Richard Blumenthal

Early life and education

Richard Blumenthal was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jane (née Rosenstock) and Martin Blumenthal. At age 17, Martin Blumenthal immigrated to the United States from Frankfurt, Germany; Jane was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, graduated from Radcliffe College, and became a social worker. Martin Blumenthal had a career in financial services and became president of a commodities trading firm. Jane's father, Fred "Fritz" Rosenstock, raised cattle, and as youths Blumenthal and his brother often visited their grandfather's farm. Blumenthal's brother David Blumenthal is a doctor and health care policy expert who became president of the Commonwealth Fund.

Blumenthal attended Riverdale Country School in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. He then attended Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1967 with an A.B. degree magna cum laude in government and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate, he was editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson. Blumenthal was a summer intern reporter for The Washington Post in the London Bureau. He was selected for a Fiske Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the University of Cambridge's Trinity College in England.

In 1973, Blumenthal received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. At Yale, he was the classmate of future president Bill Clinton and future secretary of state Hillary Clinton. One of his co-editors of the Yale Law Journal was future United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. He was also a classmate of future Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and future radio host Michael Medved.

Military service and controversy

Blumenthal received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War. At first, he received educational deferments; later, he received deferments based on his occupation. In April 1970, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, which, as The New York Times noted, "virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam". He served in units stationed in Washington, D.C., and Connecticut from 1970 to 1976, attaining the rank of sergeant.

During his 2010 Senate campaign, news reports that Blumenthal claimed he had served in Vietnam created a controversy. The New York Times reported that Blumenthal misspoke on at least one occasion by saying he had served with the military "in Vietnam". Video emerged of him speaking to a group of veterans and supporters in March 2008 in Norwalk, saying, in reference to supporting troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam." On other occasions, he described his military service accurately. At a 2008 ceremony in Shelton, Connecticut, he said, "I served during the Vietnam era... I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse."

Blumenthal denied having intentionally misled voters, but acknowledged having occasionally "misspoken" about his service record. He later apologized to voters for remarks about his military service that he said had not been "clear or precise".

Early career

Blumenthal served as an administrative assistant to Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff, as an aide to Daniel P. Moynihan when Moynihan was Assistant to President Richard Nixon, and as a law clerk to Judge Jon O. Newman of the U.S. District Court of the District of Connecticut and to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

Blumenthal was a partner in the law firm of Cummings & Lockwood, and subsequently in the law firm of Silver, Golub & Sandak. In December 1982, while still at Cummings & Lockwood, he created and chaired the Citizens Crime Commission of Connecticut, a private, nonprofit organization. From 1981 to 1986, he was a volunteer counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

At age 31, Blumenthal was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, serving from 1977 to 1981. As the chief federal prosecutor of that state, he successfully prosecuted many major cases involving drug traffickers, organized crime, white collar criminals, civil rights violators, consumer fraud, and environmental pollution.

In 1984, when he was 38, Blumenthal was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 145th district. In 1987, he won a special election to fill a vacancy in the 27th district of the Connecticut Senate. Blumenthal served in the Connecticut Senate until 1990.

In the 1980s, Blumenthal testified in the state legislature in favor of abolishing Connecticut's death penalty statute. He did so after representing Joseph Green Brown, a Florida death row inmate who was found to have been wrongly convicted. Blumenthal succeeded in staving off Brown's execution just 15 hours before it was scheduled to take place, and gained a new trial for Brown.

Attorney General of Connecticut (1991–2011)

Blumenthal served as attorney general of Connecticut from 1991 to 2010.

Tenure

In May 1995, Blumenthal and the state of Connecticut filed lawsuits challenging a decision by the Department of the Interior to approve a bid by the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot for annexation of 165 acres of land in the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston. The Pequot were attempting to have the land placed in a federal trust, a legal designation to provide them with land for their sovereign control, as long years of colonization had left them landless. Blumenthal argued that the Interior Department's decision in support of this action was "fatally, legally flawed, and unfair" and that "it would unfairly remove land from the tax rolls of the surrounding towns and bar local control over how the land is used, while imposing [a] tremendous burden." The tribe announced the withdrawal of the land annexation petition in February 2002.

