According to the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General report, 94 percent of VA facilities this year reported severe occupational staffing shortages for medical officer positions.
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New data from Pew shows that people don’t trust each other as much as they used to, and Wisconsin is falling behind trust levels compared to other parts of the country.
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The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Superior Fire Department this month are planning a cultural prescribed burn on the spit of land jutting out into Lake Superior. Called Ishkode, which means “good fire” in Ojibwe, the burn will clear invasive species, return nutrients to the soil and help native plants thrive while honoring the sacred relationship between the Ojibwe people and the land.
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Executive director Trish Kilpin in the DOJ’s Office of School Safety promotes the department’s Speak Up, Speak Out program for reporting threats to school safety.
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A federal judge has ordered Wisconsin to give back pay to disabled workers who were denied unemployment over the past decade.
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A Wisconsin man is among employees fired by the Environmental Protection Agency in recent days after signing a letter opposing the Trump administration’s policies.
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The Hmong American Immersion School officially opened its doors to students Tuesday. The public charter school is housed inside Johnston Elementary School and has students from 4K through fourth grade.
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The former director of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, who stepped down after President Donald Trump claimed to have fired her, will run the Milwaukee Art Museum.
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Ingredients Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F In a large bowl, drizzle the sliced zucchini and squash with olive oil. Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, sea salt […]
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Members of the public attend a hearing over Enbridge Line 5. (Photo courtesy of Devon Young Cupery)
An administrative law judge in Madison heard arguments Wednesday in a case contesting Wisconsin’s approval of Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 pipeline reroute. Members of the public testified, followed by an expert witness in geology and hydrology, who questioned aspects of the reroute plan.
The lawsuit, brought by Clean Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates (on behalf of the Sierra Club of Wisconsin, the League of Woman Voters of Wisconsin and 350 Wisconsin), challenges permits allowing the Canadian oil company to move forward with rerouting the Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River reservation in northern Wisconsin. Wednesday’s hearing followed the opening day of testimony in Ashland and was one of a series of hearings scheduled through early October. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is challenging Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for a Line 5 reroute, which was designed to fix a legal problem with the existing pipeline after a federal court found that it trespasses on tribal land. Attorneys for the Band, environmental groups and Enbridge testified at the hearing.
Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline has been a polarizing issue, with one side arguing that it’s crucial for energy independence and jobs in Wisconsin, while the other points to a history of leaky and ruptured Enbridge pipelines causing ecological damage, a national need to transition away from fossil fuels, and the company’s years-long trespass on the Bad River Band’s sovereign land.
Public testimony Wednesday drew people from both sides of the debate. “The loss of Line 5 would have devastating impacts on the propane industry,” said Connor Kaeb, an associate manager with GROWMARK, which Kaeb said is Wisconsin’s fifth largest provider of propane. Kaeb stressed that farmers and northern Wisconsin communities depend on affordable and easily accessible propane. Shutting down Line 5 could cause “immense strain on the entire propane system in the region,” he said.
Tabitha Faber, who spoke against the pipeline, said that the reroute would cross more than 100 waterways, and that even though it avoids the Bad River Band’s reservation, that the pipeline remains in the Bad River watershed, continuing to endanger the Band’s natural resources. Faber recalled visiting sites along the reroute path and seeing bald eagles and wood turtle habitats. Faber also said that the pipeline’s construction and operation could wash invasive species into new and sensitive habitats, including within the Bad River reservation. Steve Boas, a Madison resident, also spoke against the project, calling the more than 70-year-old pipeline “an accident waiting to happen.”
The American Petroleum Institute called the relocation project “essential to maintaining Wisconsin’s energy reliability.” The Institute claimed that rerouting Line 5 will create more than 700 jobs, adding that the pipeline has heated homes and businesses, aided agriculture and enabled transportation for decades “without any issue.” In contrast, Third Act Wisconsin — a group of older Americans concerned about climate and democracy — echoed concerns that Line 5 would threaten high-quality wetlands, the Bad River watershed as a whole and even Lake Superior.
Access to clean water is a crucial asset for Wisconsin, environmental groups testified. Tourism generates $378 million in Bayfield, Ashland, Douglas, and Iron counties, while also supporting 2,846 jobs, all in the area near Line 5, according to Clean Wisconsin.
“For decades, the Bad River Band has been sounding the alarm about the unprecedented risks posed by Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline,” Ellen Ferwerda, who leads Third Act Wisconsin’s work on Line 5, said in a statement. Despite “a myriad of scientists, economists, environmental groups, and citizens” who’ve spoken out against the pipeline, “the DNR summarily dismissed these concerns and issued a permit allowing Enbridge to begin construction of a reroute around the Bad River Reservation.”
“It feels like the Bad River Band is being punished for standing up for their legal right to protect the watershed their culture and livelihood has relied on for centuries,” she added. Julia Issacs, co-facilitator of Third Act Wisconsin, said in a statement that “we should be decommissioning old and dangerous pipelines, not investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure.”
