U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro lamented Wednesday night the lack of “civil discourse” in the country, whether it’s about the conflict between Israel and Gaza or the Trump administration’s response to protests opposing immigration raids.
That sentiment came up after a brief exchange with a member of the audience during The Connecticut Mirror’s “In the Room” event as the congresswoman discussed her support for Israel and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
DeLauro sat for an interview on a theater set as part of the CT Mirror’s interview series hosted by John Dankosky at CitySeed in New Haven. The intimate setting with the crowd led to her at times directly engaging with the audience. In some less tense moments, someone asked “How do we fight?” when she was talking about Trump’s overhaul of the government and certain services.
But a man in the audience and listening to her answers regarding Israel at times booed or said “genocide.” He later stood up and walked toward the stage where he threw a bill and said, “Here’s money, send it to Israel.” As he headed to the door, a New Haven police officer escorted him out of the theater.
“Do you see why we can’t have a civil conversation in the United States of America?” said DeLauro, a Democrat representing Connecticut’s 3rd District. “There is no civil discourse. I don’t get up and throw anything at anyone, nor would I ever do it.”
At one point, another member of the audience commented, “That is civil discourse.”
“I’m an elected official. My job is to be able to come to consensus and to bring people together, to not divide them,” DeLauro said to some applause. I don’t have any tolerance for that. Let’s have a conversation about these things.”
DeLauro went on to blame the Trump administration for seeking to divide the country on the issue of immigration as people protest the growing number of raids and detainments by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She argued that ICE agents are going after people who have been in the country for years and are working, instead of prioritizing violent criminals. She pointed to a mother in New Haven who was recently detained in front of her children.
“That is not what we want, but that’s what this administration is doing. Why? Because they can divide the country on that issue, and they figure it’s in their political interests to do it. Let’s not feed into that,” she said to applause.
She was critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when asked if he was a good partner to the U.S. and of Israel’s handling of humanitarian aid for Palestinians. But she said Israel has a right to defend itself and said she wouldn’t engage in a conversation with anyone who won’t condemn Hamas.
And as President Donald J. Trump weighs whether to engage in a growing conflict between Israel and Iran, she said the U.S. should not strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
DeLauro, 82, has been longtime staple in Connecticut politics and has served in the 3rd Congressional District since 1991. She rose up the ranks to served as the chairwoman of the influential House Appropriations Committee when Democrats were in the majority. With Republicans at the helm in the House, she is now the ranking member and still plays a large role in negotiating and drafting government funding legislation.
She gave a rundown in the style of “Schoolhouse Rock!” on how the appropriations process works in Congress and how her committee directs taxpayer dollars.
Similar to her other colleagues who have been in Congress for a while, DeLauro said the “camaraderie” between Democrats and Republicans isn’t the same. She said there were always differences of opinion, but “there wasn’t the kind of ad hominem attacks on individuals” that have become part of the political environment in Washington.
DeLauro said expanding the federal tax credit was one of the biggest accomplishments of her decades-long career because of the tangible relief it brought to working and middle-class families.
The expansion was included in Democrats’ pandemic relief legislation, the American Rescue Plan. It was enacted in 2021 but expired at the end of that year.
That enhancement increased the rebate up to $3,600 per child under the age of 6 and $3,000 per child aged 6 to 18. The tax credit was based on income and given out in monthly installments. It is now back to $2,000 per child under age 17.
“For me, it was social security for kids,” she said, running through numbers that show the one-year expansion lifted almost half of children out of poverty.
Debate over the child tax credit was one of the areas where DeLauro said she took on members of her own party. She wanted to make it permanent, but she said she faced resistance while negotiating with the Biden administration on how long the expansion should last. The cost of the program brought it to an end after a year.
She was pressed about where Congress could find more money and if it’s in places that are seen as a “third rail” in U.S. government: What about cuts to defense spending?
DeLauro said there are a lot of places to look for cuts to federal spending, saying there’s not much of an “appetite” in Congress to make cuts to the defense sector.
Connecticut’s economy is made up of a number of larger defense contractors and the supply chain that works with them. Sikorsky, which is owned by Lockheed Martin, is based in Stratford and part of DeLauro’s district.
“I don’t have problems where we would need to cut things. But I am going to support Connecticut’s industry,” DeLauro said, adding that if fewer helicopters are going to be made, “I’ll be damned if they’re not going to be made in Stratford, Connecticut, at Sikorsky.”
When asked about the frustration among some Americans that members of Congress have been in office too long, DeLauro seemed to indicate she would not be slowing down, pointing to her seniority in Congress. Debate over age and the length of service of politicians hit a fever pitch during the 2024 election with former president Joe Biden, who ultimately abandoned his efforts to win a second term.
DeLauro believes relationships are at the heart of her job and that she’s earned the trust she has from both parties. Axios recently reported that she plans to run for another term in 2026.
“I believe this, and it might sound very self-serving, but I do have the trust of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. They’ll know that I’m not trying to take them down a wrong road, or hurt them in some way, that I’m doing something that I think can be beneficial overall,” she said, noting it helped her with the child tax credit.
“That doesn’t happen in one year, two years, even five years. It happens over a period time to get to know you,” DeLauro said. “That’s not to say that the time comes when you should say, ‘I’ve had a good run.'”
She didn’t say when that time might come for her. But DeLauro made it clear throughout the hour-long interview that she does things on her own terms — and that includes decisions about her purple hair, tattoos and fashion choices.
“I am who I am,” she said.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
