Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says he’d back a continuing resolution to keep the government open and funded through April as lawmakers race to avert another government shutdown by Nov. 17.
“What I’ve been proposing is doing a longer continuing resolution into April,” the Oshkosh Republican said on WISN’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “If we complete all of our work by then, it will give us first the ability to give greater scrutiny to all these appropriation bills.”
Johnson has backed a bill that failed to pass the Senate last week that would end the threat of shutdowns by keeping the government funded at previous levels and requiring lawmakers to remain in continuous session to reach a funding agreement.
“Every Republican senator voted for, except one,” Johnson said, referring to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “That individual wanted not just level spending, he wanted to cut spending. But most Democrats voted against it, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, so apparently she likes the shutdown showdowns. She realizes the press always takes the side of the Democrats, and she’s happy to play that kind of risky game with our economy.”
Baldwin is running for reelection in 2024. Several Republicans including businessmen Eric Hovde and Scott Mayer are considering entering the race but have yet to officially launch a bid, while others like U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, of Allouez, have said they won’t run.
“There are a number that are taking a look at it,” Johnson said. “Remember, I didn’t announce my first run against (Russ) Feingold until May 2010 and that seemed to work out well, so there’s plenty of time.”
Johnson is also calling on Congress to split funding packages for Israel and Ukraine, rejecting a $106 billion package crafted by the White House and backed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, signaling Senate Republicans could take procedural moves to ensure funding for Israel passes on its own.
“In conference, I think a majority of Republicans would deny cloture on the entire package,” Johnson said. “One thing that has broad bipartisan, strong agreement is supporting our friend and ally Israel. They’re going to need the support, and whether you agree or disagree, aid to Ukraine is more controversial.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, an openly gay member of Congress, calls new GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson an “extremist” and “one of the most homophobic” members of Congress.
“There’s a reason people call him ‘MAGA Mike’ and that’s from his friends,” Pocan told “UpFront.” “We’re not giving him a title. He’s proud to be an extreme MAGA member of Congress, and when you look at his track record, he introduced the ‘Don’t say gay bill’ that’s been seen in some states at the federal level. He is one of the most homophobic members in all of Congress, and that is a concern.”
As the House returns this week, Pocan says he would back a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and open. Johnson has indicated he’d back the move ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline.
“Yeah, if it’s a clean CR,” Pocan said. “Everyone would support that, I believe. I don’t think you’d have any dissenters, at least normal people, to do that because we know we need more time that was lost the last three weeks with the chaos in the Republican caucus.”
Pocan also said it’s fair to call out both Hamas and Israel as the war intensifies and the debate is center stage nationwide and at some colleges and universities.
“I think it’s important as an elected official, I’m going to call out groups like Hamas, which is a terrorist organization that led the horrific attack against Israel,” Pocan said. “But I’m also going to call out the Israeli government, who I think is doing collective punishment of the people of Gaza, against 2.2 million people who are not Hamas, but happen to live there. In fact, I would say they’re brutalized by the Gazan leadership who don’t even live in Gaza. Hamas leadership lives outside of that area, but I think it’s fair to call out both.”
Also on the show, state Sen. Kelda Roys says she doesn’t believe any Senate Dem would currently vote for the Brewers ballpark maintenance funding deal as written now, adding there’s a potential a package could fail to pass the full Senate.
“I think that is a potential,” said Roys, D-Madison. “It depends on how intransigent the Brewers are, but I don’t think that’s what anybody wants to happen.”
A public hearing was held last week in a Senate committee after the Assembly passed the deal in a 69-27 vote. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, has said Dem support will be needed to pass the bill.
“My biggest concern is the contribution by taxpayers,” Roys said. “I think there’s too much public money and too little private money in this deal.”
The deal includes $411 million over the 27 years from the state, while Milwaukee County and the city would put in $135 million. The team has agreed to contribute $100 million in addition to its rent payments.
Roys said Dems want to see appointees from Milwaukee and Milwaukee County restored to the new stadium district board and a larger contribution from the Brewers, which could include the possibility of a ticket tax on non-game or game events.
“I understand the Brewers don’t want any ticket tax on their games, but the vast majority of events that happen at AmFam field are Brewers games, so if they’re willing to make up more of the contribution, I think that’s reasonable,” Roys said.
GOP state Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara told “UpFront” she’s short a vote in the Senate to pass a bill that would expand access to breast cancer screenings for people with an increased risk.
“I would have to say I’m short one vote, but I am talking with the legislators to get this finalized,” Cabral-Guevara said. “I’m a little bit frustrated again with that hesitation with the word mandate, and I’m really encouraging and educating people that this is beyond that, and if we’re already providing a service, we need to go the extra length and get everyone screened.”
The bipartisan bill would require health insurance policies to cover the expanded screenings for people with an increased risk of breast cancer like those with dense breast tissue or abnormal mammogram results, a measure health insurance groups oppose.
“The hurdle we’re running into is this idea this would be a mandate placed on insurance companies, and whenever anyone talks about mandates people get nervous about that,” Cabral-Guevara said. “We need to look beyond the mandate, and we need to look at how essential this is for women in Wisconsin. Insurance companies are already screening women for breast cancer in the form of a mammogram. Well, for the women who have dense breast tissue, that mammogram is not doing its job. So if we’re going to be telling people they have coverage for screening of breast cancer, then the women who are being excluded because it’s not being screened appropriately are not being represented, and they need to be covered, so if that has to be in the form of a mandate, then so be it.”
See more from the show here.
