Connecticut Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson was home in the state’s 1st Congressional District Thursday to talk with constituents about a “chaotic” week in Washington.
Before a crowd at the East Hartford Senior Center, Larson said the Trump White House’s order to freeze federal funding, since rescinded and blocked by courts, was “poorly executed.”
“When you talk about freezing federal funds for child care, life-saving cancer treatments, community health centers, I don’t think President Trump or Elon Musk lost a moment’s sleep thinking about their actions and what they’re carrying out,” Larson said. “But what changed their mind? … People spoke up.”
Larson was accompanied by East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin, a Democrat, who said he was “frustrated” by the week’s confusion over which federal funding would stop. Martin listed town services like immunization programs, workforce development courses and breastfeeding counseling as examples of what programs in his town could be affected.
“If we lose this federal funding, but want to maintain these essential services, I would almost have to ask for more tax money, or we'd have to build this into the budget,” Martin said. “Without knowing which way this is going to go, we're obviously concerned.”
Larson said that as of Thursday afternoon, he believed that a court order blocking the freeze and the White House’s rescission of its original memo meant “dollars are getting where they need to go.”
But he stressed vigilance, noting the White House press secretary had posted on social media that only the funding freeze memo had technically been rescinded. The secretary had said that the review of federal funding and policies will continue to determine what aligns with the Trump administration’s priorities.
“Right now, it's very chaotic and very uncertain, so the main thing is to stay the course through our system of checks and balances, a.k.a. the legislative branch and the judicial branch, to make sure that we bring clarity,” Larson said. “These things shouldn't be rushed through. They should go through regular order.”