In 1997, Blumenthal and Governor John G. Rowland petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address interstate air pollution problems created from Midwest and southeastern sources. The petition was filed in accordance with Section 126 of the Clean Air Act, which allows a state to request pollution reductions from out-of-state sources that contribute significantly to its air quality problems.

In 2003, Blumenthal and the attorneys general of eight other states (New York, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont) filed a federal lawsuit against the Bush administration for "endangering air quality by gutting a critical component of the federal Clean Air Act." The suit alleged that changes in the act would have exempted thousands of industrial air pollution sources from the act's New Source Review provision and that the new rules and regulations would lead to an increase in air pollution.

While attorney general, Blumenthal was one of the leaders of a 46-state lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which alleged that the companies involved had deceived the public about the dangers of smoking. He argued that the state of Connecticut should be reimbursed for Medicaid expenses related to smoking. In 1998, the tobacco companies reached a $246 billion national settlement, giving the 46 states involved 25 years of reimbursement payments. Connecticut's share of the settlement was estimated at $3.6 billion.

In December 2007, Blumenthal filed suit against RJ Reynolds, alleging that a 2007 Camel advertising spread in Rolling Stone magazine used cartoons in violation of the master tobacco settlement, which prohibited the use of cartoons in cigarette advertising because they entice children and teenagers to smoke. The company paid the state of Connecticut $150,000 to settle the suit and agreed to end the advertising campaign.

Prospect of gubernatorial candidacy

Blumenthal was often considered a top prospect for the Democratic nominee for governor of Connecticut, but never ran for the office.

On March 18, 2007, Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie reported that Blumenthal had become seriously interested in running for governor in 2010. On February 2, 2009, Blumenthal announced he would forgo a gubernatorial run and seek reelection that year as attorney general.

U.S. Senate (2011–present)

Elections

After Chris Dodd announced on January 6, 2010, that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his term, Blumenthal told the Associated Press that he would run in the election for Dodd's seat in November 2010. Later that day, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden called Blumenthal to express their best wishes.

The same day, Public Policy Polling released a poll they took on the two preceding evenings, including races where Blumenthal was paired against each of the three most-mentioned Republicans contending for their party's nomination for the seat. He led by at least 30% in each hypothetical race: against Rob Simmons (59%–28%), against Linda McMahon (60%–28%), and against Peter Schiff (63%–23%), with a 4.3% margin of error cited. Rasmussen Reports also polled after Blumenthal announced his candidacy and found a somewhat more competitive race, but with Blumenthal holding a strong lead.

A February poll by Rasmussen found that Blumenthal held leads of 19 against Simmons and 20 against McMahon, and that Republicans had made up little ground since the initial Rasmussen poll after Blumenthal announced. On May 21, Blumenthal received the Democratic nomination by acclamation.

The New York Times reported that Blumenthal misspoke on at least one occasion by saying he'd served with the military "in Vietnam". Video emerged of him speaking to a group of veterans and supporters in March 2008 in Norwalk, saying, in reference to supporting troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam." There were also other occasions where he accurately described his military service. At a 2008 ceremony in Shelton, Connecticut, he said, "I served during the Vietnam era... I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse."

Blumenthal's commanding officer in 1974 and 1975, Larry Baldino of Woodbridge, addressed the controversy in a letter to the editor in the New Haven Register. Baldino wrote that the misleading statement was too "petty" to be the basis for supporting or not supporting Blumenthal. Baldino further called Blumenthal "good-natured" and "one of the best Marines with whom I ever worked".

Blumenthal denied having intentionally misled voters about his military service, but later apologized to voters for his lack of clarity.

Tenure

Blumenthal was sworn into the 112th United States Congress on January 5, 2011. He announced plans to return to Connecticut every weekend to join a "listening tour" of his home state.

