WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on Tuesday after President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address:

“By Trump's standards, that was a pretty mild speech, and it certainly could have been a lot worse. But his platitudes about working together are totally meaningless when the minute he goes off script, he returns to the divisive, reckless, my-way-or-the-highway style that has paralyzed Washington for the past two years. Truthfully, the state of our union is a mess, and it’s because Trump has taken a wrecking ball to democratic norms, objective truth, and the value of American diversity," said Murphy.  

Murphy invited Regina Moller to be his guest to the State of the Union. Regina is the executive director of Noank Community Support Services (NCSS), a non-profit organization in Groton that provides behavioral health services to southeastern Connecticut. NCSS has been affected by the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the recent government shutdown. NCSS provides shelter and services to unaccompanied minors who were separated from their family at the border. Additionally, NCSS relies on grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) to provide housing services for homeless young adults. Due to the partial government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, NCSS did not receive federal funding and instead relied on its own limited funds to run its youth homelessness shelter.  

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