u/CapitolDispatch

For as long as anyone can remember, Connecticut Republicans have largely been out of power, which leads them to make a lot of comments and accusations of Democratic corruption. However, the call is coming from inside the house. Capitol Dispatch is publishing a series of articles this week and next about the Republican Culture of Corruption bubbling under the surface of the state GOP. Some of it is well known. Other parts may be a little less public. You can check out our research and check our work at https://capitoldispatch.substack.com/

• Multiple Trump regime appointees indicated support for a nationwide abortion ban, contradicting Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to leave abortion policy to the states
• U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on a call with a religious advocacy group that the Justice Department is working to make the Dobbs decision “permanent” nationwide
• Newly confirmed CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz said she plans to expand the agency’s abortion surveillance, even though there is no evidence states are misreporting abortion data

• Federal cutbacks under President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ budget law have stripped food assistance from tens of thousands of Connecticut residents over the past year, including thousands of children
• The same law delivers trillions of dollars in tax cuts concentrated among the wealthiest Americans while cutting more than $1 trillion combined from SNAP, Medicaid and other assistance programs
• Connecticut Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont have tapped state surplus funds for emergency grocery assistance, though lawmakers say Connecticut needs more data and a longer-term response

• Trump regime officials admitted in court that they canceled energy grants based solely on politics
• Nearly all canceled grants hit states that voted against Trump in 2024
• Connecticut lost a dozen grants worth nearly $53 million

• New state data released Thursday showed Connecticut crime continuing to fall across major categories in the first quarter of 2026
• Crimes against people, property and society all dropped compared to the same period last year, including declines in assault, burglary and drug offenses
• DESPP Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins said the trend continues a multiyear decline that has made Connecticut one of the safest states in the country

• More than 22,000 Connecticut residents lost ACA health coverage over the past year after Republicans allowed federal premium subsidies to expire
• Connecticut’s Federal Cuts Response Fund helped offset the losses, with the state faring better than many others that saw far steeper enrollment drops
• Nationwide ACA enrollment fell sharply as Republicans’ refusal to renew the subsidies took hold across the country

• Meriden’s mill rate will drop below 30 for the first time in years under the new state budget, delivering direct property tax relief to city residents, city officials say
• The budget allows Meriden to restore 20 positions cut from the Board of Education budget, including 15 classroom teachers
• Gov. Lamont signed Senate Bill 1 at Platt High School Tuesday, with the budget sending around $190 million in additional education funding to Connecticut cities and towns - that means communities around the state will report similar results in coming weeks

• Governor Lamont signed a fiscal year 2027 budget adding $320 million to Connecticut’s Early Childhood Education Endowment, bringing the fund’s total to $620 million
• The endowment was established in 2025 as a permanent funding source to expand access to quality early learning programs statewide
• State Democrats pushed for the expanded investment, arguing a permanent endowment is the most effective long-term approach to affordable child care