The Planned Parenthood clinic in New Orleans was open for over 40 years but stopped seeing patients at the end of September after federal Medicaid funding cuts. Abortion opponents are looking for more ways to pull funds from the organization, despite legal abortion care making up a small portion of the services affiliated health centers provide. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) 

Anti-abortion organizations and Republican elected officials are searching for more ways to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving federal resources after congressional Republicans successfully cut off federal Medicaid funding until at least July 2026.

Letters written by activist organizations and Republican elected officials show stated goals of barring Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving federal money of any kind and pulling them from the 340B drug pricing program. With it, Title X-funded centers can receive significant discounts on prescription drugs, allowing the purchase of more medications and the ability to reach more patients.

Anti-abortion activists also expect proposals for further restrictions on Planned Parenthood’s access to Medicaid in health care legislation in early 2026.

In July, Republican members of the House and Senate passed a sweeping budget reconciliation bill that included a one-year provision barring clinics from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursement if they offer abortion services and billed Medicaid more than $800,000 in fiscal year 2023. The rule largely affects Planned Parenthood because of the high dollar amount, but some large independent clinics have also been affected.

Since then, more than 20 Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide have closed their doors, many of which did not provide abortion services. Others have laid off staff, including in Ohio. Maine Family Planning, the state’s largest reproductive health care provider, also offered primary care services at three of its 18 clinics but discontinued those services at the end of October because of the funding loss.

Katie Rodihan, director of state advocacy communications for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement that those actions would make medication more expensive and take away access to birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and cancer screenings.

“These anti-abortion lawmakers are so hellbent on shutting down Planned Parenthood that they’re willing to sacrifice your health care,” Rodihan said. “No matter what attack anti-abortion groups and politicians launch, Planned Parenthood Action Fund will always be ready to fight back for patients.” 

Opposition to the organization receiving federal funding is rooted in a belief that its main purpose is to provide abortion care, when in fact abortion makes up about 4% of the services Planned Parenthood clinics provide nationwide, according to the most recent annual report. But anti-abortion groups and many Republican lawmakers object to federal dollars being associated with legal abortion care in any way, even if it’s not directly paying for the procedure except in limited circumstances under the law.

In late September, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt sent a letter to the administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, asking that the agency revoke Planned Parenthood’s 340B drug pricing eligibility and reject any future requests for that designation. The letter is also signed by the Republican governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Several Republican-led states, including Ohio and Indiana, have also recently tried to cut Planned Parenthood off of state Medicaid funding.  

“States across the country are acting to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to fund or promote abortions, and in turn, these clinics are seeking roundabout ways to maintain their funding,” Stitt wrote. “Even if Planned Parenthood affiliates with pro-life laws refrain from using federal funds for abortion, the organization’s national infrastructure still benefits, enabling abortion expansion in states where abortion is legal … .”  

Instead, Stitt suggested that money be allocated to community health centers and rural hospitals.

The letter was sent five days before the government shutdown started on Oct. 1, and no action has been taken by the agency so far since reopening on Nov. 12.

Argument traces back to COVID loans

Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion group with more than 2,000 student chapters nationwide, is leading the effort to pressure Republican President Donald Trump and his administration to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a vendor with the federal government. Called “debarment,” the administrative process usually applies to vendors accused of wrongdoing — such as fraud, embezzlement, failure to perform or tax evasion — and is determined by  the U.S. General Services Administration.

A vendor who is debarred cannot receive federal money of any kind for a period of three years. There is also a lesser penalty of suspension, which lasts up to 12 months.

Kristi Hamrick, Students for Life’s vice president of media and policy, told States Newsroom that members started discussing the idea toward the end of Trump’s first term, but since it involves a long administrative process, there wasn’t enough time to pursue it before Democratic President Joe Biden took office.

Students for Life sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration on Oct. 22, along with a letter to the president’s office signed by more than 50 other anti-abortion groups, encouraging them to start the process of debarment. There has not been a response from the small business agency so far, Hamrick said, but employees only returned to work recently following the 43-day shutdown.  

The letter to Trump is signed by other well-known anti-abortion organizations, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Family Policy Alliance, Americans United for Life, Family Research Council and National Right to Life.

Along with allegations of financial fraud, the letter to the Small Business Administration accuses Planned Parenthood of a host of other violations, and mentions lawsuits filed against the organization led by Republican attorneys general in states like Missouri and Texas.   

Hamrick said the letter went to the agency because Republican U.S. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter of their own in March about alleged fraud committed by Planned Parenthood. They wrote that many of its affiliates — which are independent nonprofit organizations — applied for and received Paycheck Protection Program loans of about $120 million during the COVID pandemic.

The two senators said Planned Parenthood was not eligible for the loans because organizations with more than 500 employees were excluded. Planned Parenthood argued the national organization and the regional affiliates are separate — the affiliates applied individually — and guidance for the loans was later updated by the Biden administration to allow them. Most of the loans were forgiven.

Other entities were also accused of abusing the intent of the Paycheck Protection Program, including Catholic Charities USA, a humanitarian aid arm of the Catholic church with more than 3,000 employees. The Associated Press reported the organization and its member agencies received about 110 loans worth up to $220 million, which were forgiven.

Hamrick said Republicans in Congress should keep up their efforts to bar Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursements, but there’s more that can be done.

“We won’t have to keep voting on whether or not Planned Parenthood can be funded in any one program, such as Medicaid, if they’re not eligible to be funded at all,” Hamrick said.

States still heavily affected by cuts

Hamrick said she hopes to see Republican lawmakers extend the Medicaid cuts for 10 years or more this time around, because this first round of cuts didn’t yield any “dire consequences.”

