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Quotes of the week
For far too long, the federal government has been bloated and far too large, and coming in, shaking it up and actually addressing some of the waste, fraud and abuse is a positive thing.
– U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, on whether he supports the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts, including the firing of federal workers.
So this is how President Trump and Republicans are repaying America’s veterans? What a slap in the face to those who risked their lives for our freedom.
– U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, on news the Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This week’s news
— Wisconsin Dems criticized President Donald Trump this week for federal funding cuts as Trump delivered his first State of the Union of his second term.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans lauded Trump’s remarks, saying Trump is delivering for Americans.
Several Dems in the progressive caucus, including U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, held up signs during the speech labeled, “false,” “Musk steals” and “save Medicaid.” Pocan also said he walked out of the speech early. Trump’s address lasted more than 90 minutes.
Pocan in a video on X said he participated in live fact-checking with fellow Dems, holding up his “false” sign most of the night.
“Bottom line, what he didn’t talk about was the fact that he’s going to cut Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, what he didn’t talk about is what he’s going to do stealing food, literally, from children through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what he didn’t talk about was the 45% cut to education that’s going to go on your property taxes so that Elon Musk gets a tax cut,” Pocan said.
Democrats have criticized Republicans for a House budget resolution calling for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over a decade. Dems have argued the measure puts Medicaid funding in jeopardy, noting it directs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the program, to cut $880 billion.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, charged Trump with “pointing fingers and playing politics, not outlining real solutions that help Wisconsin families and businesses.”
“My phones have been ringing off the hook with Wisconsinites who want answers from President Trump — and tonight he did nothing to ease their very real fears about children and seniors having their Medicaid ripped away, veterans losing their jobs, and costs skyrocketing from a trade war,” Baldwin said.
U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, praised Trump’s “bold vision for America.”
“His commitment to cutting taxes for hardworking Americans, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars, and keeping our nation safe resonates with Wisconsinites who want a government that works for them, not against them,” Fitzgerald said.
U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, said Trump “made it clear tonight that we will not rest until our border is secure, prices are lower, and our government works for Americans first and foremost.”
Several Wisconsin lawmakers had guests at the address:
- U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, was joined by Navy SEAL combat veteran Lt. Comdr. Scott Ellison.
- Baldwin brought Renee Scherck-Meyer of Milwaukee, who has incurable stage 4 breast cancer and is a Medicaid recipient, to highlight potential Medicaid funding cuts.
- U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, took Scott Dane, executive director of the American Loggers Council.
- Pocan brought Emmett Fisher, a Wisconsin farmer who relies on federal grants for his farm and Medicaid for his family.
— After Trump’s intense exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Wisconsin Dems are critical, while GOP lawmakers are supportive.
During Zelenskyy’s visit to the Oval Office last Friday, Trump attacked the Ukrainian president for being “disrespectful” and saying he has been too reliant on the U.S.
“This is absolutely shameful,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said on X. “President Trump should be siding with freedom and democracy, not doing the bidding of brutal dictators like Putin.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, also said Trump’s actions reflected negatively on America.
“Trump is alienating all of our allies around the world and making us look like fools. All Zelenskyy wants for his people is an end to the Russian invasion. It’s shocking that Trump doesn’t want the same.”
And U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, emphasized her support for Ukraine on X following the meeting.
“The calls from my constituents in support of Ukraine are flooding in,” Moore said. “Today I joined many of them today to voice our support. Republicans? Their only responses are radio silence or outright glee that we have a dictator-worshipping President who acts a petulant child”
Republicans, however, praised Trump’s actions, and criticized Zelenskyy.
U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R- De Pere, said on X America has been providing Ukraine already with support in this war, and it is time they worked for peace.
“President Trump has made it clear that he will hold all foreign governments accountable and achieve peace through strength,” Wied said. “The leadership we saw from the President today shows that the United States has one goal: peace.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, told WisPolitics’ Capitol Chats podcast he believes Trump is taking a smart approach to establishing peace between Russia and Ukraine. Johnson also criticized Zelenskyy for his actions in the Oval Office.
