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U.S. Supreme Court takes on high-stakes abortion case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a high-profile case that could have major implications for abortion rights in states across the country. The justices announced that they will hear an appeal in a case over a Louisiana law that requires any physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at […]
Wisconsin lawmakers played key parts in past impeachments
WASHINGTON — A Wisconsin Republican was among those picked to make the case to the U.S. Senate for ousting the president from the White House. It was January 1999. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner had been chosen to be among the 13 U.S. House Republicans urging senators to eject President Bill Clinton from office after the House […]
Baldwin, Johnson split as Senate rebukes Trump on border wall
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted again on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency along the southern U.S. border. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who said of Trump’s declaration in February, “We will rue the day when we let a president start taking money for one purpose, declaring an emergency and […]
U.S. House launches official impeachment inquiry
WASHINGTON — It’s official: President Donald Trump is the subject of a U.S. House impeachment inquiry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that they’re moving forward with an “official impeachment inquiry” into the president in the wake of reports that he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate his political opponent, former Vice President Joe […]
Trump’s pick for labor secretary questioned gay rights in 1985 article
WASHINGTON — When Eugene Scalia was a fourth-year English major at the University of Virginia in 1985, he penned an article for the student paper about gay rights. In it, he referred to a lesbian couple that had visited the university, “the proud parents of a daughter fathered by a homosexual acquaintance.” He went on, […]
Sensenbrenner ‘adamant’ his exit isn’t about Trump
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner is known for being cantankerous. He relishes the reputation. “When I want to be grumpy, I can be grumpy,” the 76-year-old congressman told the Wisconsin Examiner with a chuckle this week in his Capitol Hill office. After he announced his plans to retire after this term, he told […]
U.S. House committee advances gun control bills
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee committee advanced three gun safety bills on Tuesday despite unified Republican opposition. The committee voted along partisan lines to approve “red flag” legislation that seeks to limit access to firearms for those deemed a risk to themselves or others. The committee also voted to advance legislation that would […]
Ex-NYT labor reporter: Trump has ‘not made America great again’ for workers
WASHINGTON — When longtime New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse was in Wisconsin several years ago to cover then-Gov. Scott Walker’s battle with unions, he talked to his 86-year-old mother on the phone. She bemoaned the situation, saying, “When I was growing up, people used to say, ‘Look at the good wages and benefits […]
Wis. Republicans backed a landmark gun law. Will they do it again?
WASHINGTON — When Congress passed landmark gun violence prevention legislation known as the Brady Bill back in 1993, two Wisconsin Republicans were among the 54 GOP lawmakers who voted to send the bill to President Clinton’s desk. One Wisconsin Democrat, then-Rep. Dave Obey, voted against it. Gun control politics have shifted dramatically in Wisconsin and […]
Congressman Sean Duffy abruptly resigns
The resignation of Congressman Sean Duffy is attracting a lot of attention — not only in Wisconsin, but nationwide because of the buzz Wisconsin is getting as a key 2020 election state. Duffy announced today that he is resigning from Congress, effective next month, to spend time with his family. “Duffy’s resignation is momentous for […]
Bernie Sanders leads Dem rivals in Wisconsin fundraising
Wisconsin Democrats aren’t giving up on Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator, who won the state’s Democratic presidential primary back in 2016, has raked in more campaign contributions from Wisconsin than any other Democratic candidate, according to the most recent campaign finance filings. That total includes itemized contributions from donors giving more than $200 and can […]
Where are Wisconsin’s GOP heavyweights now?
WASHINGTON — In early 2011, political prospects looked spectacular for three Republican rising stars from Wisconsin. Scott Walker had just won the governorship as Republicans flipped the state Senate and Assembly. Paul Ryan was ascendant in the U.S. House, taking the gavel of the powerful Budget Committee after Republicans seized control of that chamber. Reince […]