Rep. Himes Wary of a “Fire Alarm Moment”

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Congressman Jim Himes spoke at the weekly Kiwanis breakfast meeting on March 8, weighing in on national topics, his concerns, and hearing questions and thoughts from a large audience in the Norfield Church parish hall.

A “fire alarm moment?”

Mr. Himes said Americans, and particularly Democrats, are “freaking out appropriately over the fate of our democracy.” He said presidents of both parties often try to expand their authority until the courts say no, but “we’ve never seen lawlessness of this intensity.”

But the congressman said America is not yet at “the inflection point” of a Constitutional crisis, “a fire alarm moment” where the White House defies a court order. That, he said, would be “a very different conversation.”

“Our system is set up to work on compromise,” said Mr. Himes, expressing his willingness to compromise on practical matters but not on “the Constitutional standards on which I take an oath.”

Medicaid, federal cuts

Mr. Himes said one million people in Connecticut rely on Medicaid for health insurance and that $880 billion in program cuts proposed by House Republicans would be devastating.

“People forget that Medicaid isn’t just healthcare for lower income people,” he said. “It also keeps grandma in the assisted living facility when she runs out of assets.”

Mr. Himes said he is often frustrated by the slow pace of government, but while “slashing the bureaucracy” may have appeal in the abstract, in real terms workers being fired include inspectors who make sure meat isn’t contaminated with salmonella and scientists who warn people to get out of the way of tornados.

He said he would fully support a “thoughtful” approach to finding efficiencies in government, but that the current approach is not in that category, adding that the firings of probationary employees means removing “the most energetic, idealistic people” from federal agencies.

The economy, foreign policy

The economy is strong and unemployment is low, said Mr. Himes. But inflation is high, which “makes the world scary for a lot of people” and in 2024 was the main reason Democrats lost the White House and Congress.

He said he fears inflation “will likely get worse” because of tariffs, and lamented that current on-and-off tariff threats create uncertainty for businesses, an unease reflected by the recent stock market decline.

Mr. Himes said he appreciates that the president is “constructively allergic to war,” but has “turned who we are on its head.” Recalling President John F. Kennedy’s pledge that America would “pay any price and bear any burden” to preserve liberty, the congressman said the current White House priority is “what’s in it for me?”

“We will feel the effects of that eventually,” said Mr. Himes.

The censure, diversity

Congressman Himes took some heat from the audience about his vote to censure Rep. Al Green, a fellow Democrat who last week disrupted the presidential address to Congress. Criticized for “holding ourselves [Democrats] to a higher standard,” Mr. Himes said he is doing exactly that.

He said that Rep. Green, “a good friend,” fully understood that his act was one of civil disobedience, where “the key concept is that you happily accept the consequences.” He added that years ago he had voted to condemn Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican who screamed “you lie” during an address by President Obama. “For me, personal consistency is important,” said Mr. Himes.

Another attendee was distressed that diversity programs are being erased, and one read a portion of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” where in part Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote about being “disappointed with the White moderate.”

Rep. Himes said this is a “scary time for communities of color” who worry about “where it leads.” He said it is important to continue trying to “remedy the mistakes of the past,” that the United States is “not a country of racists,” but remains a country where White families are wealthier than Black families. “My point is,” he said, “we still have work to do.”

Mr. Himes said he will be “uncompromising on questions of Constitutional justice,” thinks about it every day, and is wary of making a mistake to “defend the rules too long” and “jump in too late.”

Congress

Back to the question of what Democrats are doing, Mr. Himes said, “shame on us for not seeing the Dobbs decision coming.” He said becoming the minority party at all federal levels “took away our tools.”

“We’re doing what we can,” said Rep. Himes, adding that “there will be moments they [Republicans] need us” to get things done. In return, “we will demand that they abide by the law.”

Mr. Himes said he believes public sentiment “is moving in our direction” as people realize the impact of tariffs and cuts to Medicaid, medical research, and other services.

In politics, he said, “Lincoln had it right that public sentiment is everything.”

Mr. Himes said the current congressional majority’s deference to the executive branch means that, in effect, “we have no Congress. There was no cabinet nominee too wacky to not be confirmed.”

Returning to the topic of the election, Mr. Himes said Democrats in 2024 tried to make “a Fairfield County argument nationally” by emphasizing the preservation of democracy and women’s reproductive rights over the impact of rising prices. In places like Youngstown, Ohio, he said, people also care about democracy and rights, but a greater fear is not being able to buy food for their children.

“We can’t blow it again,” he said.