“I think it’s widely recognized that President Zelenskyy behaved very badly,” Johnson said, adding that he was pleased that Zelenskyy seemed to rethink his position following the meeting and came forward seeking peace.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden also criticized Zelenskyy on X.
“Watch the whole thing,” Van Orden said. “Get back to me. Zelensky acted like a petulant child trying to lecture and insult the two people that can help save his people. @realDonaldTrump is the President of the United States. Not Zelensky.”
— At least one Wisconsin Republican will continue to hold in-person town halls as Republican lawmakers face protests over cuts to federal funding.
This week, National Republican Campaign Committee Chair Richard Hudson advised House Republicans against holding in-person town halls as frustrated constituents raise concerns and Dem to boost attendance.
U.S. Reps. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, and Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, faced frustrated constituents at town halls last month, while U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, have seen protests at their district offices.
The office of U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, said Tiffany will continue to hold in-person town halls throughout the year, noting he has already held seven this year.
But Johnson said he’s opting for virtual events.
Johnson held a virtual town hall last week with thousands of attendees and hundreds of questions. He told WisPolitics’ Capitol Chats podcast he will continue to hold town halls virtually to reach more people and because he is concerned about the safety of his staff.
“It’s unfortunate that, you know, Democrat-elected officials are telling their constituents, their supporters to take to the streets,” Johnson said. “And so I am concerned about potential violence against my state staff, but obviously I want to hear what our constituents have to have on their minds.”
Grothman told WISN’s ”UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics, praised local Dem efforts to boost town hall attendance while dismissing the trend as a broader warning sign for Republicans.
“Obviously, with the new presidency, I think there’s a lot of anger among some Democrats,” Grothman said. 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.”
The offices of U.S. Reps. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and Fitzgerald didn’t directly say whether they would continue to hold in-person town halls.
Fitzgerald’s office noted he routinely holds mobile office hours and telephone town halls, but did not say whether he would hold in-person town halls in the future. A spokesperson for Van Orden’s office also didn’t directly answer, saying Van Orden will “hold town halls in the capacity that allows him to best connect with his constituents.”
Other Wisconsin Republicans didn’t respond to requests for comment.
House Majority PAC National Press Secretary Katarina Flicker criticized Hudson’s advice to Republicans to avoid in-person town halls.
“If you’re going to have the audacity to raise prices and rip away health care from millions of Americans, you should at least have the courage to face your constituents. House Republicans are cowards,” Flicker said.
— And the 3rd Congressional District Democrats of Wisconsin were among the groups to criticize Van Orden after he and his staff failed to appear at constituent events amid backlash over federal policies.
A spokesperson from Van Orden’s office said “the release from the 3rd CD Democrats of Wisconsin is full of lies.”
The spokesperson told WisPolitics Van Orden did not make a Wisconsin Farmer’s Union meeting, because he was notified just a week before and his schedule was already full. Van Orden was in Israel meeting with government and military officials when it was held.
And in Eau Claire, Van Orden was never scheduled to meet with Chippewa Valley Indivisible, according to the spokesperson, because he was in Washington, D.C. voting. The spokesperson said there was a small meeting with staffers and constituents scheduled that was hijacked by a protest group.
The spokesperson also told WisPolitics that constituent services are a “number one priority” for the office and anyone is welcome to reach out to Van Orden’s office to schedule a meeting with the congressman.
— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh said he is “concerned” about the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on Wisconsin.
“I’m concerned about retaliation against Wisconsin manufacturers, against builders, against farmers,” Johnson said in a Capitol Chats podcast interview. “I’m concerned about the potential inflationary impact of that.”
Johnson praised Elon Musk’s cost-cutting actions. He said the government spends too much, and it needs to return to a “reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending.”
To those who have criticized Musk for being unelected, Johnson said Musk has been asked by an elected president to hold the federal government accountable and find waste, fraud and abuse.