Dr. Chelsea Daniels, a member of the Committee to Protect Health Care’s Reproductive Freedom Task Force, disagrees. She moved out of Florida two months ago, where she worked in Miami for Planned Parenthood of Florida, and where she tried to help pass an amendment that would have enshrined a right to abortion into the state constitution. Although 57% of voters approved it, 60% is required by Florida law.

That demoralizing loss on top of many days where she had to tell people she legally couldn’t help them became too much. Florida has a six-week abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and human trafficking. But Daniels said she routinely saw sexual assault victims who weren’t able to get an abortion regardless of any documentation they presented.

“Florida honestly just kind of pulverized me. I felt ground up by the end of it,” Daniels said.

She moved to California, and now practices as a family planning physician at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties. In her first week of employment there, the affiliate announced it would close its primary care practice because of the Medicaid cuts, laying off 77 staffers and sending 13,000 patients across seven clinics looking elsewhere for basic care such as treatment for high blood pressure, vaccines, annual wellness exams and diabetes management. The final day of service will be Dec. 10.

Daniels wasn’t part of the layoffs, but she said that loss of care for so many patients is devastating.

“I left Florida for good reason, but the state of the country writ large is not good,” Daniels said. “And I don’t think our federal government cares. They think it’s just collateral damage and punishment for anyone who’s ever been associated with Planned Parenthood.”

A California Highway Patrol officer talks to a driver during a traffic stop in October. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants access to state driver’s license data as it builds a powerful citizenship verification program. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Trump administration wants access to state driver’s license data on millions of U.S. residents as it builds a powerful citizenship verification program amid its clampdown on voter fraud and illegal immigration.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeks access to an obscure computer network used by law enforcement agencies, according to a federal notice, potentially allowing officials to bypass negotiating with states for the records.

The information would then be plugged into a Homeland Security program known as SAVE that Trump officials have deployed to search for rare instances of alleged noncitizen voters and to verify citizenship. The plan comes as the Trump administration demands states share copies of their voter files that include sensitive personal data that also is being plugged into SAVE; it is suing some states that refuse.

Trump officials tout the SAVE program as a boost for election integrity. But critics of the program warn the federal government is constructing a massive, centralized information source on Americans. They fear President Donald Trump or a future president could use the tool to surveil residents or target political enemies.

“What this SAVE database expansion will do is serve as a central pillar to build dossiers on all of us,” said Cody Venzke, a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union.

At the same time, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, conducted nearly 900,000 searches for state driver’s license and other motor vehicle data over the past year using the same data-sharing network that Homeland Security wants to link to SAVE, according to information provided to Congress. The network is called Nlets — formerly the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, now known as the International Justice and Public Safety Network.

Dozens of congressional Democrats in mid-November warned Democratic governors that Nlets makes driver’s license data available to ICE, including from states that restrict cooperation with the agency. While ICE, a Homeland Security agency, has long had access to Nlets, some Democrats are voicing renewed alarm amid Trump’s sweeping deportation campaign.

At least five states — Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington — have blocked Nlets’ ability to share their driver’s license records with ICE, according to the Nov. 12 letter from 40 Democratic lawmakers. Oregon also is taking steps to block access.

In Colorado, state Sen. Julie Gonzales said she is willing to advance bills to block the Nlets data sharing. Gonzales, a Democrat who chairs the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee, has previously sponsored legislation to limit what personal information is shared with the federal government for immigration enforcement.

“It is like playing Whac-A-Mole, but the Constitution applies to ICE, too,” Gonzales said.

The recent developments underscore the ongoing struggle between Democratic states and the Trump administration over how much access Homeland Security should have to their residents’ personal data. For their part, some Republican state officials have voiced support for the administration’s moves and want to aid the search for noncitizen voters and individuals in the country illegally.

Data and privacy experts told Stateline the current moment could lead to more centralization of personal data by the federal government and an eroding expectation of privacy when it comes to driver’s license information. The federal government is for the first time essentially building a U.S. citizenship database, they said.

Homeland Security is proposing to take Nlets outside its intended use, said John Davisson, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy group that argues privacy is a fundamental right.

Nlets is a nonprofit organization that facilitates data sharing among law enforcement agencies across state lines. At a basic level, Nlets is the system that allows police officers to quickly look up the driver’s license information of out-of-state motorists they pull over.

States decide what information to make available through Nlets, and which agencies can access it. Each state has an Nlets member, typically that state’s highway patrol or equivalent agency. Several federal law enforcement agencies also are members.

“It appears that DHS is eyeing it for something quite different, for mass extraction of driver’s license information that would be far beyond the sort of targeted enforcement purposes of a system like Nlets,” Davisson said.

Driver data idea floated in May

Homeland Security’s SAVE program — Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — was originally intended to help state and local officials verify the immigration status of individual noncitizens seeking government benefits. But it can now scan state voter rolls for alleged noncitizen voters.

In the past, SAVE could search only one name at a time. Now it can conduct bulk searches, allowing officials to potentially scan through information on millions of registered voters. Federal officials in May connected the program to Social Security data; linking driver’s license data through Nlets would provide an additional mountain of data on U.S. residents.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group that advocates for voting rights, filed a federal lawsuit in September against Homeland Security over the transformation of SAVE. In its complaint, the organization accused the department of ignoring federal law to create comprehensive databases of American citizens’ data.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, last week declined to temporarily block SAVE’s overhaul while the lawsuit proceeds. But Sooknanan wrote in an opinion that based on the current record, “the Court is troubled by the recent changes to SAVE and doubts the lawfulness of the Government’s actions.”

