Latest news with #Democrat
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Failing to reach a deal, CT Dems consider passing one-year budget; Lamont calls it ‘a mistake'
For decades, state legislators have passed two-year budgets in order to avoid haphazard, seat-of-the-pants, one-year changes. But failing this week to agree on a spending plan, some Democrats are suddenly considering switching to a one-year budget. They are racing to craft their plan with only one week left before the current legislative session adjourns on June 4, but Gov. Ned Lamont has raised strong objections to breaking the long tradition of two-year budgets that are designed to force lawmakers to look ahead at the state's fiscal outlook. House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, said lawmakers are running out of options as they round up the necessary votes for the $27 billion state budget for the new fiscal year that starts on July 1. 'As a legislature, the worst and most dangerous thing you can do is leave without a budget of some kind,' Ritter told reporters Wednesday. 'Your leverage is gone. Members are away. It gets hard to find the [dates for] special sessions. The days turn into weeks, and you get to July 1, and your municipalities and your nonprofits and others are at the whim of whatever the governor's office wants to do. … Every day that goes by, the power accumulates in the executive branch.' The immediate problem, Ritter says, is that both the legislature and the governor failed this year to set aside money for a recently settled three-year contract for unionized nursing home workers in the District 1199 union who had threatened to go on strike. While all sides knew that the contracts remained unsettled, they never set aside $140 million to pay the workers for the second year of the two-year budget. As such, the second year would not be balanced. 'A one-year budget … is very much in play,' said Ritter, who has served in the legislature for 15 years. 'That might be the best option. Our first-year budget is under the [spending] cap. It is in balance. The governor has blessed year one. The disagreement is year two.' The situation is further complicated by the so-called guardrails and the state's spending cap. Changing the so-called volatility cap to allow more spending requires a three-fifths vote, which is 91 votes in the 151-member House. Democrats hold the majority over Republicans by 102 to 49. 'This is the first time in my experience that you need 91 votes to pass the budget, to raise the volatility threshold,' Ritter said. But Lamont summoned reporters to his office Wednesday afternoon to denounce Ritter's idea, saying that there is still time in the final week to reach a deal on a two-year, $55.5 billion budget. The clash, he said, is not generally over cuts but instead on the size of the projected increases. 'I just think we should sit down and try it again rather than run out and say, 'I give up and let's do a one-year budget,' ' Lamont told reporters, saying he is willing to work through the weekend to reach a deal. 'There are no cuts. We're arguing about how much we increase funding.' While he did not include the nursing home money in his budget proposal in early February, Lamont said it was later added in because there were reductions, known as 'lapses,' in other accounts throughout the budget. Asked by a reporter if he would veto a one-year budget, Lamont responded, 'I'm inclined to do that.' Lamont had earlier described the Democratic one-year idea as 'a mistake.' When told of Lamont's objections, Ritter said, 'The executive branch wants a biennium budget, and they want it kind of on their terms. That's typical of a governor. … It's not what the legislature wants to do.' If lawmakers pass a one-year spending plan, they could return to the Capitol in Hartford in September to plug any holes left by expected cuts from President Trump's administration as the federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. While Ritter mentioned that a one-year budget had not been enacted in Connecticut since 1979 or 1980, multiple insiders said that the two-year budget tradition started as a major financial reform after the state income tax was enacted under Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. in 1991. Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield said Lamont needs to push back even harder against his fellow Democrats. 'It's more than a 'mistake', governor,' Harding said. 'It's a dereliction of duty. Unfortunately, Gov. Lamont has already folded like a lawn chair to his fellow Democrats after agreeing to blow by the once-'sacrosanct' state spending cap last week. Why wouldn't Democrats assume you will again fold like a lawn chair on this issue as well?' Harding added, 'Gov. Lamont: There is less than a week left in the legislative session. We have no budget. No tax cuts. No spending cap. We have passed nothing to lower energy costs. Get your mojo back, Gov. Lamont. You are being pushed around by majority Democrats. Threaten some vetoes. Stop showing weakness and do something.' State Rep. Tammy Nuccio, the ranking House Republican on the budget committee, told The Courant that she is stunned that the Democrats are having trouble passing a two-year budget when they have super-majorities in both chambers of the legislature and flush fiscal coffers from constant budget surpluses in recent years. 