“I think it’s almost indisputable that Elon Musk is probably one of the most brilliant, accomplished and effective human beings ever to walk the face of the earth,” Johnson said.
Johnson also explained his vote earlier this week in favor of a Senate bill that would have prohibited federally funded schools from allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports.
Johnson said it was “unfair” that any transgender women could compete in women’s sports, and that he was “disappointed” in Democrats for blocking the bill from moving forward.
The Senate voted 51-45 along party lines on cloture Monday night; 60 votes were needed for the bill to advance to the floor.
Listen to the podcast with Johnson here.
— Gov. Tony Evers is calling on Wisconsin Republicans in Congress to “take swift and urgent action” to fight Trump administration policies, including cuts to federal funding and tariffs he says will raise costs for Wisconsinites.
Wisconsin Republicans criticized it as “partisan posturing” and “misleading.”
In his letter, Evers argued Wisconsin Republicans haven’t done enough to stand up to Trump’s policies.
“In recent weeks, Wisconsinites watched as the Republican majority in Congress—including Republican members of Wisconsin’s own congressional delegation—sat silent about threats to gut federal funding for popular programs that help support Wisconsin’s seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, working families, and kids in our classrooms every day,” Evers wrote in a letter dated yesterday.
Evers criticized House Republicans for passing a House budget resolution he claimed would lead to more than $9 billion in cuts from key programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, food assistance programs like SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, and school funding and student aid, such as Pell Grants.
A spokesperson for the guv’s office said the funding cut estimates noted in Evers’ letter come from an analysis by the Center for American Progress, a liberal advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. The analysis estimates possible cuts by congressional district based on previous proposals by GOP House Budget Committee leaders.
“This chaos is already affecting everyday decisions made at the state and local levels across our country,” Evers said. “In Wisconsin, for example, where over a quarter of our last two-year state budget came from the federal government, Republican cuts to federal programs and funding would almost certainly blow a devastating hole in our state budget.”
U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in a post on X said Evers’ letter is misleading, adding “Social Security cannot and will not be touched in the reconciliation process, and no one is threatening to take away benefits from those with disabilities.”
“The Governor’s letter makes it clear he refuses to support even modest work requirements for Medicaid, prioritizing unchecked government expansion over program sustainability, and supports open borders and raising taxes on working families in Wisconsin by letting the Trump tax cuts expire,” Fitzgerald said. “Hardworking taxpayers deserve responsible leadership, not partisan posturing.”
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in a statement criticized Evers’ budget, which he said “burdens Wisconsin with a structural deficit, redefines mothers as ‘inseminated persons,’ and doubles fees for sportsmen.”
“Wisconsinites believe in hard work and American greatness, not Evers’s radical, liberal nonsense. As for Medicaid, I’ll protect it for the vulnerable, but I won’t sit by while Democrats let freeloaders, illegal aliens, and fraudsters drain it at the expense of mothers and children,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, called the letter “inflammatory and misleading.”
“I have made clear repeatedly that I will protect Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, and other vital programs like Medicaid which is a critical program to protect the most vulnerable, including children and pregnant women, or as Gov. Evers refers to them, ‘inseminated persons,’” Steil said.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, said American citizens lawfully receiving benefits will to continue to receive them, adding Evers should “stop with the lies and instead focus on the fact that African American fourth grade students in Wisconsin scored 45 points lower than their white peers in reading proficiency.”
Posts of the week
ICYMI
WPR: Tammy Baldwin, Ron Johnson get earful from constituents during virtual town halls
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tammy Baldwin urges VA secretary to protect Veteran Crisis Line jobs after 15 were fired
The Hill: Several House Democrats walk out of Trump speech mid-address
WPR: Wisconsin GOP congressman proposes repealing EV charging station program
WKOW: Rep. Bryan Steil speaks about the Trump administration’s work so far and what’s ahead
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rep. Derrick Van Orden threatens to report already fired VA employee to Elon Musk’s DOGE