In March 2012, Blumenthal and New York senator Chuck Schumer gained national attention after they called upon Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to investigate practices by employers to require Facebook passwords for employee applicants and workers.

Blumenthal worked with Senator Mark Kirk to eliminate pensions for members of Congress who are convicted of felonies while serving in office.

In Blumenthal v. Trump, Blumenthal and Representative John Conyers Jr. led a group of 196 congressmen in filing a federal lawsuit accusing President Trump of violating the emoluments clause of the US Constitution.

In the wake of the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, Blumenthal blamed Trump, saying that Trump "incited, instigated and supported" the attack. He called for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Blumenthal also requested an investigation into the lack of response from law enforcement and the military.

In December 2021, Blumenthal gave a speech honoring three local labor activists at an awards ceremony in New Haven that was hosted by the Connecticut People's World Committee, an affiliate of the Connecticut Communist Party. After criticism from national Republican politicians and conservative media outlets, Blumenthal said that he is "a strong supporter and believer in American capitalism" and would not have attended had he known of the group's Communist ties.

Committee assignments

Committee on Armed Services

Subcommittee on Airland

Subcommittee on Personnel

Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support

Subcommittee on SeaPower

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Subcommittee on Investigations (chairman)

Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights

Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights

Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law

Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law

Subcommittee on the Constitution

Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Special Committee on Aging

Caucus memberships

Black Maternal Health Caucus

Expand Social Security Caucus

Senate Oceans Caucus

Senate Ukraine Caucus

Congressional Coalition on Adoption

Political positions

Abortion

Blumenthal is pro-choice. He supports efforts to make it a crime for demonstrators to block access to health clinics. He opposed efforts by Walmart to ban the sale of emergency contraception and supports requirements that pharmacies fill birth control prescriptions. He supports federal funding for family planning clinics. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Blumenthal said the decision "strips women of the freedom to make their own health care decisions & puts that power in the hands of the government."

Animal welfare

In 2024, Blumenthal and U.S. representatives Earl Blumenauer and Brian Fitzpatrick introduced the Captive Primate Safety Act, legislation that would prohibit private ownership of chimpanzees and other primates as pets. The legislation was endorsed by animal rights and animal welfare groups and law enforcement associations.

Foreign relations

In April 2018, Blumenthal stated his support for "strong efforts to crack down on intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices by China or any other nation", but said that Trump was implementing "trade policy by tweet, reaction based on impulse and rash rhetoric that can only escalate tensions with all economic powers and lead to a trade war" and that U.S. actions through trade without a strategy or an endgame seemed "highly dangerous" to the American economy.

In June 2018, Blumenthal cosponsored a bipartisan bill that would reinstate penalties on ZTE for export control violations in addition to barring American government agencies from either purchasing or leasing equipment or services from ZTE or Huawei. The bill was offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019 and was in direct contrast to the Trump administration's announced intent to ease sanctions on ZTE.

In August 2018, Blumenthal and 16 other lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials who are responsible for human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. They wrote, "The detention of as many as a million or more Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in 'political reeducation' centers or camps requires a tough, targeted, and global response."

In May 2019, Blumenthal was a cosponsor of the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act, a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt China's consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and air space in disputed zones in the South China Sea.

In July 2019, Blumenthal was a cosponsor of the Defending America's 5G Future Act, a bill that would prevent Huawei from being removed from the "entity list" of the Commerce Department without an act of Congress and authorize Congress to block administration waivers for U.S. companies to do business with Huawei. The bill would also codify Trump's executive order from the previous May that empowered his administration to block foreign tech companies deemed a national security threat from conducting business in the United States.

In 2025, Blumenthal supported secondary sanctions against Russia that would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and other exports. China is one of the major consumers of Russian energy.

