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 big, beautiful bill is the only show in town. If you’re willing to risk losing the chance to extend the largest tax cuts in American history, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do down the road.
– U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, responding to the possibility of Senate Republicans splitting up the House-approved reconciliation bill. 

Let’s not forget that nearly every House Republican voted to take healthcare away from 16 million Americans and take food from hungry people—all to pay for a tax cut for their billionaire buddies.
– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, criticizing the reconciliation bill. 

This week’s news

— Wisconsin Republicans are praising President Donald Trump for sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests following immigration raids. 

They’re also criticizing Dem Gov. Tony Evers for his previous guidance on interacting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The governor had told state employees in April not to speak with ICE without a warrant. Republicans had accused Evers of directing state employees to obstruct ICE. 

“The lawlessness ruining California is the future Governor Evers wants for Wisconsin. He vowed to ‘fight‘deportations and told state employees to obstruct federal law enforcement. Wisconsin must stand for law and order before we become the next California,” U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, said on X. 

And U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said on X the protests were not peaceful, backing Trump’s decision to send in troops to restore law and order. 

Protests erupted in Los Angeles June 6 after federal immigration officials arrested a few dozen people for violating immigration laws. Protestors gathered outside ICE facilities and spray-painted anti-ICE messages on buildings. 

Trump announced Saturday he would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to the protests. ICE posted on X Saturday, calling the protests “violent” and cited “death threats” as well as attacks on federal law enforcement. The post said the events resulted in “118 alien arrests” over the weekend. Trump also deployed around 700 Marines on Tuesday. 

Democrats have criticized the move, arguing Trump’s actions were not merited. 

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, slammed the president in a statement to WisPolitics for interfering in local matters without the consent of the state governor or Los Angeles mayor. 

“This mobilization is an extreme, dangerous, and unnecessary escalation,” Moore said. “Their presence doesn’t calm things down. Trump is trying to intimidate blue communities and states and provoking tensions, not protecting public safety. Our service members, and the American people, deserve better than this.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the president’s authority to deploy active duty Marines. 

The Madison Dem said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing she understood the constitutional authority to deploy the National Guard, but asked Hegseth to follow up with the “specific constitutional statutory authority” for sending Marines. 

“Yes senator, but there’s plenty of precedent of active duty troops being used to support law enforcement, historical precedent,” Hegseth said in response. 

Baldwin pushed back. 

“I’m not disputing that,” Baldwin said. “I am just asking you to cite the authority under which the active duty Marines are being deployed to California” 

Hegseth said he would send her the information. 

— An immigration judge ruled Tuesday the man falsely accused by the federal government of threatening President Donald Trump can be released on bond. 

Judge Carla Espinoza ruled Ramon Morales Reyes was not a threat to the community because of a lack of previous criminal record.

He set a bond of $7,500 and scheduled the next hearing for July 10. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had accused Morales Reyes of writing a threatening letter to Trump last month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested him. He has been held in the Dodge County ICE facility since then. 

Demetric Scott later admitted to framing Morales Reyes in order to have him deported as an undocumented immigrant so he couldn’t testify in a trial against Scott, according to a complaint released this week. Scott faced a July 14 trial on charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery of Reyes.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, visited Morales Reyes at the ICE facility last week, and criticized ICE for keeping him in custody. She praised the judge’s decision in a post on X. 

“Last week I was able to meet with my constituent, Ramon Morales Reyes,” Moore said. “Today we got the good news this upstanding member of the community has been granted bond. I will continue fighting to ensure everyone on U.S. soil is afforded due process.”

— Wisconsin Democrats voiced skepticism this week about findings from the White House Council of Economic Advisers saying Republicans’ reconciliation bill would put more money in Wisconsinites’ pockets. 

The council is run by appointees of President Donald Trump, including former UW-Madison Prof. Kim Ruhl. The reconciliation bill would raise wages for Wisconsinites in the long run, adjusted for inflation, by about $5,500-$10,400 per worker, according to the findings. The council also found a typical Wisconsin family with two children would see higher take-home pay of about $7,200-$12,000 if the bill is signed into law. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, knocked the bill in a statement to WisPolitics, arguing it would benefit the ultrawealthy. 