Homeland Security publicly confirmed it wants to connect Nlets to SAVE in an Oct. 31 Federal Register notice. The notice said driver’s licenses are the most widely used form of identification, and by working with states and national agencies, including Nlets, “SAVE will use driver’s license and state identification card numbers to check and confirm identity information.”

The agency also privately floated its interest in Nlets months earlier.

According to minutes of a May virtual meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State Elections Committee, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official Brian Broderick told the group that his agency — the Homeland Security agency that administers SAVE — was seeking “to avoid having to connect to 50 state databases” and wanted a “simpler solution,” such as Nlets.

The minutes were contained in records from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office obtained by American Oversight, a nonpartisan transparency group that frequently files records requests. Mother Jones magazine first reported on the records.

Nlets and the Texas Secretary of State’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment.

On Friday, National Association of Secretaries of State spokesperson Brittany Hamilton wrote in an email to Stateline that at that time, “we have not received specific updates from USCIS on this aspect of driver’s license data potential usage.”

In a statement, USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser encouraged all federal, state and local agencies to use SAVE.

“USCIS remains dedicated to eliminating barriers to securing the nation’s electoral process. By allowing states to efficiently verify voter eligibility, we are reinforcing the principle that America’s elections are reserved exclusively for American citizens,” Tragesser wrote.

State restrictions flawed, lawmakers say

Some Democrats are separately pushing to limit ICE’s access to driver’s license data through Nlets. The Nov. 12 congressional letter warned that while some states have restrictions on data sharing with immigration authorities, the limits are often ineffective because of major flaws.

State limits sometimes apply only to state motor vehicle agencies, which don’t connect to Nlets — and often don’t apply to state police agencies that do connect, the letter said. And even though state restrictions target data-sharing for immigration enforcement, Nlets doesn’t indicate the purpose of a request.

“Because of the technical complexity of Nlets’ system, few state government officials understand how their state is sharing their residents’ data with federal and out-of-state agencies,” wrote U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York and 38 other Democrats.

Homeland Security didn’t address Stateline’s questions about ICE’s access to state driver’s license data through Nlets.

Advocates for immigrants have long raised concerns about ICE access to state driver’s license data through Nlets. Nineteen states allow residents to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant advocacy group. Those driver’s license records represent a wealth of information on noncitizens.

While ICE can’t use Nlets to obtain records of all noncitizens issued licenses, the agency can use the search tool to obtain a variety of information on individuals, such as date of birth, sex, address and Social Security number, according to the law center. Sometimes a photo is also available — a particular concern for immigrants and their advocates amid reports that ICE has deployed facial recognition tools in the field.

“I think that for many years, folks around the country that are concerned about privacy, that are concerned about immigrants, have been trying to sound the alarm about this issue,” said Matthew Lopas, director of state advocacy and technical assistance at the National Immigration Law Center.

Stateline contacted all 50 state governors to ask about Nlets. Forty-one offices didn’t respond and most others provided high-level statements or referred questions to other agencies.

But Maryland indicated it was taking “proactive measures” to ensure that federal agencies’ access to its data through Nlets complies with state and federal law. A 2021 state law limits the sharing of driver’s license data with federal immigration authorities.

Maryland “is working with Nlets to ensure that Marylanders’ data is not misused for civil immigration enforcement absent a valid judicial warrant, and we intend to share more information on that effort as we are able,” Rhyan Lake, a spokesperson for Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, said in a statement to Stateline.

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety, which is overseen by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, cautioned against limiting data-sharing among law enforcement. Records obtained through Nlets include data on wanted individuals and other information that can help identify potential threats to officers and agents, the department said in a statement provided by Director of Communications Brad Reiners.

“We reject the concerns outlined in the [Democratic lawmakers’] letter and remain deeply concerned about the potentially dangerous consequences of limiting access to this information,” the statement says.

In Oregon, state officials plan to cut off ICE’s Nlets access to its driver’s license data, but no date has been set, Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy, an agency spokesperson, wrote in an email.

“We are working with other states to assist in considering a path forward,” Kennedy wrote.

Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured in November 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — A coalition suing to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education expanded its lawsuit Tuesday to include objections to recent interagency agreements to shift the department’s responsibilities to other Cabinet-level agencies.

The alliance of unions and school districts also added a major disability rights advocacy group to its ranks in the amended complaint that detailed how the department’s Nov. 18 announcement of six interagency agreements could harm students.

The agreements to transfer several Education responsibilities to four other departments drew swift backlash from Democratic officials, labor unions and advocacy groups, who questioned the legality of the transfers and expressed concerns over the harms that would be imposed on students, families and schools as a result. 

“Scattering Department of Education programs among agencies with no expertise in education or lacking key agency infrastructure will reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs and will prevent the type of synergy that Congress intended to achieve by consolidating federal education activities in one cabinet level agency,” the coalition, represented by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, wrote in the amended complaint. 

The expanded suit asks for declaratory and injunctive relief against what it describes as the administration’s “unlawful effort to dismantle the Department of Education,” pointing to the interagency agreements, mass layoffs at the department earlier this year and implementation of an executive order that called on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to facilitate the closure of her own department.  

The Education Department clarified in fact sheets related to the agreements  with the departments of Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services and State that it would “maintain all statutory responsibilities and will continue its oversight of these programs.”

Axing the Education Department

Trump has sought to take an axe to the 46-year-old department, saying he wants to send education “back to the states.” Much of the funding and oversight of schools already occurs at the state and local levels.

The original lawsuit, filed in March in Massachusetts federal court, was brought by the American Federation of Teachers, its Massachusetts chapter, AFSCME Council 93, the American Association of University Professors, the Service Employees International Union and two school districts in Massachusetts. 

