Communications Director, Connecticut Hospital Association
110 Barnes Road, Wallingford, CT
rall@chime.org, 203-265-7611
Stamford Advocate – Wednesday, January 29, 2025
By Ken Dixon
SOUTHINGTON — On the morning after President Donald Trump’s historic attempt to stop the flow of federal funds to states and towns, Gov. Ned Lamont told mayors, first selectmen and town managers on Wednesday that while billions of dollars are at stake as he finishes drafting his proposed two-year state budget, Connecticut should take a wait-and-see approach.
Speaking to about 300 people at the annual meeting of the Council of Small Towns, Lamont called Trump’s new Department of Governmental Efficiency “a little loose cannon for me,” adding that the president appears to be prejudiced against pursuing renewable wind power.
“I’m not sure about what the Trump administration is going to do but they’ll be definitely cutting aid,” Lamont said. “They’re worried about being too woke. I’m worried about not going broke.”
Lamont tried to calm down concerns of local leaders as they attempt to navigate the new Washington landscape. The original announcement on Monday night caused widespread confusion and legal challenges, was later clarified by the White House, then delayed until at least next week by a federal judge, only to be rescinded by the Trump administration early Wednesday afternoon. In the interim, it temporarily shut off a wide variety of federal funding, including billions in Medicaid health care for low-income people, SNAP food benefits and 3,000 state employees who get paid through federal sources, Lamont said.
“That certainly got our attention,” Lamont said at the Aqua Turf Club meeting, adding there are nearly $4 billion in state emergency reserves, but the issues cast a shadow of uncertainty on the estimated two-year, $53-billion budget he will present to the General Assembly next week, noting mixed signals that came from the White House.
He pointed to recent weather events related to climate change, including the $300 million in damages caused by last August’s flash flooding in the Naugatuck Valley region. Lamont said that since Trump is a career builder and developer, he expects that federal funding for transportation infrastructure will continue. The state needs more energy generation at a time when wind power is expensive and Trump seems opposed to it while expanding domestic oil production, Lamont said.
“One place I think the Trump administration could be helpful for us is when it comes to nuclear power,” noting that the Millstone Power Station in Waterford generates about 40% of the state’s electricity at a cost of five cents a kilowatt hour. “If they were able to speed up the permitting process and make it a little faster and less expensive, we could get double our capacity. He said that the federal government might be able to cut the planning and permitting process to five or six years from the current 10 or 12 years.
Speaking to reporters after his half-hour visit with the local leaders, Lamont said Connecticut is most at-risk with Medicaid funding for low-income health coverage totaling more than a billion dollars. “DOGE will pretend to have efficiencies that are just going to push down to the states,” Lamont said. “That is enormous. Next up is probably Obamacare. Access Health will be hit. I’m trying to build some flexibility into my budget so that I can respond if we get shocked by something.”
Lamont acknowledged that Tuesday afternoon, while top state officials were criticizing the announcements from Washington, the Trump messaging kept changing and by Wednesday the fiscal landscape was a little calmer. “What is terrible is the confusion out here and popping up with these ideas and everybody responds.”
Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, a Democrat, said in an interview at the event that it’s too early to figure out what federal funding limitations mean for local leaders. “That remains to be seen,” he said of a variety of grants that for decades have helped pay for local projects. “Any contracts that were not signed are on hold. There can be substantial ramifications, especially in transportation.”
But Oxford First Selectman George Temple, a Republican, said that Trump’s early bluster might be more of his TV personality. “I don’t think the dust is clear right now,” said Temple, whose town sustained millions of dollars in damage from the August flooding, in an interview. “I think it’s more of an attention-getter than an actual plan. I’m not overly concerned, because it was kind of a dog-and-pony show. It’s the reality.”