RAYMOND, Wis. – ER nurse and Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District Mitchell Berman is speaking out against the Trump administration’s creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” established without Congressional authorization as part of a self-dealing lawsuit settlement, and calling on Congressman Bryan Steil to oppose the fund.
Berman issued the following statement:
“This is more blatant corruption. While the working class is once again being told to tighten our belts, Donald Trump just stole damn near $2 billion of our tax dollars for his political allies, with zero transparency and not a single vote in Congress. Bryan Steil has once again completely abdicated his Constitutional responsibility to serve as a check on the executive and represent our district. I am calling on him to oppose this fund.”
This month, the Trump administration created a nearly $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded compensation fund as part of a self-dealing settlement struck between the president and an administration he controls, without a vote or authorization from Congress. The following day, a one-page addendum was quietly posted permanently barring the IRS from ever auditing or pursuing tax claims against Trump, his family, or his businesses. Congress is now weighing restrictions on the fund through the reconciliation process. Berman is calling on Bryan Steil to go on record in support of those efforts and make clear to his constituents where he stands.
So far, Steil has remained silent on the fund, just as he has said nothing on Trump’s tariffs, nothing on the war in Iran, and nothing about the 15,000 people in his district who stand to lose their health care because of his votes for the Big Beautiful Bill and against extending the ACA subsidies. Washington is full of politicians looking out for themselves, the billionaire class, and the Epstein class, while families in Wisconsin pay more for groceries, pay more for gas, and wonder what happens if they get sick. Berman is running for Congress because Washington needs more representatives who have actually lived the same daily struggles as the people in their districts.
Born and raised in a one-stoplight town in rural Wisconsin, Mitchell Berman learned the values of community, integrity, and hard work from his parents. He was the first in his family to graduate college, working three jobs and taking out student loans to earn his degree. Determined to build a life through grit and perseverance, not privilege, he started working at age 12 and became a union member while in college. Berman is an emergency room nurse who has served veterans at the VA for more than a decade. A devoted husband and father, he’s running for Congress to put people over politics, and to fight for Wisconsin families.
The First Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country, and has been named a “District in Play” by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The district encompasses Janesville, Kenosha, Racine, Beloit, Elkhorn, Whitewater, and the Milwaukee suburbs of Cudahy, St. Francis, and South Milwaukee. In 2024, Donald Trump carried the swing district narrowly with just 51 percent of the vote. In both the 2023 and 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, Justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford won the district handily by 6- and 6.5-point margins, respectively, and Justice-Elect Chris Taylor carried the district by ~20 points in April 2026. The primary election will take place on August 11, 2026, with the general election on November 3rd. Learn more at BermanForCongress.com.