The Tuesday filing adds The Arc of the United States, an advocacy group for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as a plaintiff. 

Earlier this year, the case was consolidated with another March lawsuit from Democratic attorneys general in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin.  

“It’s no surprise that blue states and unions care more about preserving the DC bureaucracy than about giving parents, students, and teachers more control over education and improving the efficient delivery of funds and services,” Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement shared with States Newsroom.

Supreme Court temporarily greenlit Trump plan

In May, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in the consolidated case, blocking the administration’s efforts, including a reduction in force effort at the agency that gutted more than 1,300 employees, Trump’s executive order calling on McMahon to facilitate the closure of her own department and a directive to transfer some services to other federal agencies.

A federal appeals court upheld that order in June, prompting the administration to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. 

The nation’s highest court in July temporarily suspended the lower courts’ orders, allowing the administration to proceed, for now, with those dismantling efforts.  

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., rehearses the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025 in Wyandotte, Michigan. (Photo by Paul Sancya – Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Democratic members of Congress who released a video in mid-November telling members of the military that they are not required to follow illegal orders announced Tuesday the Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked to speak with them about the matter. 

Four House members, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin wrote the inquiry will not deter them from publicly stating their concerns about the Trump administration. 

“Last night, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like,” Slotkin wrote in a statement published on social media. 

“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” Slotkin added. “He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up.”  

Kelly’s office said it had “received this inquiry via the Sergeant at Arms.”  The House members said the FBI has contacted the House Sergeant at Arms office requesting interviews.

“Senator Kelly won’t be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s attempt to intimidate him and keep him from doing his job as a U.S. Senator,” the spokesperson said. 

Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire separately issued a joint statement alleging that “Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress.”

“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution,” they wrote. “We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”

President Donald Trump after learning of the video posted on social media that he believed the statement from six Democratic lawmakers represented “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.”

The FBI declined to comment. 

Illegal orders

Those six lawmakers posted a video on social media on Nov. 18 telling members of the military and intelligence community that they “can” and “must refuse illegal orders.”

“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant,” they said. “But whether you’re serving in the CIA, in the Army, or Navy, or the Air Force, your vigilance is critical.”

The Defense Department announced Monday that it was looking into “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly, a former Navy captain and NASA astronaut, for his participation in the video. 

The statement said defense officials may recall Kelly “to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.” 

Kelly wrote in a statement responding to the investigation that he had “given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly wrote.

Hegseth asks for briefing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media Tuesday that he wants the Secretary of the Navy to brief him “on the outcome of your review by no later than December 10, 2025.”

Members of Congress’ official actions are generally protected under the speech and debate clause of the Constitution. 

A report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service states the judiciary’s “immunity principle protects Members from ‘intimidation by the executive’ or a ‘hostile judiciary’ by prohibiting both the executive and judicial powers from being used to improperly influence or harass legislators.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters. (Photo by HUD Office of Public Affairs)

Nineteen attorneys general and two governors filed suit in Rhode Island on Tuesday to stop the Trump administration from shifting nearly $4 billion in housing grants they say could place as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back out on the streets.

The group co-led by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is accusing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of violating “congressional intent” in its plan to dramatically reduce the amount of grant funds that can be spent on permanent housing, along with other conditions placed in its latest Notice of Funding Opportunity for Continuum of Care grants.

Enacted Nov. 13, HUD’s new policy instead shifts Continuum of Care funding toward transitional housing and other short-term interventions to the nation’s ongoing homelessness crisis. Only 30% of funds from the $3.9 billion grant program would be allowed to be used for permanent supportive housing — units that provide a subsidized, stable residence for formerly homeless people, often those who have experienced mental illness or spent years on the streets.  

HUD has previously directed approximately 90% of Continuum of Care funding to support permanent supportive units as part of its “Housing First” philosophy, according to the 55-page lawsuit.

“Addressing the crisis requires urgent action from our communities, institutions, and government,” the lawsuit states. “But instead of investing in programs that help people stay safe and housed, the Trump Administration has embraced policies that risk trapping people in poverty and punishing them for being poor.”

HUD’s latest Continuum of Care grants opportunity is open though Jan. 14, 2026. Grant awards are expected to be made May 1.

The new grant rules also eliminate funding for diversity and inclusion efforts, support of transgender clients and use of “harm reduction” strategies that seek to reduce overdose deaths by helping people in active addiction use drugs more safely.

“Individually, these conditions are unlawful and harmful,” the 55-page lawsuit states. “Together, they are a virtual death blow to the CoC Program as it has operated for decades and will lead to predictably disastrous results.”

If the policy isn’t blocked, Neronha warned the cuts would “further exacerbate already dire conditions for homeless Rhode Islanders.” Indeed, Rhode Island’s homeless care providers project a little over 1,000 formerly unhoused people across the state could wind up back on the streets under HUD’s new funding focus.

“This administration continues to punch down by targeting the most vulnerable Americans, and unfortunately this most recent attack on homeless individuals is consistent with their modus operandi,” Neronha said in a statement. “The president and his administration don’t care about making life easier or better for Americans; they only care about political capitulation, consolidating power, and further enriching the wealthy.”

The HUD Press Office said the agency stands by its Continuum of Care reforms in an emailed statement, calling Biden era homelessness assistance policies “an abject failure.”

