Connecticut’s Republican legislative leaders are demanding a public vote on Gov. Ned Lamont’s plan to spend $5 million from the Federal Cuts Response Fund to assist immigrant families losing Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Temporary Protected Status allows immigrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other emergencies to receive temporary work permits and protection from deportation. More than 300,000 Haitians are preparing to lose those protections after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending the program. Unless they have another legal status, they would lose their work authorization and become eligible for arrest and deportation proceedings.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) sent a letter Wednesday (July 29) to the four Democratic members of the six-person legislative leadership committee, asking them to convene before the request takes effect.
“We are writing to ask that we meet to vote on the governor’s $5 million spending request submitted to us earlier today,” Candelora and Harding wrote. “As you know, under the Special Act, we have only 24 hours to vote on this request.”
The Republican leaders said the committee should reject the expenditure because it responds to a change in federal immigration policy rather than a reduction in federal funding.
“This latest expenditure isn’t even in response to a federal funding cut, but is spending $5 million in state taxpayer dollars to mitigate a legal change in an immigration status which has always, by definition, been temporary,” they wrote.
In its formal notice to legislative leaders, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) said the money would provide “immediate support for immigrant families” affected by federal changes that make them ineligible to work or receive unemployment insurance.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) would distribute the money through state-funded refugee agencies for what OPM called “necessary services.” The notice does not identify the agencies, specify the services or explain how the administration calculated the $5 million request.
Lamont said many TPS holders have lived in Connecticut for years, raised families, built businesses and contributed to the state’s economy. His administration said the funding would help eligible families obtain critical services and maintain stability.
Candelora and Harding accused the governor of prioritizing a political fight with Washington over Connecticut’s affordability problems.
“Instead of attempting to make political hay fighting the administration in Washington, D.C., and providing election year giveaways, the governor should instead focus on making Connecticut more affordable for all of our state’s legal citizens,” they wrote.
Republicans want leaders on the record
Special Act 26-1 requires OPM to notify the six top legislative leaders before transferring or spending money from the fund. The leaders have 24 hours to reject a request by majority vote.
The committee consists of Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, House Speaker Matt Ritter, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, Harding and Candelora. Democrats hold four of the six seats.
The law allows the committee to meet virtually on a platform viewable by the public, but it does not require an affirmative vote approving the expenditure. Unless at least four members vote to reject the request within 24 hours, the administration can proceed.
Candelora and Harding want the committee to convene rather than allow the deadline to pass without lawmakers publicly recording their positions.
“As legislative leaders, we should demand as much on behalf of our constituents and we should hold ourselves and the governor accountable by voting to reject his request,” they wrote.
Fund has covered health care, food aid and state programs
Connecticut created the Emergency State Response Reserve in late 2025 with $500 million to address federal funding and policy changes. Lawmakers later established the Federal Cuts Response Fund and transferred $330.8 million into the new account.
Previous requests supported health insurance subsidies, food banks, health centers, homelessness programs, Planned Parenthood, 2-1-1 and state costs associated with federal SNAP and Medicaid changes.
Other allocations paid for Department of Social Services computer upgrades, community health workers, school mental-health counselors, community-school programs, UConn research, dairy farmers, unemployment-insurance operations, housing stabilization, refugee assistance and additional DSS employees.
Another request provided grocery cards for residents expected to lose SNAP benefits under new federal work requirements.
All four previous requests were allowed to proceed without objection from the legislative leaders.
Republicans argue the latest request is different because it responds to the termination of an immigration status rather than replacing a federal funding reduction. The Lamont administration points to the law’s broader authorization to respond to federal policy impacts as well as federal actions that reduce program funding.
The administration has identified the general purpose of the $5 million request, but not which refugee agencies will receive it, what services taxpayers will fund or how the amount was calculated.
This is the danger of placing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into a separate account and allowing individual expenditures to bypass the normal public, line-item appropriations process. Under the law governing this fund, six legislative leaders have only 24 hours to stop a request before the administration can proceed.
The Federal Cuts Response Fund should not be allowed to become a slush fund insulated from public debate. A public meeting would give the administration an opportunity to explain the request and require legislative leaders to put their votes on the record.