'I think it's a farce,' Nuccio of the one-year plan. She added, 'The priority right now should be protecting Medicaid. It should be, in my opinion, electric rates. It should be sustainability over the two years. We obviously have issues for overtime' in prisons and the state police. Nuccio and fellow Republicans say the state could save $116 million over two years by eliminating health care for undocumented immigrants, but some Democrats have said that coverage is a key priority. With a full week left until adjournment, the legislature is known for acting quickly when necessary and cutting deals at the last minute as they race toward midnight on June 4. Ritter said that House Democrats have not issued any take-it-or-leave-it ultimatums and are open to negotiations. 'It's not our final offer,' Ritter said. He added that House Democrats are not giving up or caving in. 'The legislative branch is not back-up singers. It is a co-equal branch of government. And it's not going to just bend a knee because somebody says on a sheet of paper, just make these cuts and we're going to go home. There are opinions in there, passionate opinions in there. And we have the tough job of threading that needle, and the needle right now, I believe, is a one-year budget.' Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@
Buzz Feed
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
Trump Considers Pardons For Michigan Governor Plot
Donald Trump has granted over 1,500 pardons and commutations since taking office, including those charged or convicted in the January 6 Capitol attack, and most recently on Tuesday, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted in 2022 of bank fraud and tax evasion. Now, on Wednesday, Trump said he would "take a look" at pardons for the men convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "I'm gonna look at it. I will take a look at it. It's been brought to my attention," he said at the Oval Office after a reporter asked if he would pardon the individuals. He then cast doubt on the fairness of the convictions. "I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I'll be honest with you," he said. "It looked to me like some people said some stupid things. They were drinking, and I think they said stupid things, but I'll take a look at that." "A lot of people are asking me that question, from both sides, actually. A lot of people think they got railroaded," he continued before moving on to another question. For context, 14 men were charged in an alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, as part of a broader plan to overthrow the government. The group intended to kidnap Gov. Whitmer from her vacation home before the 2020 presidential election and hold a mock "treason" trial in response to her pandemic lockdown orders. They also plotted to detonate a bomb to distract law enforcement during the operation. FBI thwarted the plan before it could be carried out. Of the 14 men, 9 were convicted. Key figure Adam Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while his co-conspirator, Barry Croft Jr. of Delaware, received the longest sentence: over 19 years. Some received sentences ranging from a few years to over a decade, while several pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. Others were acquitted or had charges dropped. Trump's recent pardons, along with his openness to reviewing potential pardons for those convicted in the Whitmer kidnapping plot, have sparked outrage and disbelief: "nothing says 'totally innocent' like casually plotting to kidnap a governor while drinking. Just locker room treason, right? Maybe next week we'll hear him say Watergate was just a bunch of 'silly boys doing pranks,'" one person wrote. "Trump's downplaying a plot to kidnap a sitting governor— Calls it 'stupid talk' over drinks. This isn't leadership. It's mafia logic. He's not reviewing justice. He's flirting with terrorism," another said. "So if someone were to say they wished to plan an attack on the White House or plan to physically harm a Republican politician, it's ok as long as you're drunk?" someone else asked. "Disgusting abuse of power," another wrote. Of course, not everyone was outraged. Some echoed Trump's skepticism, promoting the conspiracy theory that the kidnapping plot was a setup "orchestrated by the FBI." But there is no legal or factual basis to support the idea that these men were wrongfully convicted. Multiple juries, across both state and federal trials, found overwhelming evidence of a coordinated domestic terrorism plot, including surveillance footage, audio recordings, weapons stockpiles, and detailed plans to kidnap Gov. Whitmer. The defendants had surveilled her home, constructed explosives, and were caught on tape discussing the abduction. While the FBI did use informants, which is standard practice in terrorism investigations, courts rejected the defense's entrapment claims, ruling that the suspects were not coerced, but that they were willing participants. Well, I personally can't imagine a world where it's OK to pardon individuals who were convicted of plotting to kidnap a state governor, but maybe that's just me? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.