“In fact, Biden’s policies harmed the vulnerable people that HUD intends to serve through the grant program,” the statement reads. “This new framework is the first step toward righting those failures with increased funding for those high performing programs that have demonstrated real success and accountability. HUD is dismayed that the plaintiffs have chosen to misuse the Courts and pursue this delaying tactic to serve their own personal political agenda at the expense of the homeless individuals, youth and families now living on our Nation’s streets.  Their use of the courts for political means seeks to prevent nearly $4 billion of aid to flow nationwide to assist those in need. HUD intends to mount a vigorous defense to this meritless legal action. HUD is confident that it will prevail in Court and looks forward to implementing the new Continuum of Care framework after it has done so.”

In addition to Neronha, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and New York Attorney General Letitia James are co-leading the lawsuit. 

Also joining the complaint are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

The coalition is asking Judge Mary S. McElroy, who was appointed to the bench during Trump’s first term, to declare the new conditions unlawful and reinstate language from prior funding notices.

HUD framed its new funding policies as a way to promote “self-sufficiency among vulnerable Americans” and align with President Donald Trump’s July 24 Executive Order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”

But the lawsuit filed Tuesday argues that Congress created the Continuum of Care program to ensure stability so providers can reliably serve people whose lives depend on it. The coalition says HUD’s changes are arbitrary and capricious because officials offered no explanation for abruptly reversing longstanding policies.

“HUD has failed to supply any rational explanation for these newly proposed conditions that are entirely unrelated to (and in some cases even inhibit) the statutory purpose of addressing homelessness,” the lawsuit states.

Ryan Strnad, who promoted recycling when he announced earlier this summer that he would seek the Democratic nomination to run for governor, ended his campaign Tuesday. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Democratic hopeful Ryan Strnad, an American Family Field beer vendor from Mukwonago, announced Tuesday he is ending his campaign for governor. 

“I want to thank every person who supported this campaign,” Strnad said in a statement. “I ran to give working class families a voice and to deliver results for communities that have long been overlooked.”

Strnad launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in August, acknowledging  he was polarizing and a longshot for the position. He told the Examiner at the start of his campaign that his mother thought he should “run for something smaller.”

He launched his campaign saying that he would seek to improve conditions for workers by repealing Act 10 and getting rid of “right to work” — the law that lets workers who are represented by unions decline to pay union dues without giving up their right to the union’s representation. He said he supported police and allowing access to abortion in Wisconsin. 

Strnad said he is endorsing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in the crowded race and encouraged his supporters to support him as well. He said Crowley “is the candidate who can hit the ground running, fight for families, and begin delivering those results for Wisconsin starting on day one.”

Other Democratic hopefuls include Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes.

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Democrats and pro-democracy organizations held a rally Oct. 16 to call for the creation of an independent redistricting commission. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an order for two judicial panels to hear arguments against Wisconsin's current U.S. House maps. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a pair of three-judge panels to hear arguments in two lawsuits challenging the state’s congressional maps. 

The challenges to the maps come as fights play out all over the country over the dividing lines of congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections. After Texas legislators worked to draw Democratic seats out of existence at the behest of President Donald Trump and a number of other Republican-led states followed suit, California voters elected to temporarily undo their state’s independent redistricting commission and allow Democratic leaders to wipe out Republican-leaning seats. 

Similar efforts have followed to varying degrees of success in states including Arkansas, Indiana and Virginia. 

Wisconsin’s political maps have been at the center of its divided government for more than a decade, with the Supreme Court undoing the partisan gerrymander in the state Legislature two years ago. 

Since then, the focus has turned to Wisconsin’s congressional maps, where Republicans control six of the state’s eight districts. More than once, the Supreme Court has declined to hear cases that request the Court directly take up challenges to the congressional maps. 

A lobbying effort in the state is also ongoing to establish an independent, nonpartisan process for creating the state’s legislative and congressional maps. 

On Tuesday, the Court ruled that the challenges to the maps must follow a 2011 law, passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, which requires that challenges to the state’s congressional districts be heard by a panel of three circuit court judges. 

Republicans had argued that law shouldn’t apply in this case. In a 5-2 decision, in which the court’s four liberal justices were joined by conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn, the Court ruled the law applies and the panels should be created.

In the majority decision, the Court’s liberals also appointed the panels — of which all the members were appointed by Gov. Tony Evers or endorsed liberal Justice Susan Crawford in this spring’s election. 

Hagedorn dissented on the appointment of the panels, arguing the panel members should’ve been appointed randomly. 

“Given the nature of this case and the statute’s implicit call for geographic diversity and neutrality, a randomly-selected panel and venue would be a better way to fulfill the statutory mandate,” Hagedorn wrote. “To be clear, I am not suggesting the judicial panel will fail to do its job with integrity and impartiality. But this approach is an odd choice in the face of a statute so clearly designed to deter litigants from selecting their preferred venue and judge.” 

Justices Annette Ziegler and Rebecca Bradley dissented from the decision, arguing the majority chose the judges on the panel to further the goals of the Democratic party. 

In several previous lawsuits over political maps, Bradley and Ziegler have issued rulings that benefited the Republican party or further entrenched the partisan gerrymander that has allowed the Republican party to retain control of the Legislature for 15 years. 

“Hand picking circuit court judges to perform political maneuvering is unimaginable,” Ziegler wrote. “Yet, my colleagues persist and appear to do this, all in furtherance of delivering partisan, political advantage to the Democratic Party.” 

On Tuesday, Crawford and Justice Janet Protasiewicz also issued orders denying requests from Republican members of Congress and GOP voters that they recuse themselves from the redistricting cases. Since the two justices’ elections in recent years, the state’s Republicans have regularly accused the pair of making statements on the campaign trail that show pre-judgment of cases involving the state’s political maps. 

