeding the results of last week’s election. That election, he said, was born of deep dissatisfaction about costs, corruption, health care, and housing needs.
“My priorities going back are affordability and accountability,” he said. Those include health care, housing, food, fuel, and more, he said.
For accountability, he cited “the corruption that is enabling and enhancing self enrichment, which in turn is increasing those costs. They are directly related – corruption and costs.”
In the next session, Blumenthal said, he will chair the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He also said he was looking forward to restoring health care subsidies and working on potential Medicare changes to lower costs and increase accessibility.