Evers tells ‘UpFront’ he’s open to online betting bill

Dem Gov. Tony Evers is open to signing legislation that would legalize sports betting operated by tribes as the bill heads for a floor vote in the Assembly on Wednesday.

“If it’s what I’m thinking it is, yes,” Evers said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “That’s the ultimate goal, the tribal nations of the state are the ones that deal with gambling.”

Evers cautioned he needed to still review the details if the bill makes it to his desk, including a provision that would require at least 60% of revenue to go to the tribes.

“I want to take a look at it,” Evers said. “The nitty-gritty is important, but for me, the most important thing is that the native nations of the states are the ones in charge.”

When asked about the opposition from companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, Evers said, “I’m not too concerned about that.”

Evers also weighed in on the scrutiny facing the Department of Public Instruction after a Capital Times investigation raised questions surrounding the agency’s transparency and how it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming.

“It’s hard to say, I wasn’t there,” the former state schools superintendent said when asked about whether the agency should have made public the agency’s some 200 investigations between 2018 and 2023.

Evers expressed some skepticism surrounding new legislation that would define grooming in Wisconsin, making it a felony.

“If it’s going to stop teachers from maybe putting their arm around a kid when they’re hurting, probably not,” Evers said. “People are getting excited, and I know they want to pick on the Department of Public Instruction. I’m used to that. Been there, done that. But this is an important one. I mean, do we want to take teachers and turn them into a robot? Probably not, so let’s figure it out. Let’s figure that out first before we start hammering the DPI or hammering some teachers. Let’s come up with a definition that everybody can agree on.”

Evers also revealed new details about the state’s decision to fully load FoodShare benefits at the height of the federal government shutdown.

“Yes, absolutely,” Evers said when asked if it was at his direction. “It’s always been a federal program and at the time we made that decision, we just had won at the appellate level.”

The U.S. Treasury, though, said it wouldn’t reimburse grocers while the Trump administration told states to “immediately undo” the benefits or face penalties.

“Of course,” Evers said when asked if they took the threat seriously. “But I knew we were in the right position. I mean, they were just kind of B.S.-ing at that time to try to make up for their ineptness, and so, no, I felt it was nothing more than that. I mean, could it have blown up at some point in time? I suppose, but that’s not the way government is supposed to work.”

Before the shutdown, the Trump administration had requested SNAP data from states, a move Wisconsin and other Democratic states have rejected. The matter is now before the courts.

“The system is analyzed every single year, and we feel confident in that,” Evers said. “The idea that they’re asking for this information, they’re looking for ways to get out of doing it, frankly, and that is inappropriate.”

Evers also reaffirmed his position he won’t likely endorse in the Dem primary for governor, after announcing earlier this year he won’t seek reelection.

“It would have to be something extraordinary, even beyond what I’m thinking about,” Evers said about an endorsement. “I’m letting them do their thing. I know that’s important work, and unless somebody said something horribly stupid that might be, I might suggest they don’t do that.”

When asked what the impact would be if former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes entered the race, Evers said, “I’m not sure. I mean, he certainly has name recognition, but there’s lots of other good people, too.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he backs President Donald Trump’s push to give $10,000 bonuses to air traffic controllers who didn’t call in sick during the government shutdown.

“I couldn’t agree with that more,” Duffy, the former Wisconsin congressman, told “UpFront” last week during a stop in central Wisconsin before the shutdown ended. “We should reward them. Now, how many actually showed up every single day? I’m not sure. We have to analyze that, but I also want to look and say, do we have continual bad actors where some controllers from the very beginning, when they hadn’t missed a paycheck, had they started to take time off because the shutdown was an excuse for them? We’ll look at those people and work with the union and see what an appropriate response from the FAA will be.”

In a social media post last week, Trump suggested those employees should be “docked.”

“We have some controllers who were put in a very difficult position,” Duffy said. “They were confronted with a real problem. Do I feed my family, or do I try to find another pathway to put food on the table? And that was very real, and I’m cognizant of that. I don’t want to be unfair to people.”

GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, one of two Republicans running for governor, indicated he’d vote against expanding Obamacare subsidies.

“Well, we can do so much better,” Tiffany told “UpFront.” “I’m not sure why I would vote for the status quo that got us in this trouble. Remember, these are COVID-era subsidies, enhanced subsidies at this point. They’re going to people who make as much as $500,000 a year. Plus, there’s billions of dollars going to the health insurance companies. Is that who we want it to go to? No, we want it to go to the people who are going to benefit from it, so that requires reform. The ACA is not working as it was intended, so we do need to fix it.”

Tiffany also said he doesn’t believe Evers was following the law when he directed the state to load November FoodShare benefits for Wisconsinites during the government shutdown.

“I believe Gov. Evers was not following the law at this point,” Tiffany said. “But ultimately, what he should have done is he should have gotten on the phone with Sen. Baldwin and said, ‘Vote for the continuing resolution so that we know those SNAP benefits are going to be there.’ I voted to continue to fund the government seven weeks ago.”

When asked whether the Trump administration was correct in attempting to undo food assistance benefits during the shutdown, Tiffany said, “You know, perhaps technically, but at the end of the day, we need to just cast our vote. If I were governor, I would have encouraged my U.S. senators to vote for the continuing resolution.”

Tiffany is facing Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann in the Republican primary race for governor next year.

“We’re really encouraged,” Tiffany said. “I’ve been in for six weeks, and the outpouring of support across the state has just been terrific, and yeah, we feel really good about this race. I think people in Wisconsin are ready for the message that we need to make our state more affordable.”

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