“The Congressmen’s recusal theories are overbroad, impracticable, and rife with unintended consequences,” Crawford wrote. “Individuals and organizations have the right to contribute to judicial campaigns and to express their beliefs about the effect judicial elections will have on issues of importance to them. Demanding that a justice recuse from a case because third parties who made campaign contributions have expressed their views on high-profile issues improperly implies that the judge had endorsed or adopted such views. This insinuation is inappropriate, particularly where the judge has expressly disclaimed such an endorsement, and undermines judicial impartiality. Further, it would chill protected speech and undermine this court’s central role of deciding cases of statewide importance.”

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President Donald Trump addresses undecided Latino voters during a Univision Noticias town hall event in Doral, Florida, during the closing weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign.  (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 

WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S. Latinos have grown pessimistic since the 2024 presidential election and increasingly disapprove of the immigration and economic policies of the second Trump administration, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

About 70% of Latinos in the U.S. disapprove of President Donald Trump’s record, with 65% disapproving of his handling of immigration and 61% saying his policies have worsened the economy, according to the report.

The report found Latinos’ views are still divided by how they voted in the last presidential election, though even Trump voters’ opinions of the president have declined.

“Those who voted for Trump express strong support for the president and his policies, while those who voted for Kamala Harris hold deeply negative views,” according to the report. 

Latinos were among the groups with the largest shifts toward Trump. In his first campaign in 2016, 28% backed him. In 2020, about 36% of Latinos voted for Trump and that support again grew in 2024, when nearly 48% supported him. Latinos are among the fastest growing demographic groups in the U.S., and are the second largest racial group in the country. 

The Nov. 24 Pew Research Center report analyzed survey responses from more than 5,500 Hispanic adults conducted from Sept. 22-28 and Oct. 6-16. The study used the terms Latino and Hispanic people interchangeably.

Disapproval on immigration 

The study found deep disapproval of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, amid aggressive immigration enforcement operations in areas with large Latino immigrant populations.

More than half of Latino adults reported that they worry that they, a family member or a close friend could be deported. Almost 59% of Latinos said they have seen or heard of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids or arrests in their community in the past six months. 

“About seven-in-ten (71%) say (the Trump administration) is doing too much when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the country illegally, up from 56% in March,” according to the study.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to conduct mass deportations and end temporary legal status given to newly arrived migrants under the Biden administration.

Economic outlook worrying

Two-thirds of Latinos said their overall situation has worsened since last year.

“This is the first time that most Hispanics say their situation has worsened in nearly two decades of Pew Research Center Hispanic surveys,” according to the report. 

Inflation and the economy were major policy concerns for Latinos, like most voters, in the 2024 presidential election.

The Pew Research Center study found that in the last year, 1 in 3 Latinos struggled to pay for groceries, medical care and rent or a mortgage.

“Many Latinos also have a negative outlook on the economy’s future,” according to the study. “About half (49%) say the nation’s economy will worsen over the next year, up substantially from 2024. Another 23% say economic conditions will be about the same as now.”

WisconsinEye's coverage includes livestreams of committee hearings, floor sessions and press conferences. Rep. Alex Dallman speaks at a press conference in June that was livestreamed by WisconsinEye. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

WisconsinEye — the independent, nonprofit service that provides coverage of Wisconsin state government similar to C-Span — is set to halt its coverage on Dec. 15 without sufficient funding and is turning to lawmakers as well as donors for help.

The service’s coverage includes livestreams of committee hearings, floor sessions and press conferences. It also has an extensive video archive of more than 30,000 hours of state government proceedings, candidate interviews and other programming. 

“We operate on a shoestring budget, but we exceed our contractual agreement with the Legislature,” WisconsinEye President Jon Henkes said, noting that they are required to cover all floor sessions as well as a certain percentage of committee hearings. “For 18 years, we have far exceeded those expectations and requirements, so we’re doing a remarkable job.”

All of that could stop — live coverage eliminated and the video archive at risk of going offline — if the organization doesn’t raise $887,000, enough to cover its 2026 annual budget, it warns in a popup message on its website. In a November press release, the organization warned of this possibility.

“It’s clear to us that the current funding model is not working. We can continue to knock on doors. We continue to connect with potential donors,” Henkes said. “The fact is by the end of December, we will run out of money — and that is the reason why we sounded the alarm a week ago — if we cannot bridge this gap in the short term.”

Since starting in 2007, WisconsinEye has operated independently with the majority of its funding coming from charitable, nonprofit donations. Henkes said that the organization, similar to other nonprofits, has faced a tough fundraising environment since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said there has been “a very palpable donor skittishness” due to economic uncertainty and an increase in competitiveness as nonprofits that were more dormant during the pandemic have reemerged.

“We’re such a small nonprofit, relatively young in the world of philanthropy, we’re never first in line. We’re lucky to be third in line at times,” Henkes said.

“We are not grounded and deeply rooted in a local community meeting basic human needs,” he continued. “We’re not feeding the homeless, we’re not providing shelter, we’re not disaster relief… then we’re also faced with a recent trend, which is record-breaking political fundraising, so donors who are interested in the inputs and outcomes of government are more inclined to give to candidates, campaigns and causes, but yet they put WisconsinEye into that same general bucket of politics, and we’ve got to fight our way through that fog, because that’s not us. We don’t advocate. We’re the neutral ground.”

Henkes said WisconsinEye is continuing to make inquiries and raising $250,000 could get the organization through the first quarter of 2026.

As first reported by WisPolitics, the organization is also looking to the Legislature for assistance. 

The state has provided grant funding on a few occasions, including during the pandemic. In the 2025-27 state budget, Wisconsin lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers extended WisconsinEye’s opportunity to access $10 million in state funds to build a permanent endowment fund until June 2026. 