Government shutdown

In March 2019, Blumenthal was one of 39 senators to sign a letter to the Appropriations Committee opining that contractor workers and by extension their families "should not be penalized for a government shutdown that they did nothing to cause" while noting that there were bills in both chambers of Congress that would provide back pay to compensate contractor employees for lost wages, urging the Appropriations Committee "to include back pay for contractor employees in a supplemental appropriations bill for FY2019 or as part of the regular appropriations process for FY2020."

Gun control

Blumenthal supports gun control. He supports a national assault weapons ban and introduced such a ban in 2017 and 2023.

In response to the 2015 San Bernardino attack, Blumenthal gave his support for improved access to mental health resources and universal background checks.

In January 2016, Blumenthal was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Thad Cochran and Barbara Mikulski requesting that the Labor, Health and Education subcommittee hold a hearing on whether to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund a study of gun violence and "the annual appropriations rider that some have interpreted as preventing it" with taxpayer dollars. The senators noted their support for taking steps "to fund gun-violence research, because only the United States government is in a position to establish an integrated public-health research agenda to understand the causes of gun violence and identify the most effective strategies for prevention."

In the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Blumenthal said, "The Senate's inaction on commonsense gun violence prevention makes it complicit in this public health crisis. Prayers and platitudes are insufficient. The American public is beseeching us to act on commonsense, sensible gun violence prevention measures, and we must heed that call."

In October 2016, Blumenthal participated in the Chris Murphy gun control filibuster, speaking in support of the Feinstein Amendment, which would have banned people known to be or suspected of being terrorists from buying guns. That same year, he stated his support for efforts to require toy or fake firearms to have orange parts so they could more easily be distinguished from real guns.

In response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Blumenthal declared in an interview with Judy Woodruff, "we must break the grip of the NRA". He continued, "we can at least save lives. Would it have prevented the Las Vegas atrocity, that unspeakable tragedy? We will never know. But it might have, and we can definitely prevent such mass shootings by adopting these kinds of commonsense measures."

In 2018, Blumenthal was a cosponsor of the NICS Denial Notification Act, legislation developed in the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that would require federal authorities to inform states within a day after a person failing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System attempted to buy a firearm.

Health care

In February 2019, Blumenthal was one of 23 Democratic senators to introduce the State Public Option Act, legislation that would authorize states to form a Medicaid buy-in program for all residents and thereby grant all denizens of the state the ability to buy into a state-driven Medicaid health insurance plan if they wished. Brian Schatz, a bill cosponsor, said the legislation would "unlock each state's Medicaid program to anyone who wants it, giving people a high-quality, low-cost public health insurance option", and that its goal was "to make sure that every single American has comprehensive health care coverage."

In June 2019, Blumenthal was one of eight senators to cosponsor the Territories Health Equity Act of 2019, legislation that would remove the cap on annual federal Medicaid funding and increase federal matching rate for Medicaid expenditures of territories along with more funds being provided for prescription drug coverage to low-income seniors in an attempt to equalize funding for American territories Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands with that of U.S. states.

In June 2019, Blumenthal and 14 other senators introduced the Affordable Medications Act, legislation that would promote transparency by mandating that pharmaceutical companies disclose the amount of money going to research and development, marketing and executives' salaries. The bill also abolished the restriction that stopped the federal Medicare program from using its buying power to negotiate lower drug prices for beneficiaries and hinder drug company monopoly practices used to keep prices high and disable less expensive generics entering the market.

In August 2019, Blumenthal was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration to help states and Congress understand the potential consequences in the event that the Texas v. United States Affordable Care Act (ACA) lawsuit prevailed in courts, claiming that an overhaul of the present health care system would form "an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets". That same month, Blumenthal, three other Senate Democrats, and Bernie Sanders signed a letter to acting FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless in response to Novartis falsifying data as part of an attempt to gain the FDA's approval for its new gene therapy Zolgensma, writing that it was "unconscionable that a drug company would provide manipulated data to federal regulators in order to rush its product to market, reap federal perks, and charge the highest amount in American history for its medication."

