Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly.
Quotes of the week
The Trump administration is acting recklessly, carrying out illegal strikes, violating international law, and putting American troops in harms’ way. President Trump has shown that he thinks he’s above the law, and it’s vital that lawmakers of both parties stand up to him and demand basic transparency about these strikes.
– U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in a statement to WisPolitics after a classified briefing with senators on boat strikes by the Trump administration. The administration has argued the strikes, which have killed at least 95 people, are necessary to crack down on drug smuggling.
These are narco-terrorists, they are poisoning our streets, they are killing Americans. They know full well the risk they are taking. And I, for one, completely support President Trump and Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio and what they’re doing here. They’re taking a great deal of care to make sure that no innocents are affected here.
– U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, on the briefing.
This week’s news
— Wisconsin House members split along party lines on a Republican health care bill this week as Dems decried the GOP-led body’s failure to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the month.
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U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in a statement blasted the ACA as the “Unaffordable Care Act” and said Dems “poured billions into pandemic-era subsidies, even for households making up to $500,000, which padded the profits of big insurance companies.”
“Those subsidies are now expiring under a deadline Democrats set themselves. The pandemic is over, and bailing out insurers again is not the solution,” Tiffany said. “It’s giving people choice, transparency, and competition so they can pick truly affordable plans that fit their needs. Today’s bill does exactly that by lowering premiums, eliminating hidden prescription drug costs, and expanding affordable options for every American.”
The GOP bill, approved 216-211 yesterday, includes several health care-related provisions, such as funding for cost-sharing reduction payments, new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, and expanding access to association health plans, which help small businesses band together to purchase health care.
U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in reference to the ACA said lawmakers “can’t keep writing blank checks for a heavily subsidized program that continues to drive up costs.”
“These measures will actually bring cost relief to Wisconsin families, rather than giving away money to insurance companies for a failed program,” he said of Republicans’ bill.
The vote came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the chamber wouldn’t vote to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits as millions of Americans face significantly higher rates without a renewal. Still, four Republicans joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force a vote on a three-year extension of the enhanced ACA tax credits. There is a seven-day waiting period for discharge petitions before a floor vote, meaning a vote will likely come after the holidays. Democrats urged immediate action.
“Alright Speaker Johnson, your move. Bring this to the floor NOW,” U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, said in a post on X.
State Dem Party spokesperson Philip Shulman singled out U.S. Reps. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, two of Dems’ top targets next fall.
“Instead of standing up for working-class Wisconsinites by supporting the continuation of these tax credits, Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil folded to Trump and the GOP,” Shulman said. “They can cosplay as moderate Republicans all they want, but their records on health care show their agenda aligns more with right-wing hacks than with the very people they represent.”
Van Orden in a statement on his vote said Americans “deserve a health care system that puts patients first.”
“This legislation isn’t about temporary fixes. This is about stopping the Democrats’ dream and the American people’s nightmare of socialized medicine. This bill will lower costs, expand choice, and put Americans in charge of their own health care,” Van Orden said.
— Gov. Tony Evers suggests President Donald Trump’s new executive order to restrict state-level regulation of AI will undermine efforts to protect Wisconsinites, including children, from “predatory behavior and bad actors.”
Evers in a Thursday letter to Trump urged the president and congressional Republicans to abandon any efforts to preempt, punish or undermine states’ work to regulate AI.
The Dem guv has signed several laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence in Wisconsin. That includes laws requiring the disclosure of AI-generated content in political ads, expanding the definition of child pornography to include AI-generated representations of children, and prohibiting the use of deepfakes to coerce, harass or intimidate.
“Mr. President, it is breathtaking for you to threaten to punish and withhold federal funding from states like Wisconsin for taking decisive, bipartisan action to pass common-sense policies that protect Wisconsinites from being potentially being sexually exploited using AI-generated materials or being deceived by political ads made using AI,” Evers wrote. “Put simply, doing so could reopen the door for bad actors in Wisconsin to resume reprehensible behavior we have worked to criminalize while leaving fewer options for local law enforcement to be able to hold those bad actors accountable.”
Evers sent the letter the same day Trump officially signed the new executive order, which establishes a U.S. Department of Justice task force charged with challenging state laws related to AI. The order also seeks to restrict federal funding for states with “onerous” AI-related laws on the books.
The White House did not return a request for comment. Trump has argued state regulation of AI will stifle the growing industry.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last week. “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY!”
— Jeff Mandell, co-founder of Law Forward which is suing to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional maps, says he’s looking to 2028 and not the 2026 midterms for a resolution.
“The ultimate goal is to have fair maps here in Wisconsin,” Mandell said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “We do believe that voters are disenfranchised every time that we go to the polls without those fair maps, but I don’t know that it’s really realistic at this point to have those for the 2026 elections.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court assigned two separate three-judge panels to hear two separate lawsuits. Scheduling hearings were held Friday.
The case brought by Law Forward on behalf of Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy isn’t expected to go to trial until April 2027. A specific trial date for the other case has not been decided.
— Meanwhile, Lucas Vebber, deputy counsel for the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, has asked to intervene in the cases. He says Mandell’s argument is moot.
“I think they’re trying to frame it as a new argument,” Vebber told “UpFront.” “But I think what they’ve done is essentially just repackage a partisan gerrymander argument, which has been explicitly rejected by our Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
“The maps in Wisconsin were adopted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Vebber added. “Those are maps that were drawn by Gov. Tony Evers. The maps are what they are, and elections matter. Candidates matter. Issues matter. I think what these cases, that are being brought, seek to do is assign every person in Wisconsin either one political party or the other and assume that they’re always going to vote that way going forward in perpetuity. We know that’s simply not how it is.”
Posts of the week
ICYMI
WXOW: Rally outside Rep. Van Orden’s office Monday demands extension of ACA tax credits
Wisconsin Public Radio: Ron Johnson asks US DOJ to intervene in Wisconsin false electors case
The Hill: Wisconsin redistricting lawsuits may get ruling after 2026 elections
E&E News: GOP mulls waiving regs to expedite Grand Canyon repairs
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baldwin, Van Orden together introduce bill to support organic farmers