The state had initially set aside the money in the previous budget, which required WisconsinEye to raise the entire $10 million in order to get the state-funded match. The organization wasn’t able to access the state’s portion because it didn’t meet the full amount.

In the new budget, the organization is able to collect the state portion on a dollar-by-dollar basis that matches WisconsinEye’s own fundraising.

Currently, $250,000 is available with no match requirement. That will cover expenses through Dec. 15.

The organization can receive the other $9.75 million if it raises an equal amount from private sources. Henkes said that those match dollars would not help with current operating costs, however.

“We could raise a half million dollars and the state would match that, but those dollars, by law, then would have to go into an endowment account — could not be spent for operating current budget needs, and could only be used as the income off of that investment is generated,” Henkes said. “Really, in a sense, we are competing against ourselves.” 

However, even still, Henkes says the organization has made “well qualified, well cultivated” donation requests totaling more than $9 million. None of those requests have led to donations.

“We’re trying to raise money for the operating budget. At the same time, we’ve got this wonderful opportunity to raise $10 million to create a $20 million endowment, which would solve the funding need once and for all,” Henkes said. “The priority right now is meeting month-to-month obligations and keeping the lights on, and not losing staff and having to rebuild if we do lose staff, so the pressure is on us right now.”

The organization is turning to Wisconsin lawmakers for some help with addressing its funding gaps by eliminating the match requirement or finding a way to release some of the state funding to support its operating budget.

In a letter to lawmakers, WisconsinEye identified three alternative routes they could take:

• Provide annual funding of $1 million dollars per year to fund and maintain WisconsinEye’s live and produced content; 
• Provide $1 million per year for each of the next three years, carrying WisconsinEye through the 2027-28 budget cycle; 
•  Provide $1 million for 2026 and have the next Legislature consider the 2027-28 WisconsinEye Budget Request. 

Under the third option, the 2027-28 session would not be broadcast until funds are appropriated.

Henkes said he and the rest of WisconsinEye’s management are hopeful that lawmakers will be open to helping. He said there are many champions and supporters of WisconsinEye in the Legislature, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton). He also noted that bipartisan effort led lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers during the budget process to extend the availability of the $10 million. 

“This is not like we’re asking for new money. This money has already been earmarked for WisconsinEye. We’re simply asking for release of those funds, or part of those funds, in a way different from the endowment,” Henkes said. “The best case scenario would be if the Legislature would release a minimum of one year, so $1 million, essentially to carry us forward, and we can focus 100% over the next several months through June, to really hammer down and see if we can’t raise some endowment dollars. We think that’s a very viable option, and we’re hopeful.” 

Henkes said WisconsinEye provides accountability for the state government — providing a view of how decisions are made that affect every citizen and community. He said that is the message the fundraising team is taking to potential donors. 

“There’s this current cry out there right now — and a legitimate cry — to save our democracy, and that is a painting that is being colored by different voices,” Henkes said. “Some of those voices are saying we need election integrity. Those who are eligible to vote should have every opportunity, and we need to guard against those who don’t. We need to guard against gerrymandered legislative districts. We need to tone down the partisan rhetoric and all this negative campaign stuff.” 

WisconsinEye is able to meet those demands, he argued. 

“At the heart of all that is WisconsinEye and providing transparency and access to what really happens,” Henkes said. “What we are is a network where truth takes its rightful place. If you really want to know what happened, without partisan spin, without sensational headlines, then you come to WisconsinEye.”

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(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court sent a pair of challenges to the state’s congressional maps to three-judge panels Tuesday.

(The Center Square) – The average price per gallon of gas is $2.73 heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the American Automobile Association.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin had two gun incidents, including a death after a self-inflicted gunshot, during the opening weekend of deer-hunting season, which runs from Nov. 22-30.

(The Center Square) – The Slender Man stabber could be facing years behind bars once she returns to Wisconsin.

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The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s Ron Smith has been named the 2025 IDEA Champion of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Southeastern Wisconsin.

This honor, presented as part of National Philanthropy Day, recognizes leaders whose work advances Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in the philanthropic and nonprofit community.

NNS was celebrated alongside other changemakers on Nov. 20 during a special event that spotlighted individuals whose generosity, leadership and commitment are shaping a stronger, more connected southeastern Wisconsin.

In the nomination, the writers highlighted NNS’s mission-driven journalism that amplifies underrepresented voices, deepens public understanding and builds bridges across Milwaukee’s most diverse neighborhoods. 

NNS has continued to model what equitable, community-centered journalism looks like in practice: reporting that listens first, collaborates deeply and informs with heart and integrity.

Smith, the executive director of NNS, is an award-winning journalist who served as the managing editor for news at USA TODAY before returning to Milwaukee.

Smith also worked as the deputy managing editor for daily news and production at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he oversaw the breaking news hub and production desks and was the key point person for print story selections and workflow.

He also has been an editor at The Oregonian, the Los Angeles Times and Newsday and has edited three Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom projects. In 2024, he was inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club’s Media Hall of Fame.

Other honorees included:

Brian A. McCarty, Philanthropist of the Year

Brenda Skelton, Volunteer of the Year

Nazaria Hooks, Philanthropic Youth of Today

Kelley McCaskill, Fundraising Professional of the Year

Froedtert Health & Medical College of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Organization Philanthropy Award

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service named 2025 IDEA Champion of the Year is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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• Eve Galanter created the Wisconsin Civics Games as a way to get high school students civically engaged.
  
• The quiz-show style contest first held in 2019 has been coordinated by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and has grown annually. 
  
• The competition has gotten to be such a large endeavor that WNA leaders asked the Universities of Wisconsin to take the reins. 
  