Most of Wednesday’s hearing was dedicated to grilling William Joseph Bonin, a licensed senior geologist with Midwest Geological Consultants. He produced a report in May 2025 that pushed back on assessments made by experts from the DNR and Enbridge.
Bonin raised a multitude of concerns, particularly around how construction of the pipeline could affect springs, aquifers and groundwater. He pointed to the presence of glacial sediments, which make it difficult to predict how water flow could be affected. Bonin recalled one 2018 project in Minnesota, where a gas pipeline was installed along a roadway near adjacent springs. The springs disappeared, and then other springs showed up in a parking lot on a private property, he said. Springs and aquifers that help feed nearby wetlands and other adjacent habitats could be affected by pipeline construction, he testified, and cutting trenches to construct the pipeline could also lead to increased erosion.
Bonin said the risk of aquifer breaches is higher than what had been assessed, and questioned how the presence of already fractured rock layers could be altered by the use of blasting in constructing the reroute. He also pointed to the possibility of “thermal impacts” to waterways, including high-quality trout streams which are sensitive to temperature changes. “Blasting is going to have a larger impact than the expert reports discussed and the reason for that is the already fractured bedrock was not taken into consideration in the reports,” Bonin said. “The effects of blasts, especially on fracture networks, may be permanent,” he added. “The basted rock is never going to be restored.” This, in turn, could have a ripple effect on how water moves and behaves in the ground around the pipeline reroute, he testified.
Attorneys representing the DNR and Enbridge took turns cross-examining Bonin. They discussed knowledge gaps Bonin had regarding the wetland aspects of the permits, and argued that methods like blasting and trenching are very common construction practices for all sorts of projects from pipelines to roads. Enbridge’s attorney pointed out that, while Bonin has reviewed and analyzed the effects of blasting, Bonin himself has not worked in the field.
Another hearing in Madison is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 12, at the Hill Farms State Office Building. On Sept. 15 and 19, there will be hearings in Ashland at the Northwood Technical College Conference Center, followed by more hearings in Madison on Sept. 22, Sept. 26, Sept. 29 and Oct. 3.
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A health care worker fills a syringe with the MMR vaccine at a vaccine clinic in Texas in March. Florida announced plans to end all state vaccine mandates, while three Western states — California, Oregon and Washington — are forming an alliance to issue their own vaccine guidelines amid federal upheaval. (Photo by Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)
The Democratic governors of California, Oregon and Washington said Wednesday they are forming an alliance to coordinate vaccine recommendations for their states.
Meanwhile, Florida announced plans to become the first state to phase out all vaccine mandates, including ending requirements that kids be vaccinated against dangerous diseases before enrolling in schools.
Public health experts have relied on vaccines, including school mandates, for decades to limit the spread of communicable diseases and keep kids and adults safe.
The contrasting moves come amid turmoil at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where several top leaders resigned last week to protest efforts by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to dismiss CDC Director Susan Monarez for pushing back against Kennedy’s vaccine policies.
Accompanied by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo said at a news conference Wednesday that vaccine mandates are “wrong” and “immoral,” the Florida Phoenix reported.
“Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God,” Ladapo said.
“They do not have the right to tell you what you put in your body. They don’t have the right to tell you what your kids have to put in [their] body. They do not have the right. Do not give it to them. Take it away from them. And we’re going to be starting that here in Florida.”
The Florida Department of Health can eliminate some vaccine mandates on its own, Ladapo said, but the Florida legislature would have to scrap other ones. He did not mention specific vaccines, but repeated that his goal was to end “all of them. Every last one of them.”
“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said.
The goal of the new West Coast Health Alliance, governors said, is to disseminate evidence-based recommendations about who should get immunized, as well as to provide vaccine education throughout the three states. In the coming weeks, the states will coordinate and finalize immunization guidelines that are in line with leading medical organizations.
In their announcements, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson criticized recent Trump administration actions, including the firing of scientists and the upheaval at the CDC.
“When federal agencies abandon evidence-based recommendations in favor of ideology, we cannot continue down that same path,” Washington Secretary of Health Dennis Worsham said in a statement.
Worsham added that “public health at its core is about prevention — preventing illness, preventing the spread of disease, and preventing early, avoidable deaths.”
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted access to updated COVID-19 shots. In June, Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the vaccine advisory committee at the CDC, replacing them with some members who are vaccine skeptics. Many states rely on the committee to form vaccination guidelines.
And in May, Kennedy rescinded recommendations for children and pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — sidestepping the usual process for issuing official recommendations.
The three Western states said the “dismantling” of the CDC has created “a vacuum of clear, evidence-based vaccine guidance,” hampering health care providers, disrupting manufacturers’ production plans and creating uncertainty for families.
In 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three states, along with Nevada, created a similar workgroup that emphasized the scientific rigor behind the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to boost confidence in the shot.
