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Quotes of the week
No way will I allow Trump and the GOP to rip healthcare and food away from millions of Americans just so he, Musk, and their billionaire buddies can get a tax break.
– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, on Republicans’ reconciliation bill.
We are committed to preserving these programs. Don’t believe their lies.
– U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, on the measure. Wied said the bill protects Medicaid for the people it was intended for: those with disabilities, children and people with low income.
This week’s news
— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson voted to pass Republicans’ reconciliation bill to advance President Donald Trump’s tax cut and policy agenda, despite condemning the measure for adding trillions to the national debt.
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Johnson, R-Oshkosh, voted to advance the bill in a procedural vote over the weekend, saying he was confident Trump would support his efforts toward fiscal sustainability. The bill, which passed 51-50 on Tuesday with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President JD Vance, would increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
In a statement on his vote, Johnson lobbed criticism at Democrats for budget deficits under President Joe Biden’s administration. He said passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will avert a $4 trillion tax increase and a default on the debt.
“While the bill is a step forward, we have only just begun the difficult task of reducing spending, and there is still a long way to go,” Johnson said. “A rigorous effort will soon be announced to review every program and every line of the federal budget, looking for ways to reduce spending to a reasonable pre-pandemic level. I look forward to being fully involved in that effort to put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, voted against the bill, saying she opposed “rigging our tax code in favor of the biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy – all on the backs of working families who are just trying to get by and want a fair shot at success.”
She said the bill “guts Medicaid, kicks 17 million Americans off their health insurance, shutters rural hospitals, and takes food from families in need.”
“I am disappointed. I am disgusted. But, I am also fired up and ready. Ready to keep fighting alongside every Wisconsinite who believes we can do better to give hard-working families a fair shot and stop tilting the scales for the wealthy and well-connected,” Baldwin said.
The House is set to take up the bill next after approving a procedural motion to advance it — a positive sign Republicans will pass the bill by Trump’s July 4 deadline.
— The office of U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden pushed back after the Prairie du Chien Republican was quoted by several Capitol Hill reporters as saying House Republicans aren’t “a bunch of little bitches.”
Van Orden’s comment came as House Republicans face pressure from President Donald Trump to pass the Senate version of the reconciliation bill. In a response to a Punchbowl News intern, his office claimed she had “failed to provide the context of her question, which asked if the Republican Party is being ‘led by the nose by President Trump.’”
“She also conveniently omitted the rest of Rep. Van Orden’s response, where he stated that Pres. Trump is the leader of the GOP and House Republicans are working in close collaboration with the administration on this bill,” the post notes. “Rep. Van Orden looks forward to passing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill and getting it to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.”
— U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said she is “horrified and outraged” after Milwaukee police officer Kendall Corder was shot and succumbed to his injuries.
Corder died Sunday after he and fellow officer Christopher McCray were shot while responding to a call involving an armed suspect last week. McCray survived and was released from the hospital. The suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tremaine Jones, has been arrested.
“I am horrified and outraged that this young public servant has been taken from our community,” Moore said. “My heart is with his family, loved ones, and all of Milwaukee.”
In a statement on the shootings before Corder’s death, Moore called for more action to address gun violence.
“It is so awful that the public servants working to keep our communities safe were the targets of such violence. We all must work to tackle the gun violence crisis in our community,” Moore said.
Posts of the week
ICYMI
NPR: Republican Sen. Ron Johnson ‘satisfied’ with Trump’s bill after initial opposition
WXOW: Stop the Billionaire Giveaway National Bus Tour stops in La Crosse, walks to Rep. Van Orden’s office
WMTV: Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to the state’s congressional district boundaries
Spectrum News 1: Sen. Tammy Baldwin grills CDC Director Nominee about Milwaukee lead crisis
WPR: How is Wisconsin’s congressional delegation reacting to Senate passage of Trump budget bill?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kaul sues Trump administration for abrupt halt of mental health funds, calls it ‘awful policy’