Boston Globe
16 minutes ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Healey, moving to cut red rape and burnish business-friendly chops, unveils dozens of regulatory changes
Advertisement 'What's most important is the mindset, [the] message that we heard,' said Jim Rooney, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. 'This administration has that mindset of trying to deal with issues that are burdensome for people in businesses.' The various regulatory amendments followed a Her administration ultimately reviewed 150 sets of regulations. Healey said her administration is ultimately 'cutting down' 38 of them, many of which may appear minor, if not esoteric, to most consumers. One would Advertisement Grocery stores and supermarkets would no longer have to make parts of so-called Healey said the Division of Insurance would also no longer require banks and insurance companies to submit paper copies of filings in many instances. 'We'll save some trees in the process,' Healey said as she fed a prop piece of paper into the whirring shredder. 'It's about making sure that we have the right regulations [and] smart regulations.' Healey isn't the first governor to boast of slashing red tape for businesses. Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, boasted in his final year in office in 2014 having led a review of nearly 1,800 regulations, and Months after taking office in 2015, his successor, Charlie Baker ordered a wide-scale review of 'onerous' regulations. The move immediately Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said many of Patrick and Baker's efforts ultimately had 'little or nothing to show' for it. Advertisement He said his own members had raised to their administrations concerns about the unit pricing rules or the state's so-called hoisting regulations — think forklifts, Hurst said — without ever seeing action on them. Healey on Wednesday offered changes to the latter, including removing the requirement that hoisting engineering applicants communicate in English. Those moves are encouraging, Hurst said, even if 'these were the easy ones, right?' 'The hard ones are yet to come,' he said, pointing to the potential for tackling escalating health insurance costs for businesses — a shift that could require legislation, is often complicated, and usually 'politically fraught.' 'We're just kind of just hitting the surface at this point,' he said. Healey called Wednesday's announcement a 'first set of cuts and reforms,' though she did not indicate where or what rules her administration would review next. Healey's first term, and her bid next year to remain in office, will likely hinge in part on whether she's met her repeated promise to shed Massachusetts' tax-heavy label and She ran on realizing, and signed, a Advertisement Both Republicans who've announced challenges to Healey — former MBTA executive 'Massachusetts [is] bleeding businesses, private sector jobs and workers,' Holly Robichaud, a Shortsleeve adviser, said in a statement Wednesday. Matt Stout can be reached at
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Slams Reporter on Camera Who Tells Him the Meaning of His 'TACO' Nickname: 'Don't Ever Say What You Said'
President Donald Trump snapped at a reporter during a live press conference on Wednesday, May 28. The reporter asked if he had a response to some Wall Street analysts dubbing his tariff plan "TACO trade," which stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out." "Don't ever say what you said," the president fired back. "That's a nasty question." President Donald Trump's temper flared while talking with the press at the White House on Wednesday, May 28. During a live press conference, the president fielded questions from the press corps, beginning with a female reporter who asked Trump about the new nickname his tariff plan has reportedly been given on Wall Street: "TACO trade." "They're saying 'Trump Always Chickens Out' on the tariff threats and that's why markets are higher this week," she informed him. "What's your response to that?" At first, Trump appeared a bit puzzled and said he hadn't heard that phrase yet, then he grew defensive of his unpredictable tariff negotiations with China and Europe. Originally, the White House had planned to enact 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union on June 1, but after European markets began to show signs of panic, Trump pushed the deadline for negotiations to July 9. "We have an end date of July 9. You call that chickening out?" he fired back at the reporter before continuing with a series of other claims about his economic actions. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead," Trump said. "We had a country, people didn't think it was gonna survive. And you ask a nasty question like that?" "Don't ever say what you said," he added. "That's a nasty question." The heated exchange on Wednesday was far from the first time Trump has had a contentious interaction with a member of the press. In April, while sitting down with ABC News' Terry Moran, Trump grew irate when asked about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador the month prior. When Moran pointed out that Trump had been using a Photoshopped image to show that Abrego Garcia had "MS-13" tattooed on his knuckles, Trump insisted he was wrong. 'Terry, you can't do that. They've given you the big break of a lifetime," the president said. 'I picked you because... Frankly, I had never heard of you, but that's okay. But I picked you, Terry, but you're not being very nice." "This is why people no longer believe the news, because it's fake news," he continued. "You do such a disservice. Why don't you just say, 'Yes, he does,' and you know, go on to something else?' The outbursts toward reporters were common in Trump's first term as president as well. One memorable exchange came after the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. When asked by Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason if he would accept the Electoral College results, Trump avoided the question, repeating his insistence that the election had been a "fraud." When Mason asked again, the president snapped. "Don't talk to me that way. You're just a lightweight. Don't talk to me that way," Trump said. "Don't talk to — I'm the president of the United States. Don't ever talk to the president that way." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- General
- Yahoo
Blagojevich roasts Dems: Calls Schiff the ‘Elvis' of liars, says party preferred 'coma' patient to Harris
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich lambasted his Democratic Party as an unethical organization that collectively bolstered a "coma" patient over other contenders in order to advance their own political ends, and that they feature a "Hall of Fame for Liars" headlined by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Asked by Fox News' Jesse Watters about his response to characterizations that Democrats preferred to cover-up former President Joe Biden's infirmities rather than move on from him or accept President Donald Trump, Blagojevich said, "I'd say that guy hates the American people and hates his constituents and hates even Democratic voters." "Shouldn't we all wish good things for our country? Isn't it right to hope that a president, even the one from the other party, can succeed to do good things for his country and good things for people?" Blagojevich said that proves Democrats "don't care about America," and quoted Tennessee Williams' line that "the only thing worse than a liar is a liar that's also a hypocrite." Adam Schiff Tells Epa's Zeldin He'll Cause Cancer, After Sheldon Whitehouse Shoutfest "If they have any sense of patriotism… they ought to try to … atone for their sins…" Read On The Fox News App Blagojevich said Democrats could have used the 25th Amendment to oust Biden and keep a Democrat in the White House; then-Vice President Kamala Harris; but instead believed, "maybe we're better off with a brain-dead Biden as president than her." "They'd rather have a comatose Biden than Kamala Harris," Watters quipped in return. Blagojevich added that by contrast, Trump has been lied about in regard to Russian collusion and the Stormy Daniels affair, and that it should be Democrats considered the bigger mistruth-tellers. "Nobody who has any common sense could believe anything they say," he said. Kash Patel Enrages Adam Schiff In Clintonian Battle Over The Word 'We', And A January 6 Song "And the king of the Democratic liars is Adam Schiff. If there was a Hall of Fame for liars, like, let's say, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Adam Schiff would be Elvis." Blagojevich, imprisoned following his 2008 ejection from office by the Illinois State Senate on claims he tried to "sell" then-Sen. Barack Obama's seat, saw his federal sentence commuted by Trump after eight years served. The former governor has long maintained his innocence – previously telling Fox News he never tried to sell what became then-Sen. Roland Burris', D-Ill., seat, and instead was a victim of malicious prosecution grounded in politics over proof. He has compared his prosecution to Trump's own legal issues, as both men alleged politicized proceedings from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, respectively. "I know what they did to me, and I do know they did the same thing to Trump," he told FOX-32 in article source: Blagojevich roasts Dems: Calls Schiff the 'Elvis' of liars, says party preferred 'coma' patient to Harris
