Connecticut Politics Week in Review: Capitol braces for armed protests as Connecticut delegation backs impeaching Trump a second time

While the FBI in Connecticut said it has received no direct threats toward the state Capitol or other government buildings, officials are taking no chances and have boosted security at the Capitol complex ahead of Inauguration Day in response to earlier warnings of potential armed protests at capitols across the country. Meanwhile, Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump a second time, saying he helped incite the violent mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6. There is “no question that the President helped to foment and incite an attack on our Capitol and our democracy,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.

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The big story

Connecticut delegation votes to impeach Trump, again: All five Democratic members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation voted Wednesday to impeach Trump a second time on charges he helped to incite the violent mob who overtook the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attack that left five dead and dozens injured. “Not accepting the will of the American people, the president unleashed the most horrific violence that overwhelmed the security forces at this Capitol,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, said on the House floor. In a fiery address, Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, implored his Republican colleagues to consider their own legacies and support impeachment. “Where [Trump] goes in history, you go in history — unless today you make a stand,” he said. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, said Trump could have resigned or Vice President Mike Pence could have invoked the 25th Amendment to remove him but with neither of those things happening the House was left no option but impeachment. Ultimately just 10 House Republicans backed impeaching Trump. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and fellow Democrats had urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to immediately bring the Senate back into session to begin an impeachment trial, but McConnell has ruled that out.

Five things you may have missed

Capitol bracing for potential protests: The Connecticut National Guard has joined state and Capitol police in a show of force at the Capitol in Hartford in anticipation of potential armed protests there after an FBI warning earlier in the week warned of the potential for such events at capitols across the country. The FBI’s New Haven office said Friday it had received no information about a specific threat targeting the Capitol in Hartford, but out of an abundance of caution state police and Connecticut National Guard troops were brought in to provide extra security. Lawmakers, also out of an abundance of caution, moved House and Senate sessions scheduled for Jan. 20, the day of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, to Thursday and Friday in anticipation of potential protests or demonstrations on Inauguration Day. “We prepare for the worst, we hope for the best,” Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said of the increased police presence.

Aid-in-dying bill will return: The legislature’s public health committee will once again debate the emotional topic of whether to allow physicians to prescribe terminally ill patients life-ending medication. “It is one of the priority bills of the … committee,” said Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, co-chair of the public health committee. Similar legislation was been considered five times since 2013, with no bills advancing past the committee. Supporters of the change say it offers an important option to those nearing the end of their lives while battling debilitating illness that can come with immense pain or discomfort. Opponents say they worry sick or disabled people could be coerced into accepting life-ending medication while other treatment options exist. Public hearings on past bills have led to long, emotional debates. Physician-assisted death, sometimes called aid-in-dying or death with dignity, is legal in nine U.S. states — including Maine, New Jersey and Vermont — and the District of Columbia.

Romano out as GOP chairman: J.R. Romano abruptly resigned as chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party Tuesday night, telling members of the party’s central committee in a terse email that “the decision is what’s best for the organization to move forward.” “It is time for a new voice to be heard from Connecticut Republicans,” he said. Romano had previously announced he wouldn’t seek reelection as chairman when his term ends in June but had planned to stay on in the $80,000-a-year job until then. He had led the Connecticut Republican Party since 2015, overseeing highs, such as the 2016 legislative elections where Republicans achieved parity in the state Senate, and lows, like the 2018 and 2020 elections where anti-Trump sentiment appeared to hurt Republicans significantly at the ballot box. Republicans are in the minority in both chambers of the state legislature and hold no statewide office and no seats in Congress.

Settlement reached in hepatitis C lawsuit: Lawyers for the state are awaiting final legislative approval of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit that could ensure millions of dollars of life-saving treatment for hundreds of Connecticut inmates afflicted with hepatitis C. The settlement, which is in excess of $2.5 million and thus requires a sign-off from lawmakers, would secure comprehensive testing of inmates and treatment for those suffering from the deadly, but curable virus. The suit was filed in July 2018 on behalf of several inmates that said they had not received treatment for the deadly virus while incarcerated. The Department of Correction submitted a report in federal court last fall that showed since Aug. 6, 2019, it had tested 14,082 inmates and found 1,398 had the virus. The cost, on average, of direct-acting antiviral medications to treat the virus is $25,000, meaning the total settlement cost could run into the tens of millions of dollars.

New tolls bill introduced, but not expected to advance: Two Democratic state senators have introduced new legislation calling for electronic tolls on the state’s major highways, but House Speaker Matt Ritter has already signaled that lawmakers don’t plan to revisit the issue. Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, who submitted the bill along with Sen. Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, said he understands it’s unlikely to become law but “I’m a big believed in the notion that you can’t complain about something unless you put forward a solution.” He said he believes tolling “what every other state is already doing” is the answer to shoring up Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund. But after a bruising fight in 2019 Gov. Ned Lamont has said he plans to examine other avenues to boost transportation funding. “My job this year is to give [lawmakers] some other ideas to make this fund solvent so we can go forward,” he said Monday.

Odds and ends

Former House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz has joined the Capitol lobbying firm Gaffney Bennett and Associates. Aresimowicz, a Democrat who did not seek reelection in November, served eight terms in House, the last two as speaker. “The addition of Joe Aresimowicz to the Gaffney Bennett Team will help ensure that GBA will continue to enjoy success by producing positive results for our clients for many years to come,” said Republican lawyer Jay Malcynsky, co-founder and managing partner of the firm. … Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, has announced her candidacy in a March 2 special election in the 27th Senate District to fill the seat left vacant by former Sen. Carlo Leone, who left the legislature to take a job in the Lamont administration with the Department of Transportation. “We need a strong voice and experienced legislator to help turn things around after suffering through a pandemic that has crippled Connecticut in so many ways,” Miller said, in an announcement. “I am that voice!” … Gov. Ned Lamont underwent successful hip replacement surgery on Tuesday, his office announced. “The procedure was conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Stamford,” Max Reiss, Lamont’s communications director, said. “He is feeling well and will undergo physical therapy to aid in his recuperation. Governor Lamont’s medical team says he is on track for a speedy recovery.” Lamont, 67, said during a press briefing the next day that “I thought if I ran 20 miles a week for the last 40 years it would keep me forever young, but my hip had another idea.” … Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is investigating whether online retail giant Amazon is violating antitrust laws based on anticompetitive e-book deals with certain publishers. “Out office continues to aggressively monitor this market to protect fair competition for consumers, authors, and other e-book retailers,” Tong said Thursday, in a written statement. The investigation comes as states and the federal government are putting increased scrutiny on big tech companies including Google and Facebook and examining whether they illegally squash competition. … Manchester Mayor Jay Moran, who recently left his job as athletic director at Southern Connecticut State University, is returning to the University of Bridgeport, where he worked prior, as vice president of athletics. The move comes as Goodwin University in East Hartford is set to purchase Bridgeport University and operate it as an independent entity. “This shows a huge commitment to athletics,” Moran, who worked at UB from 2004-14, told Hearst Connecticut Media. “This is exactly why I got involved. You build something … you’re committed. It means a lot to me.”

Russell Blair can be reached at rblair@courant.com.

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