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State Affairs Wisconsin feature: Outside groups covered more than $200K in lawmakers’ travel expenses in 2024

Tuesday, Jun 3, 2025

Lawmakers listed honorariums on their statements of economic interests from groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures, Jobs First Coalition and American Legislative Exchange Council. These payments took care of travel to places such as Tennessee, California and Colorado. Several lawmakers also reported expenses for a trip to Taiwan with other Midwestern legislators.

TUE News Summary: Milwaukee man charged with framing man with letter threatening Trump

Tuesday, Jun 3, 2025

TOP STORIES Milwaukee man charged with identity theft for threatening letter ICE to frame a witness in his armed robbery/battery case… Demetric Scott, 52 [ in Milwaukee County jail], was charged with identity theft, intimidating a witness and two counts

TUE AM Update: Prosecutors: Milwaukee man wrote letters threatening Trump to frame witness in case against him

Tuesday, Jun 3, 2025

From WisPolitics … — Local prosecutors have accused a Milwaukee man facing robbery charges of forging letters threatening to kill President Donald Trump in an effort to have an undocumented immigrant deported so he couldn’t testify at trial. Department of

MON PM Update: Republicans want Supreme Court to reject redraw of congressional lines, ACLU backs new map

Monday, Jun 2, 2025

From WisPolitics … — Wisconsin’s six GOP House members and Republican state lawmakers want the state Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit asking the justices to redraw congressional lines. And the six members of Congress want liberal Justice Janet Protasiewiciz

MON News Summary: GOP, Evers disagree on who controls money from federal COVID aid

Monday, Jun 2, 2025

TOP STORIES GOP at odds with Evers over who controls $171M in interest from COVID aid… [in 2024, DOA Sec. Blumenfeld told JLAC co-chair Wimburger] that guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department indicated the interest funds may be used to

MON AM Update: ‘Facts and figures on my side’ in reconciliation fight, Johnson tells ‘UpFront’

Monday, Jun 2, 2025

From WisPolitics … — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, says he has “the facts and figures on my side” as the U.S. Senate returns to Washington and he prepares to take on President Donald Trump and his “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

FRI REPORT: Negotiations continue as Joint Finance falls behind pace of recent budgets

Friday, May 30, 2025

Quotes of the Week Our goal is to continue talks to reach a bipartisan consensus on the budget that invests in priorities, including a tax cut for those who need it the most.- Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, on budget

FRI News Summary: Lawyers for Dugan argue for dismissal; Joint Finance takes first votes

Friday, May 30, 2025

TOP STORIES Dugan’s legal team files memo arguing for dismissal, citing Trump ruling as precedent… 37-page memorandum supports and expands on a [May 14] motion to dismiss … [atty.] Strang and others on the high-powered legal team argue that as

FRI AM Update: Trump administration tabs deep red Shawano County ‘sanctuary’ community refusing to cooperate on immigration

Friday, May 30, 2025

From WisPolitics … — The Trump administration listed deep red Shawano County alongside Dane County, Madison and Milwaukee as the Wisconsin communities refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The release late yesterday included no information on why the communities

THU PM Update: Taxes among next items Joint Finance plans to tackle next, but no details on when

Thursday, May 29, 2025

From WisPolitics … — The Joint Finance Committee plans to take up general fund taxes during upcoming executive sessions. But GOP leaders haven’t indicated just when that will happen. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau today released the next batch of budget

Joint Finance extends DSPS call center jobs, but rejects Evers call to fund those, other positions permanently

Thursday, May 29, 2025

The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee extended for another three years five project positions in the Department of Safety and Professional Services’ call center operation.

THU News Summary: Sen. Ron Johnson, Rep. Gwen Moore both oppose Trump’s spending bill

Thursday, May 29, 2025

TOP STORIES Sen. Johnson says longtime beliefs inform Trump bill opposition… “I sprang out of the Tea Party movement,” he explained. “I still view myself as more Tea Party than Republican Party. … “There is no amount of pressure that

THU AM Update: Johnson doesn’t want to run in ‘28, but not ruling out bid for fourth term

Thursday, May 29, 2025

From WisPolitics … — GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says he doesn’t want to run again in 2028, but he’s not ruling it out. “I’d rather go home,” Johnson said yesterday at a Newsmaker Luncheon in Milwaukee presented by WisPolitics

WED PM Update: Johnson: ‘no amount of pressure’ Trump can apply to move him on reconciliation bill

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

From WisPolitics … — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson today lambasted President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” arguing it would increase the deficit and Congress should find more cuts before approving. “There’s no amount of pressure that President Trump can apply

WED News Summary: Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson leads Republican opposition to ‘big beautiful bill’

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

TOP STORIES Ron Johnson leads Senate Republican opposition to Trump’s signature budget bill… [“big beautiful bill] would substantially rewrite tax code by expanding tax cuts on high earners, ending tax on tips and overtime and ending tax subsidies for clean

State Affairs Wisconsin feature: DPI announces effort to revamp school report cards

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

The Department of Public Instruction has announced an effort to revamp state report cards for Wisconsin schools, saying a cross-section of educators will be involved in making sure the system “remains valid, fair, and aligned with current expectations.”

WED AM Update: Three announced candidates qualify for state Dem chair, other offices uncontested

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

From WisPolitics … — All three announced candidates for chair of the state Dem Party met the requirements to qualify for the race at next month’s convention. The other four races will be uncontested, including Secretrary of State Sarah Godlewski’s

TUE PM Update: Vos: Lawmakers working to schedule another budget meeting with Evers

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

From WisPolitics … — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told WisPolitics in a statement today GOP legislative leaders were working to schedule another meeting with Dem Gov. Tony Evers this week. It would be their third day of meetings after they

Joint Finance to meet Thursday to take up DSPS, other budget areas

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The Joint Finance Committee will meet Thursday to vote on eight agency budgets, including the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

TUE News Summary: Evers pushing for permanent staff to handle professional licenses as part of state budget

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

TOP STORIES As lawmakers craft budget, DSPS pushes for staff to handle professional licenses… with temporary positions on track to expire later this year, [DSPS] is set to lose close to 30 contract employees who process license applications and handle