Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly: https://forms.gle/YLYZtJWHPSt24HhZ7
Quotes of the week
“Farmers all across #WI07 are struggling to break even this year due to rising fertilizer and fuel costs. I demand President Biden reverse his anti-American energy policies to alleviate some of the pressure our hardworking farmers are facing this spring planting season.”
-U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in a tweet arguing Wisconsinites face more than high gas prices.
“Big Oil wants you to believe that they’re helpless in setting prices at the pump, but their profit margins tell another story. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
-U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, in a tweet arguing oil companies are inflating gas prices for consumers as oil prices drop.
This week’s news
— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who had signaled his opposition to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in the past, formally announced Tuesday he will vote against her confirmation.
Johnson, R-Oshkosh, opposed a procedural move to allow Jackson’s nomination to go to the Senate floor after it deadlocked in the Judiciary Committee. Johnson also signaled before President Biden announced his nomination that he was unlikely to support the nominee and later called Jackson “a judicial activist, probably one from the far left.”
Johnson in a statement called Jackson a “decent person with a compelling life story.” He said the White House didn’t offer an availability with her prior to last night’s vote and he can only go off what she said during hearings and “what my assumptions are regarding judicial appointments made by liberal Democrat Presidents.”
“They universally nominate individuals who become judicial activists instead of the type of judge I described above,” Johnson said. “I sincerely hope she proves me wrong, but I will be voting no on Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, has said she will vote to confirm Jackson, who she has described as “impartial, fair and independent.”
Baldwin in a statement to WisPolitics.com said Jackson would serve as an example for young Black girls.
“I also know what this moment means to young Black girls in Wisconsin and across the country who will have inspiring proof that they too can achieve their dreams,” Baldwin said.
— U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, is set to chair a Select Committee Economic roundtable with Native American leaders from Wisconsin and elsewhere around the country.
Committee member U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, will also attend the event, titled Economic Empowerment for Native Communities: Harnessing Innovation and Self-Governance to Unlock Economic Potential. The meeting will focus on improving economic growth and sustainability for Native Americans.
The one-and-a-half-hour meeting will start at 10 a.m. and includes six Native American leaders.
Those from Wisconsin include:
*Oneida Business Committee Councilwoman Marie Summers;
*Ho-Chunk Nation Vice President Karena Thundercloud;and
*Potawatomi Tribe Tribal Secretary James Crawford.
— U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Gwen Moore are set to visit Kenosha next week for a hearing on how to best connect the education system with job opportunities.
The two House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth members plan to join the committee Chair U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., at the Monday meeting. They will focus on education options to allow workers to enter, re-enter and remain in the workforce.
The two-hour meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. at UW-Parkside.
— U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore on Tuesday plans to join the former Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority Executive Director for a bus tour around Milwaukee neighborhoods facing racial inequities, deindustrialization and other issues.
The Milwaukee Dem will join Wyman Winston and other Select Committee on Economic and Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth on the tour, which starts at 8:30 a.m. downtown
The group will also hold a one-and-a-half hour hearing and take questions from community members from a half-hour at Milwaukee Public Library’s Central Library downtown after the bus tour.
— U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany on Tuesday was one of 63 GOP House members to vote against legislation to solidify support for NATO’s founding principles.
The House in a 362-63 vote approved the bill, which would reaffirm unequivocal support for the organization as an alliance founded on democratic principles. The measure would also call on President Biden to work to establish a Center for Democratic Resilience within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters.
The rest of Wisconsin’s House members voted in favor of the measure.
Tiffany, R-Minocqua, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
— U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman led a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the president keep in place a measure allowing Biden to halt or decrease immigration to avoid spreading disease.
The Title 42 public health authority — implemented in 2020 by the Trump administration — is set to expire May 23. U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, and Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, also signed on to the letter saying lifting Title 42 will lead to “the worst border crisis this country has ever faced.”
The measure allows U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to immediately remove detainees from border detention facilities.
Lawmakers in the letter argued the policy has “drastically” reduced immigration from the southern border and that it remained in place when COVID-19 deaths were lower than they are now. They said Title 42 was the only option left to deter illegal immigration.
The lawmakers also requested a briefing with senior administration officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health Services to discuss the reasoning behind ending the policy and ways to improve border security.
Posts of the week
In case you haven't heard, it's #DayOfTheBadger 🦡
Today and every day, I’m proud to be an alumnus of UW-Madison! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/MBvW2b8YWI
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) April 5, 2022
Great to be @WhiteHouse today for the @POTUS trucking event! pic.twitter.com/e1vXmLFSjo
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) April 4, 2022
Good to meet with UW-Madison Chancellor Blank in Washington. #OnWisconsin @UWMadison @BeckyBlank pic.twitter.com/sJ5fYgm6a0
— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) April 4, 2022
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
54 years later, we remember these powerful words as we continue our pursuit of equity and justice. pic.twitter.com/qRT0Ri0WkP
— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) April 5, 2022
Enjoyed a wonderful meeting with the Ambassador of Guatemala to the United States, Alfonso Quiñónez, on the relationship between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/51RLP4DbA2
— Rep. Glenn Grothman (@RepGrothman) April 6, 2022
ICYMI
Sen. Baldwin working to extend child nutrition waiver
Postal workers hope new law will ‘stop the bleeding’ at U.S. Postal Service
Senator Ron Johnson visits Brown County to support candidates, talks inflation and pandemic