• The contest fits with the university system’s strategic plan, and Galanter is excited to see how the games expand in the coming years. 

It’s been nearly a decade since Eve Galanter, a retired teacher and reporter in Madison, read the news story that led her to start a statewide competition to get high schoolers excited about government. 

Galanter, now 84, had just read a Wisconsin State Journal article headlined “All three school board incumbents running unopposed.”

“I looked at that and I thought, ‘Are they really doing such a fabulous job, or is no one interested? Does no one have any idea what might be involved in being on a school board or a city council or a village or town board?”

Running unopposed is a modern norm in some Wisconsin public offices. Across the state’s 10 most populous counties, less than a quarter of races for county board supervisor were contested in 2020, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Studies show a growing number of people in the United States and across the world can’t answer basic questions about how the government works. U.S. schools cut back on civics education decades ago. In Wisconsin, students can graduate high school without taking a single course on the subject, though they must pass a civics test.

For two years Galanter mulled ways to get more Wisconsinites interested in running for local office. She settled on a quiz game where high school students across the state would test their knowledge of democracy and rights for the chance to win college scholarships.  

“If people understood how government worked, then surely they would be more interested in public service as a future occupation,” said Galanter, who served on the Madison City Council, ran former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s Madison office and used to open all her public presentations with the same line: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

In 2018, she pitched her idea to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, a membership organization of the state’s papers, figuring their publications could get the word out across the state.

The association agreed, and the Wisconsin Civics Games were born. Soon staff were making plans for regional playoffs and a state final at the Capitol where members of the winning team would each receive $2,000 in scholarships. 

Since then, teams from 76 high schools have competed, and interest continues to grow. This year’s regional playoffs, held in April, drew 205 students — twice as many as the first year. 

The competition has grown so much, in fact, that it’s too big for the five staff members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to handle. They’re now handing the reins to the Universities of Wisconsin, which has sponsored the event since its inception.

“It needs to continue to grow, but … it’s a really big project,” said Beth Bennett, executive director of the association. “We just needed to find a home for it where somebody could take it to the next level.” 

The games will be overseen by the university system’s Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue, which will soon become the Office of Civic Engagement, said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Separately, that office will host civic education workshops for teachers across the state over the next three years, funded by a $1.1 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s American History & Civics Seminars program.

“This is consistent with our strategic plan focusing on freedom of expression, civil dialogue and really having students learn more about civics, which is important to our state and our nation,” Rothman said of taking the lead on the games. “So we are really excited about this opportunity.”

‘A republic, if you can keep it’

In preparation for the first Wisconsin Civics Games, Galanter pulled out a legal pad and began jotting questions. “What are the five freedoms identified in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?” “In 1982, Wisconsin was the first state to outlaw what type of discrimination?”

By the time she was done, she had over 100. 

Then she called school principals across the state to urge them to field teams. She contacted presidents of University of Wisconsin campuses to ask them to host playoffs. 

When students began registering, she looked up their local legislators to encourage them to congratulate the constituents and send them a Wisconsin Blue Book. She even wrote to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to ask her to speak at the finals.

“Her scheduler said that she was busy for the next several years,” Galanter said with a laugh, but the Justice agreed to send a letter congratulating the contestants.

“I strongly believe that the future of our nation depends upon your ability to practice democratic principles as thoughtful, informed citizens and public servants,” Sotomayor wrote. 

Sotomayor went on to recount the story of Benjamin Franklin leaving the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he had just helped draft the new U.S. Constitution. 

“Benjamin Franklin was asked what sort of government he and his fellow framers had created. Dr. Franklin famously replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ By working to expand your civic knowledge in preparation for this tournament, you have begun the important undertaking of keeping our republic strong and vibrant,” Sotomayor wrote.

Galanter knew the games were a success when she overheard a comment from a participant at one of the regional playoffs that first year.

“One of the students said, ‘I’m going to go home and tell my parents about this,’” Galanter recalled. “I just thought that was the most wonderful thing: that they were so excited and wanted to share this opportunity.” 

The need for civics education persists today, though studies suggest Americans may be getting more knowledgeable. Each year, the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania asks Americans about the Constitution and the government. In 2022, just 47% could name all three branches of the U.S. government and a full 25% couldn’t name one. Three years later, 70% of Americans could name all three, and just 13% couldn’t name one.

New home, same games

Galanter recently filled a box with the materials and questions she’d prepared for past games and sent it off to Rothman.

“I am so excited that the Universities of Wisconsin will be taking the games to yet a higher level,” Galanter told Wisconsin Watch. She hopes the fact that the universities already have connections with high schools statewide will mean more students will hear about “the opportunities to undertake keeping our republic strong and vibrant.”

The behind-the-scenes shuffling won’t change things for contestants. Teams interested in the 2026 games can register for free through March 1 to compete and receive study materials. Regional playoffs will be held online April 8-9, and the finals, which are open to the public, will be held on May 1. For more information, visit wnanews.com/wisconsin-civics-games.

But while no changes are planned for the 2026 games, at least one could be coming in the future. When the games returned in 2022 after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the regional playoffs moved online. Rothman hopes they might eventually return to UW campuses. 

“I’m sure, as things go along, we will look for ways to continue to improve and upgrade the competition, but it’s a terrific competition today,” said Rothman, who attended the finals in May. 

“You see the engagement of those high school students, and you talk to them and you find out what their future plans are and the amount of work that they have put in, along with their faculty advisors,” Rothman said. 

“You can see it in those students’ eyes: They’re going to be active and engaged in their communities going forward, and that’s good for all of us.”

How a Madison woman’s question sparked a growing statewide civics contest is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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