Immigration

In August 2018, Blumenthal was one of 17 senators to sign a letter spearheaded by Kamala Harris to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action in attempting to reunite 539 migrant children with their families, citing each passing day of inaction as intensifying "trauma that this administration has needlessly caused for children and their families seeking humanitarian protection."

In April 2019, Blumenthal was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to acting defense secretary Patrick M. Shanahan expressing concern over memos by Marine Corps general Robert Neller in which Neller critiqued deployments to the southern border and funding transfers under Trump's national emergency declaration as having posed an "unacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency" and noted that other military officials had recently stated that troop deployment did not affect readiness. The senators requested Shanahan explain the inconsistencies and that he provide both "a staff-level briefing on this matter within seven days" and an explanation of how he would address Neller's concerns.

In June 2019, following the Housing and Urban Development Department's confirmation that DACA recipients did not meet eligibility for federal backed loans, Blumenthal and 11 other senators introduced The Home Ownership Dreamers Act, legislation that mandated that the federal government was not authorized to deny mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Agriculture Department solely due to an applicant's immigration status.

In June 2019, Blumenthal and six other Democratic senators led by Brian Schatz sent letters to the Government Accountability Office along with the suspension and debarment official and inspector general at the US Department of Health and Human Services citing recent reports that showed "significant evidence that some federal contractors and grantees have not provided adequate accommodations for children in line with legal and contractual requirements" and urging government officials to determine whether federal contractors and grantees were in violation of contractual obligations or federal regulations and should thus face financial consequences.

In July 2019, following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses, parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation, Blumenthal was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability "to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse, children, or parents will be deported while they are away" and that the program's termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat.

LGBT rights

In September 2014, Blumenthal was one of 69 members of the US House and Senate to sign a letter to then-FDA commissioner Sylvia Burwell requesting that the FDA revise its policy banning donation of corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with other men in the preceding five years.

In June 2019, Blumenthal was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting an explanation of a State Department decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month. They also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant and asserted that "preventing the official flying of rainbow flags and limiting public messages celebrating Pride Month signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority."

In 2022, Blumenthal voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill intended to codify same-sex marriage rights into federal law.

Special Counsel investigation

In March 2019, after Attorney General William Barr released a summary of the Mueller report, Blumenthal said the issue was about "obstruction of justice, no exoneration there, and the judgment by William Barr may have been completely improper" and that he did not "deeply respect and trust the Barr summary, which was designed to frame the message before the information was available." After the Justice Department publicly released the redacted version of the report the following month, Blumenthal said, "What's demonstrated in powerful and compelling detail in this report is nothing less than a national scandal. This report is far from the end of the inquiry that this country needs and deserves. It is the beginning of another chapter."

In April 2019, Blumenthal was one of 12 Democratic senators to sign a letter led by Mazie Hirono that questioned Barr's decision to offer "his own conclusion that the President's conduct did not amount to obstruction of justice" and called for both the Justice Department's inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility to launch an investigation into whether Barr's summary of the Mueller report and his April 18 news conference were misleading.

2024 New Jersey drone sightings

In 2024, Blumenthal said suspicious drones found flying over areas in the New Jersey and North Atlantic region should be shot down if necessary and that "We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they're flying over airports or military bases".

Personal life

On June 27, 1982, Blumenthal married Cynthia Malkin. Blumenthal and Malkin were engaged during her senior year at Harvard and married the following year. She is the daughter of Peter L. Malkin and maternal granddaughter of Lawrence Wien. They have four children. Their son Matt Blumenthal was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 147th district in 2018.

Blumenthal's wealth exceeds $100 million, making him one of the Senate's richest members. His family's net worth derives largely from his wife; the Malkins are influential real estate developers and property managers with holdings including an ownership stake in the Empire State Building.

On April 8, 2023, while at a parade celebrating the UConn Huskies men's basketball team winning the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship, another attendee inadvertently fell on Blumenthal, causing a minor fracture of his femur. He underwent surgery, which he said was successful, and left the hospital on April 10.

Electoral history