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 absolutely absurd. These judges are out of control and seems to not understand the concept of Co-Equal Branches of Government.
– U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, after a federal appeals court ruled a Trump administration order banning transgender troops from the military violates their constitutional rights.

Since when has the House of Representatives pretended it was co-equal under Speaker Mike Johnson? You guys are a bunch of toadies’s for Trump. I think it’s time for you to find another job.
– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, in response.

This week’s news

— All of Wisconsin’s House Republicans opposed a resolution to halt U.S. military action in Iran amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing negotiations with Israel and Iran.

The GOP-controlled House yesterday voted 215-208 to pass the resolution seeking to block further hostilities in Iran, with four Republicans joining Dems in favor. 

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, hailed the measure’s passage. 

“The American people are tired of presidents abusing their power by spending billions of our taxpayer dollars on unnecessary wars. I urge the Senate to quickly pass this bill to end Trump’s illegal war in Iran,” Pocan said in a post on X. 

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, said the Trump administration had complied with the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which restricts presidents’ power to engage in military conflicts abroad without congressional approval. 

Trump did not seek congressional sign-off before the war began. 

“This was a foolish, politically driven vote that would restrict the Commander-in-Chief’s ability – regardless of their political party – to exercise their Constitutionally enumerated authority as explicitly stated in Article II, Sec II,” Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, wrote on X. “Are members of Congress now going to dictate military deployment cycles? Will Congress say when the military can release ordnance for self defense by establishing ROE’s from the House floor?” 

The offices of other Republican Congress members did not immediately return requests for comment after the vote.

The House action comes after the Senate voted 50-47 last month to advance another Iran war powers resolution, with four Republicans joining Dems in favor and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., in opposition. The procedural vote succeeded after the war had passed the 80-day mark and following repeated failed efforts to advance similar measures. 

In that vote, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, voted in favor while U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, opposed advancing the resolution. 

According to a Marquette Law School Poll national survey of 454 adults conducted May 20-21, 18% of respondents said the U.S. has achieved its goals in Iran, and just 28% said the war has been worth the cost. Meanwhile, 33% approved of Trump’s handling of the war and 67% disapproved. 

The margin of error for the online poll was +/- 5.5 percentage points. 

— Wisconsin’s Dem U.S. House members appear poised to face primary challengers in August, while primaries in several other districts will decide opponents to GOP incumbents.

Douglas Alexander, a proponent for congressional term limits, has submitted nomination papers to challenge U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, in an August primary, while genetic counselor Amy Donahue has provided enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot against U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee. 

Former Milwaukee County GOP Secretary Purnima Nath – who was ousted from the county party three months ago – has submitted enough signatures to get on the ballot in Moore’s 4th CD, with signatures pending as of Tuesday for another challenger, Tim Rogers.

Signatures for most races were due to the Wisconsin Elections Commission by Monday afternoon. Commission staff review signatures and make an initial determination as to whether a candidate has met filing requirements before the Elections Commission determines who will be on the ballot at its Tuesday meeting.

Multiple Dems have filed nomination papers in five of the six House districts currently held by Republicans. 

Four Democrats have filed to take on incumbent GOP Rep. Bryan Steil of Janesville. Caledonia union official and ironworker Randy Bryce dropped out of the 1st CD primary on Tuesday without submitting nomination papers. 

And Rebecca Cooke and Emily Berge have both filed enough signatures to go to an August primary to determine who takes on U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien.

GOP Reps. Glenn Grothman of Glenbeulah and Tony Wied of De Pere will likely face the winner of two- and three-way Dem primaries, respectively, with independent and Green Party candidates also set to appear on the ballot for Grothman’s 6th CD. 

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, will likely face West Bend’s Andrew Beck in November. 

— Four Republicans and three Democrats have successfully submitted signatures for Wisconsin’s sole open race, the 7th CD seat being vacated by GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany of Minocqua. 

Former podcast producer Michael Alfonso, Ashley Furniture executive Jessi Ebben, financial adviser Kevin Hermening and marketing specialist Niina Baum have all filed enough valid signatures to compete for the GOP nomination. 

Accountant Don Raihala’s candidacy is pending, after an initial review by WEC staff found Raihala some 11 valid signatures short of the 1,000 required to run for the House. 

On the Dem side, former state Rep. Fred Clark, attorney Ginger Murray and IT business owner Chris Armstrong have all filed to run.

Tiffany, who is running for governor, will face a primary challenger in Andy Manske, a medical services technician from Greendale.

— President Donald Trump will visit Chippewa County tomorrow to tout his support for farmers, the White House told WisPolitics.

It will be the president’s first visit to Wisconsin of his second term. 

Spokesperson Liz Huston said Trump will talk about efforts to lower costs, open new trade markets and reduce regulations. He’ll also promote the creation of Rural Opportunity Zones, which include tax incentives for those who invest in rural areas.

