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Quotes of the week
How much does the U.S. spend on intelligence and the military to have a President publicly asking “what’s with” this? Maybe if he had not stacked his administration with a bunch of unqualified dopes, he could ask someone instead of asking rhetorical questions on Lie Social.
– U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, in a post on X responding to President Donald Trump’s reaction to Russia sending drones into Poland’s airspace.
Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies have made our communities less safe and the media has turned a blind eye to it.
– U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, in a post on X in the wake of the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina.
This week’s news
— GOP U.S. Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil were among Republican lawmakers who joined President Donald Trump at a dinner to celebrate the renovation of the White House Rose Garden.
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The renovation involved paving over an area of the Rose Garden for a patio, which Trump has dubbed the “Rose Garden Club.”
Van Orden, of Prairie du Chien, appeared in a photo posted by U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Steil, of Janesville, posted several photos on X of himself with Trump at the Friday event.
“Thank you President Trump for hosting dinner at the White House Rose Garden. A great night discussing our ongoing work to Make America Great,” Steil wrote.
Van Orden’s office said he was invited by the White House to attend. The offices of U.S. Reps. Glenn Grothman, of Glenbeulah, and Tom Tiffany, of Minocqua, told WisPolitics they weren’t in attendance. Other GOP members’ offices did not respond.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, criticized Republicans for attending the dinner after voting for cuts to federal funding for food assistance in what he called the “Big, Ugly Bill” and not seeking to increase aid for Meals on Wheels.
“They held an extravagant dinner in the newly paved area that once was the Rose Garden, and had a three-course dinner and drinks, featuring rose garden salad – at least we know what happened to the plants that were once there — steak, and a fudge-filled, seven-layer cake, making their cuts to food assistance even more tone-deaf than ever,” Pocan said. “Fudge-filled, seven-layer cake? I guess the theme of the White House event was ‘let them eat cake.’”
The proposed Health and Human Services budget would keep funding flat at $1.059 billion after Meals on Wheels requested $1.605 billion. The organization said a lack of additional funding fails to account for increased food, transportation and labor costs and will lead to a “double-digit cut” to senior nutrition programs.
— Wisconsin Congress members condemned political violence following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this week.
The Turning Point USA co-founder was shot and killed yesterday during an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk is known for hosting Q&A-style debates with students on college campuses. Wisconsin members took to X to urge prayers for Kirk shortly before President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce the 31-year-old had died.
“Horrified to learn Charlie Kirk was shot today during a campus political dialogue. My prayers are with Charlie and his family. Political violence has no place in America—ever,” wrote U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said: “There is no two ways about this: political violence has no place in America. I am keeping Charlie and his family in my thoughts in this truly horrifying moment.”
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, in a response to the shooting pointed to “leftwing political violence.”
“I am praying fervently for @charliekirk11 and his family. This leftwing political violence must stop now. Whoever does not condemn this is part of the problem. The gloves are off,” Van Orden said.
In a similar post, he said: “The press needs to get their heads out of their collective asses and the @dccx and @DNC better knock off this violent political rhetoric. Now. The gloves are off.”
Following news of Kirk’s death, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, joined fellow members in mourning the loss.
“Political violence has no place in America. We can disagree without resorting to hatred or harm. My prayers are with his family as we remember Charlie, a hardworking young man and devoted father,” Grothman said.
— U.S. Rep. Tony Wied this week celebrated the passage of his bill to ensure proper storage of equipment that prevents snow and ice from accumulating on airplanes.
The “FROST Act,” which passed in the House by voice vote, would allow federal Airport Improvement Program funding to be used for storage facilities for deicing fluid and equipment. The program doesn’t currently allow for such purchases.
Wied, R-De Pere, in a statement noted aircraft are sensitive to snow and ice, which can cause flight irregularities and damage flight systems.
“To prevent this, airports are forced to invest in expensive deicing equipment and fluids to mitigate these disruptions and support safe flight operations,” Wied said. “This common-sense legislation will save much-needed funds for airports around the United States and ensure the proper storage of this critical equipment.”
— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is calling on Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, charging he has “thrown his agency into total and utter chaos.”
Baldwin, D-Madison, explained her stance in a video on X. She said Kennedy has “fired people indiscriminately,” frozen funding, “dramatically” cut research funding and fired the former CDC director “because she wouldn’t agree to his vaccine conspiracies.”
“The head of the Health and Human Services department should be about promoting health, preventing disease, finding cures. And instead, RFK Jr. is just pursuing his anti-science conspiracy theories,” Baldwin said.
Kennedy spoke with senators last week at a tense Finance Committee hearing following the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, who sits on the committee, thanked Kennedy for “your willingness to serve and for putting up with this abuse.” He also praised Kennedy for “breaking the logjam of information” at HHS.
Posts of the week
ICYMI
WBAY: Sen. Baldwin, Rep. Wied team up to give all of Wisconsin access to Packers broadcasts
The Hill: House Democrat compares Trump bill rebranding plan to Cracker Barrel
PBS Wisconsin: US Sen. Tammy Baldwin on health care and the National Guard