“If Republicans were interested in writing a bill that gives average Wisconsinites some much-needed breathing room, I’d be the first one at the table,” Baldwin said. “Instead, Republicans’ plan guts programs that working families rely on, from Medicaid to Food Stamps, all so they can rig the tax code for corporations and wealthy Americans. The White House can’t claim they are supporting working people and Made in Wisconsin businesses while giving handouts to the ultrawealthy, kicking over 250,000 Wisconsinites off their health care, and jacking up costs for families, manufacturers, and farmers.”

Baldwin’s office also pointed to a Brookings Institution report casting doubt on the Council of Economic Advisers’ analysis of the bill’s potential impact. 

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, went further, calling the statistics released by the White House “blatant lies.”

“The math just doesn’t add up, and is pure spin from the Trump administration,” Pocan said in a statement. “The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows that nearly 250,000 Wisconsinites will lose their healthcare just to pay for a tax cut for the richest Americans. Trump thinks the American people are mindless sheep and will believe whatever he says. Luckily, we are much smarter than that.”

According to the White House, the Council of Economic Advisers calculates investment, GDP and wages in response to lower effective tax rates in the analysis. 

Several Wisconsin Republicans praised the findings in statements to WisPolitics, arguing the bill will benefit Wisconsinites. 

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, said the bill would directly benefit Wisconsinites and “delivers major wins for the American people by protecting families and small businesses from the largest tax hike in history and by putting more money back into the pockets of seniors, parents, and workers.” 

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, is noting a new Dem committee report finding an estimated 258,396 Wisconsinites would lose health insurance coverage under the bill. 

That includes 110,142 Wisconsinites with Affordable Care Act coverage, and 148,254 on Medicaid, according to the report. 

Baldwin in a statement said Republicans’ plan is to “gut benefits for working Americans so that the wealthiest Americans and big corporations can get richer.” 

“My phones have been ringing off the hook from Wisconsinites who are terrified their health care coverage is on the chopping block, and now we see just how many of our neighbors are in jeopardy,” Baldwin said. “If Republicans get their way, 250,000 Wisconsinites will lose their coverage as health care costs are jacked up on thousands more. We should be working to make sure more people have health care and lowering costs – not taking it away from the elderly, the disabled, and hardworking families.” 

The Joint Economic Committee Minority report combines data estimates from a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the reconciliation package on the amount of people who would lose insurance by 2034 with state-level data on enrollees in Affordable Care Act plans and Medicaid and analyses of how cuts would impact each state. 

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans charged Dems with fearmongering, and argued the bill would ensure those in the country illegally don’t have access to the benefits. 

“What the bill does is remove 1.4 million illegal aliens from the benefits roll, stops 1.6 million people from receiving benefits in multiple states at the same time, and implements reasonable community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Those receiving their Medicaid benefits lawfully will continue to do so,” U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, said. 

— U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, this week celebrated the advancement of legislation to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency.

The CLARITY Act was approved by the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees this week, paving the way for a vote on the House floor. 

Steil has been advocating for the legislation as a lead cosponsor, member of the House Financial Services Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence. 

Steil said the proposal will “cement the U.S. as the center of innovation and the digital asset space for the next generation of the internet.” 

“Innovators are coming up with new ways to build decentralized systems that support creators, reduce costs and improve transparency. But our laws in the United States have not kept up with the pace of innovation and development,” Steil said. “So what’s occurred in the meantime – legal ambiguity has pushed innovation and jobs offshore. It’s stifled investment, it’s put American consumers at risk of fraud. This bill will put in place a commonsense framework that supports responsible development here in the United States.” 

Posts of the week

ICYMI

WPR: Sen. Tammy Baldwin hears from parents impacted by MPS lead crisis, calls out RFK Jr.

Fox News: Trump ally stands firm against ‘big, beautiful bill’ despite pressure: ‘It’ll completely backfire’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from Rep. Gwen Moore’s visit with detained undocumented immigrant Ramón Morales-Reyes

AP: Trump administration urges court not to dismiss case against Wisconsin judge

Print Friendly, PDF & Email