MADISON, Wis. — New reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reveals that during last week’s debate against Democratic candidate Mitchell Berman, Bryan Steil tried to take credit for Democratic state funding for Medicaid, of which he had no part in.

“Slimy Bryan Steil can’t defend his vote for the largest Medicaid cut in history, so instead he lies and tries to take credit for Democratic policies that he had no hand in,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Rachel La Due. “Steil thinks he can fool his constituents and then run back to D.C. and continue to back Trump’s policies that make their lives more unaffordable and billionaires richer—but Wisconsinites in the First Congressional District see through Bryan Steil’s lies and are fired up to elect Mitchell Berman who not only will fight for them in D.C., but won’t come back to Wisconsin and try to serve them B.S.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: On Campaign Trail, Wisconsin GOP Claims Credit for $1B Medicaid Boost
By: Valerie Yurk | 10/23/2026

  • It was debate week in Wisconsin, where Republican candidates touted provisions from the GOP’s “one big beautiful bill” and defended its changes to Medicaid by taking credit for an extra $1 billion for Wisconsin’s version of the program — something Gov. Tony Evers denies they had any hand in.
  • Evers, a Democrat, said the state scrambled to enact the last-minute funding because Republican members of Congress were going to pass the “big beautiful bill,” which was expected to cut BadgerCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
  • In his debate, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who’s running a tight race to maintain his seat representing Wisconsin’s 3rd District, doubled down on the claim he helped secure the $1 billion. U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican running to keep his seat representing Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, Republican candidate for governor, also piled on credit.
  • “Medicaid in the state of Wisconsin, as a result of my work in passing a law over a year ago, results in an increase of $1 billion of federal money coming to the state of Wisconsin for Medicaid,” Steil said during his Oct. 20 debate.
  • “We’re going to get a billion dollars more as a result of the work of our congressional delegation. We have worked diligently since last year to procure another billion dollars,” Tiffany said during his Oct. 21 debate.
  • But a spokesperson for Evers denied their involvement.
  • “Nothing in OBBBA made this possible – in fact, the bill has made it harder,” Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said.
  • Wisconsin’s GOP delegation takes credit for Medicaid funding
  • In 2025, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and state elected officials raced to pass the state budget with a provision that would expand the state’s tax on hospitals from 1.8% to 6% and use those funds to draw down additional federal matching dollars for Medicaid programs. 
  • The state budget needed to be signed to lock in those matching dollars before the U.S. Congress passed the “one big beautiful bill,” which put limits on those Medicaid provisions.
  • Van Orden has said he “personally” asked Evers to sign the state budget including the extra funding, and he reiterated the $1 billion in funding during his debate. Steil also made it sound like he was involved in the negotiations at the state level.
  • “Let’s give credit where it’s due, working with Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, we were ultimately successful in moving a billion dollars more, per year, into Wisconsin Medicaid funding,” Steil said during his debate.
  • Tiffany gave broader credit to Republicans representing Wisconsin in his debate.
  • In response to the debate claims, Evers’ office said they had nothing to do with the budget.
  • Other Democrats argue Republicans are scrambling to take credit for the extra money to cover for other cuts enacted by the “big beautiful bill,” which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will total to more than $900 billion over a decade.
  • Still, Van Orden said in his debate that he does “not associate myself with reducing Medicare and Medicaid.”