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

This is the third assassination attempt on @realDonaldTrump and the left is only disappointed that someone had not been successful. These are not Wisconsin values.

– U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, on Sunday, following an assassination attempt on the president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

So what did we learn 24 hours after the event at the WHCD? That heated rhetoric, regardless of where it comes from, riles of (sic) people who are unstable. That some people let hate consume them. That some people will take advantage of any situation. Not earth shattering. But sad.

– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, also on Sunday.

This week’s news

— Four GOP members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation have introduced legislation that would exempt southeast Wisconsin from federally mandated emissions testing. 

Seven Wisconsin counties, including Milwaukee, are designated as ozone nonattainment areas under the Clean Air Act and subject to additional regulations, including biennial vehicle emissions testing, which has been in effect since 1984. 

The Fair Air Standards Act would allow a state to petition the Environmental Protection Agency to remove that designation, provided the state can demonstrate the pollution originated outside state borders.

The bill was introduced Monday by U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil of Janesville, Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau, and Glenn Grothman of Glenbeulah, who each represent portions of the affected region, as well as U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany of Minocqua, who’s running for governor.

“Because of outdated federal rules, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin drivers in seven counties are forced to complete emissions tests every two years just to renew their registration,” Tiffany said in a statement. “Wisconsin families should not be punished with costly and time-consuming mandates because of pollution drifting in from Illinois and Indiana.”

State lawmakers sent a letter to the congressional delegation last year asking for the emissions testing requirements to be repealed. 

Tiffany also railed against the emissions tests in a press conference last month and said he was seeking a waiver from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to end the program.

The lawmakers have cited a Department of Natural Resources report that found just 10% of the ozone measured in the areas subject to emissions testing comes from Wisconsin, while over a third comes from Indiana and Illinois. 

Geography, meteorology and out-of-state emissions make Wisconsin susceptible to high ozone levels, according to the DNR.

Ozone-causing pollutants from urban and industrial areas south of Wisconsin travel out over Lake Michigan, react and form ozone, and are carried back onshore via lake breezes, a DNR spokesperson said. 

Much of that pollution comes from Chicago and Milwaukee, per several studies of lake breeze impact. 

— Wisconsin House members split on a $70 billion budget framework to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the reconciliation process. 

The measure passed 215-211 with Wisconsin Republicans voting in favor and Dem U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore, of Milwaukee, and Mark Pocan, of the town of Vermont, against. 

The Senate approved the budget measure last week as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has declined to bring to the House floor a Senate-passed bill to fund most of DHS while excluding funding for ICE and Border Patrol, key sticking points for Dems. 

See more in today’s PM Update.

— A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore to remove barriers to a tax exemption for sexual violence survivors passed the House on Monday. 

The Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act amends the tax code so that sexual violence survivors do not need to provide proof of bodily harm to qualify for an income tax exemption on personal injury claims.

Current law requires survivors, like other personal injury claimants, to demonstrate “observable harm” to receive the exemption – such as bruising, cuts or bleeding. 

Moore, D-Milwaukee, authored the bill in the House alongside New York Dem Gregory Meeks and New York Republican Claudia Meeks. 

Moore said in a statement that she was “beyond thrilled” to see the legislation pass her chamber.

“This marks a major step toward securing tax parity for survivors of abuse,” she said. 

The bill now goes to the Senate. 

— Donald Trump was underwater in the 1st CD and Dems had a slight edge on the generic congressional ballot in new polling conducted for a conservative group.

But GOP U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville still had a nine-point lead on Mitchell Berman, the best fundraiser so far among his announced Dem challengers.

The poll was one of nine conducted in GOP-held districts and posted by Conservatives For America, a political organization linked to Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas. 

Trump won the southeastern Wisconsin district by 4.5 percentage points over Kamala Harris in 2024. Now 46% of likely voters surveyed said they approve of the job Trump is doing, while 51% disapproved.

Meanwhile, 37% approved of the job Steil, R-Janesville, is doing, while 31% disapproved.

Seventy-nine percent of likely voters said they had never heard of Berman, an emergency room nurse from Franklin. Steil led him 50-41 in the mid-March poll, which didn’t include any of the other Dem challengers. Since then, Milwaukee Ald. Peter Burgelis has entered the race.

Other findings in the survey include:

  • 44% of those surveyed said they planned to vote for a Dem for the House of Representatives, while 42% planned to back a Republican.
  • 46% said they would vote for GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in the gubernatorial race over former Dem Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who was backed by 42%. No other head-to-heads were asked about in the race.
  • 16% of likely voters viewed Tiffany favorably, while 12% viewed him unfavorably. Barnes’ split in the district was 25-27.

The poll of 400 likely voters in the 1st CD was conducted by Ragnar Research Partners March 14-16 with interviews conducted over cell phones and landlines. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Nate Silver rates Ragnar a B/C pollster.

— Peter Burgelis, a Democratic alderman in Milwaukee, has launched his bid for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District in an attempt to unseat GOP Rep. Bryan Steil.

“The first congressional district, frankly on paper, is more flippable than the third district,” Burgelis said while announcing his candidacy on WISN-TV’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.

“I’m getting into this race because I’ve been watching it from the sidelines, and I see that there’s no clear Democrat running who can beat Bryan Steil.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists the district as one of 44 it is targeting nationwide in an attempt to regain control of the U.S. House.

“Listen, I am announcing my campaign today,” Burgelis said when asked about fundraising. “The first financial disclosure comes in a couple months, but we need a Democrat who can raise money to beat Bryan Steil. He has millions in his war chest. Democrats need to step up and get that national attention.”

“Commitments are ongoing,” Burgelis added when asked about specific financial commitments.

Read more in Monday’s AM Update. 

Posts of the week

ICYMI

WISN 12: US Rep Moore visits Islamic Society of Milwaukee president in ICE custody

WPR: US Sen. Tammy Baldwin: HUD will transfer Newcap housing grants to other nonprofits

The Hill: Senate Republican calls for scrapping filibuster to fund DHS after WHCA dinner shooting

Fox 11: Wisconsin US Sen. Tammy Baldwin says Republican tactic to fund DHS leaves agents without guardrails

WISN 12: Hong, Tiffany in new ‘UPFRONT’ interviews during pivotal week in race for governor

WSAW: Ridglan Farms beagle testing facility continues to draw national attention

WPR: USDA Secretary pushes for farm bill passage during visit to Wisconsin dairy

WPR: Second judicial panel rejects challenge to Wisconsin’s congressional map