“Wisconsin families put their faith in President Trump in 2024, and he has spent every single day since taking office fighting and delivering for them,” Huston said.

The White House didn’t release details of where Trump will stop in Chippewa County, which is split between the 7th and 3rd congressional districts. The 7th is a key area for Republicans this fall as GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Tom Tiffany looks to goose turnout in his congressional seat to boost his statewide bid.

Meanwhile, GOP U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, of Prairie du Chien, will likely need a strong showing by Trump supporters in his western Wisconsin seat to help his bid for a third term representing the 3rd. Van Orden was the only GOP incumbent in Wisconsin’s House delegation to underperform Trump’s numbers in the November 2024 election. 

Van Orden won 51.3% of the vote that fall against Dem challenger Rebecca Cooke, and the 212,064 votes he received were more than 10,000 less than what Trump pulled out of the district. Trump topped Kamala Harris in the western Wisconsin seat with 52.8% of the votes cast there.

Cooke, who has directed a nonprofit, is again seeking the nomination to challenge Van Orden.

Meanwhile, Trump’s net approval rating in the March Marquette Law School Poll hit an all-time low among Wisconsin voters.

Forty-two percent of registered voters approved of the job Trump was doing, while 56% disapproved for a net rating of minus 14. His previous low was a minus 12 in September 2018 during his first term, and his split was 48-51 in February 2025, shortly after he took office for his second term.

State Dem Chair Devin Remiker said Tiffany and Van Orden would be “fools to stand with Trump” during the visit amid rising costs and growing disapproval of the president’s job performance.

“Will Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden show up and stand by the cost crisis they helped to create, or will Tiffany betray Trump after begging for his endorsement earlier this year?” Remiker said.

Van Orden will join Trump for the visit, according to his campaign. A spokesperson for Tiffany’s campaign said he is planning to attend as well, depending on the congressional calendar and when votes wrap up on Friday. 

— U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald has introduced a pair of bills meant to counter China’s economic development efforts in South and Central Asia. 

The Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now Act would direct Secretary of State Marco Rubio to offer government officials in nonadversary nations in South and Central Asia “training in analyzing, assessing and mitigating any risk of accepting investment or lending from China.”

The bill is intended to counter Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, that government’s effort to connect Asia, Africa and Europe through a network of overland infrastructure and maritime shipping. 

A second bill, the Build Responsible Infrastructure Development for the Global Economy Act, would declare it U.S. policy to counter Chinese efforts “to build an integrated economic and political order … that threatens U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests.” 

It would further require the secretary of state to work with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and International Development Finance Corporation CEO Benjamin Black as well as “other relevant agencies” to submit a report to Congress within 180 days assessing Beijing’s efforts to undermine the U.S.-led international order.  

GOP U.S. Rep. Zachary Nunn of Iowa is a cosponsor on both bills. 

“China has turned the Belt and Road Initiative into a weapon of economic coercion, building leverage through debt, controlling critical infrastructure, and pulling countries deeper into Beijing’s orbit,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “The TRAIN Act helps countries avoid walking into those traps in the first place, and the BRIDGE Act ensures the United States is better positioned to address this challenge.”

— U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany last week said he had asked the Trump administration for more details on a nearly $1.8 billion proposed fund to provide taxpayer money to targets of “lawfare” and a “weaponized” justice system.

Tiffany, R-Minocqua and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, weighed in on the issue at last week’s WisPolitics-State Affairs luncheon in Madison. Since then, the Trump administration has said it won’t move to implement the fund. 

The effort drew bipartisan criticism, including over concerns the money could be used to compensate those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, such as those who attacked law enforcement.

“What I think is more important is those who have abused their authority … in a federal agency, that they should be charged and they should be prosecuted if they have abused their authority,” Tiffany said last week. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this week the administration is “not moving forward with the fund, period” after a judge temporarily blocked it.

Tiffany last week said he “would want to take a look at what was the harm that was done” to so-called victims seeking compensation.

“If it’s significant enough, perhaps they should receive compensation,” Tiffany said.

He also said those who harmed law enforcement shouldn’t be eligible for funding.

Posts of the week

ICYMI

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Congressman Steil touts water funds he voted against

Politico: Milk’s the drink of choice at RFK Jr.’s event with swing-district Republican

WXOW: Senator Tammy Baldwin meets with area farmers to discuss higher fuel and fertilizer prices

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Rep. Steil advocates for crypto while industry backs his campaign

Spectrum News 1: Wisconsin Congressman seeks more regulation of dog breeding facilities

WPR: Wisconsin’s federal lawmakers call on Trump to approve disaster declaration for April storms

WISN 12: Moore, House Democrats urge release of Milwaukee Muslim leader held by ICE