Kaul says Trump cuts put public health on ‘verge of dark ages’

Dem AG Josh Kaul warned Donald Trump has put the country “on the verge of a dark ages” for public health with the way the president has cut federal money for research of lifesaving treatments.

Speaking at a WisPolitics luncheon in Madison Tuesday, Kaul also slammed changes that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made to the way vaccines are approved.

“You can’t cut $11 billion in public health grants, you can’t drastically cut research funding, you can’t kick people off of Medicaid without having enormous impacts,” Kaul said.

The AG, now in his second term, took a series of shots at the Trump administration, accusing the president of taking unusual steps to consolidate power by threatening political opponents, freezing funding and ignoring acts of Congress.

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Kaul, who started his role as AG midway through Trump’s first term, said his office has been more active in challenging the president’s actions than previously. He said that’s a reflection of the legally dubious moves Trump has made early in his second term.

The Department of Justice under Kaul is now involved in 20 legal actions against the Trump administration since the start of the year. His agency has also joined friend-of-the court briefs in other cases. That includes joining 22 other attorneys general on Friday in filing an amicus brief supporting lawsuits filed by National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service seeking to block funding cuts Trump demanded through executive orders.

Kaul said those 20 cases have resulted in 11 orders blocking actions by the Trump administration and another two where an injunction was later overturned.

“When you put all of those pieces together, it is a sweeping effort to consolidate power into the hands of a single person, and it’s fundamentally inconsistent with our constitutional design,” Kaul said. “It’s part of why we keep winning these cases because we’re right on the law.”

State GOP spokesperson Anika Rickard knocked Kaul for the series of actions he’s filed against the Trump administration.

“While Kaul continues to waste taxpayer funds on politically motivated crusades, Republicans are working to put Wisconsinites first,” she said. “The continued use of fear mongering by Democrats like Josh Kaul not only destroys his credibility, but the credibility of his office.”

Kaul also charged that Trump’s focus on deporting those in the country without documentation is hurting public safety efforts.

The AG said Trump as a candidate vowed to go after those who were committing crimes. But instead, his administration is raiding Home Depot to arrest people who are working on the community and not committing crimes. 

In doing so, he argued, Trump has refocused law enforcement agencies on deportations, as well as shifting resources to those efforts.

“What that means is that those same agents are not investigating the most serious crimes that our communities are facing,” Kaul said, adding, “it’s undermining our ability to collaborate.”

The AG has been mentioned as a possible candidate for guv in 2026 if Tony Evers decides against seeking reelection. Kaul demurred several times when asked about his plans for next year and if he thinks Evers should seek a third term.

“That is a decision for Gov. Evers to make,” Kaul said. “I think he’s done a great job as governor. Like I said, no announcements from me today.”