Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August says Republicans could hold up passing the state budget if their GOP tax cut plan isn’t first passed and signed by Dem Gov. Tony Evers.
“Well, look, I think it depends on how the governor is going to react to the tax cuts,” August said on WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “We are very adamant that this money needs to be returned to the taxpayers.
“Our position has been clear that the one-time surplus is only here because the governor continues to veto tax cuts,” August added. “So our position as legislative Republicans has always been that money is for tax cuts, not for continued spending, not for bloating government, not for creating new government programs, so we expect that money to be used for tax cuts.”
Republican leaders in both the Assembly and Senate met last week to negotiate details between the two chambers ahead of unveiling their tax cut plan in the coming days.
“We had a really productive meeting,” August said. “We want to have broad tax cuts that cover every Wisconsinite. We think that our plan will be big and bold enough that conservatives can get behind it, but also targeted to the middle class, and the governor should be able to support it as well.”
Evers has proposed $2 billion in tax relief as part of his budget by targeting property taxes and the elimination of the income tax on cash tips and sales tax on certain items like and prescription drugs. Evers is also proposing a new tax bracket and a tax hike for the wealthiest Wisconsinites.
“It is a shell game with what the governor has done with his $2 billion,” August said. “The governor clearly knows that his record on taxes is weak, and he’s trying to shore that up.”
August also countered Evers’ criticism targeting Republicans after backlash over the governor’s proposal that changed “mother” to “inseminated person” in parts of state statute. Evers said the change is needed to ensure legal protections for same-sex couples pursuing in vitro fertilization.
“I haven’t seen that there has been any issue with the current law,” August said. “If there is, we are not aware of any instances where this part of state statute has prohibited any same-sex couple from having protections in IVF.
“It’s ridiculous to infer that Republicans, right out, say that Republicans are against IVF,” August added. “That could not be further from the truth. Our caucus is not against IVF. He’s trying to throw that out there to muddy the issue. They got caught doing something that they probably truly believe in, in erasing that term ‘mother’ from our statutes, and they’re trying to throw all of this up as a smokescreen. Republicans don’t oppose IVF. Apparently, Tony Evers opposes calling mothers mothers.”
State Chair Ben Wikler said Dems are being outspent by Republicans in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, a stark reversal from the 2023 campaign.
“Right now, the Elon Musk millions flooding in alongside the ‘stop the steal’ donors, Dick and Liz Uihlein, they have the money advantage,” Wikler told “UpFront.”
Wikler wouldn’t say exactly how much the state party is prepared to spend to back Crawford ahead of the April 1 election. Two years ago, state Dems gave $10 million to Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign.
“We’ve been able to raise and support Susan Crawford with several million dollars,” Wikler said. “Now, I don’t know what the final number is going to be, but I do know that all the grassroots support we can muster, it’s probably not going to be the same as Elon Musk’s giant wall of money pouring over the state.”
Wikler, while criticizing Musk-backed groups backing Schimel, dismissed big Democratic donors funding Crawford’s campaign, like George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
“Well, the question is, what does Elon Musk want?” Wikler said.
Wikler, who recently lost his bid to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, praised newly elected chairman Ken Martin, who visited Wisconsin last weekend.
“I’m excited about his work. I’m excited he was knocking on doors here,” Wikler said. “And for myself, I’m proud to have said to the rest of the country that the kind of year-round engagement that we do in Wisconsin is a powerful part of how we can fight back against this administration.”
Wikler, whose term as state party chairman is up this summer, didn’t reveal whether he’ll run again.
“I am so focused on the Supreme Court race right now,” Wikler said. “I have not figured out what my next steps are, but I’m confident that whether it’s me or someone else, we’re going to continue doing the kind of year-round, on-the-ground engagement in rural areas and cities and suburbs alike across Wisconsin that’s made such a difference over these last years.”
GOP U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman praised the efforts of local Dems to flood recent town halls in the Fox Valley but dismissed it as broader warning signs for Republicans.
“It’s not something that we have had lately,” Grothman told “UpFront,” referring to the crowds. “Obviously, with the new presidency, I think there’s a lot of anger among some Democrats. But I can tell you, if you didn’t look at the town hall, if you just went to the Friday night fish fry as I attend or the fundraisers for the schools or various service groups, overall we got very positive feedback on what we’re doing.
“It shows that Democrats are enthusiastic,” Grothman added. “I think there’s some things that I would not necessarily agree with that have been out there on the legacy media, but we know that a lot of Democrats don’t like Elon Musk. They don’t like Donald Trump, and if they are told to show up for a rally, they will show up for a rally.”
Grothman praised Musk’s actions in Washington.
“He’s advising us,” Grothman said. “I think the idea that there’s something unique going on is preposterous. Every president has dozens, maybe more than dozens of advisers who are not confirmed.
“His power comes from the president,” Grothman added. “I mean, he has no power by himself. And obviously given his financial background, his intelligence, you want him looking at these numbers, not to mention I think he brings a given amount of credibility to the federal budget that your average congressman does not. He can get Congress to move on items that the average congressman can not. So I think we’re fortunate to have him there, and the impact he has on the next budget will be determined on the votes the Congress takes.”
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