“President Donald Trump’s mass firing of CDC doctors and scientists — and his blatant politicization of the agency — is a direct assault on the health and safety of the American people,” the joint statement from the three governors’ offices said.
“The CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences. California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”
Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Women who say they were abused by disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein raise their hands as attorney Bradley Edwards speaks at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — As survivors of abuse inflicted by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein pleaded on Capitol Hill Wednesday for the release of investigative files, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie accused House GOP leaders of using “the oldest trick in the swamp” to avoid the issue.
An unusually large crowd gathered outside the U.S. House to hear from the women, who described emotional manipulation and physical coercion, beginning as early as age 14 in some cases, at the hands of Epstein and convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
The speakers included family of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who pursued charges against Maxwell and died earlier this year by suicide.
In speech after speech, the victims urged Congress and President Donald Trump to make public what federal authorities uncovered about the reach of Epstein’s abuse, and specifically voiced support for Massie’s bipartisan effort that would bypass House leadership and force the release of volumes of records.
“Congress must choose — will you continue to protect predators, or will you finally protect survivors?” said Lisa Phillips, who was victimized by Epstein on his private Caribbean island and now hosts a podcast about healing after abuse.
The government’s investigation into Epstein’s widespread sexual abuse has dogged and splintered House Republicans since July, when Trump’s administration declared it would not share any further information on the powerful and well-connected financier. Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors.
Epstein surrounded himself with celebrities and politicians, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
Trump campaigned on releasing what he and many describe as the “Epstein files,” and for years many of his supporters, including some now in his administration, fixated on conspiracy theories about the scandal.
“There are real victims to this criminal enterprise, and the perpetrators are being protected because they’re rich and powerful and political donors to the establishment here in Washington, D.C. So today, we’re standing with these survivors,” Massie said at the outdoors press conference.
Massie and House Democrat Ro Khanna of California need just two more Republican signatures on a discharge petition that would trigger the release of the Epstein case file, leapfrogging House leadership.
House Speaker Mike Johnson instead urged his party Wednesday to support a symbolic measure approving an already ongoing GOP-led committee probe.
Khanna, and GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, welcomed the victims to Capitol Hill alongside Massie.
“This is the most important fight we can wage here in Congress, fighting for innocent people that never received justice, and the women behind me have never received justice. And do you want to know why? It’s because Jeffrey Epstein somehow was able to walk among the most rich, powerful people,” Greene said.
Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Nancy Mace of South Carolina joined Massie and Greene in signing the petition. All Democrats in the House, which has a 219-212 split, are expected to sign.
With the U.S. Capitol as their backdrop, numerous women shared stories of being lured, some at just 14 years old, by money and opportunities Epstein offered to them.
Annie Farmer said she was 16 when she and her sister were flown to New Mexico to spend a weekend with Epstein and Maxwell, where she said they were assaulted and photographed. Her sister reported their sexual abuse to authorities later that year.
“I am now 46 years old. Thirty years later, we still do not know why that report wasn’t properly investigated, or why Epstein and his associates were allowed to harm hundreds, if not thousands, of other girls and young women.
“We have never been told whether those images were found when they discovered a large amount of child sexual abuse material on his property,” said Farmer, who testified publicly in both cases against Epstein and Maxwell.
Farmer said for many years it felt like Epstein’s abusive behavior was “an open secret” and that his network of powerful friends “chose to look the other way because it benefited them.”
Farmer called for a thorough public review of the government’s findings in the Epstein case.
“At a time with record-high levels of distrust in our institutions and a perception that there are two Americas — one for those with power and privilege and one for everyone else — passing this Epstein transparency bill is one important step that can be taken to prove to Americans that the government does not side with sexual perpetrators,” she said.
Jena-Lisa Jones told the large crowd that Epstein began abusing her when she was 14.
“I know that I was just a little kid, but sometimes I still feel like it is my fault that this happened,” she said.
“If you’re a member of Congress and you’re listening to all of us speak here today, please really listen to us. Please vote for this bill to be passed. Please recognize how important it is for transparency relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, this does not matter.”
Jones then directly appealed to Trump: “Please, President Trump, pass this bill and help us. Make us feel like our voices are finally being heard.”
Trump’s past relationship with Epstein has been under a microscope since July. The president sued the Wall Street Journal for reporting on a 50th birthday card Trump gave to Epstein. The card allegedly featured a cryptic message and a doodle of a naked woman with Trump’s signature mimicking pubic hair.
The Journal also reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed the president in May that his name appeared in the Epstein case files. The context in which his name appeared is unclear.
Trump has denied the reports.
Trump dismissed questions about releasing the Epstein case files when asked by reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon.
“This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump said while sitting alongside Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki during their previously planned meeting.
“What they’re trying to do with the Epstein hoax is getting people to talk about that instead of speaking about the tremendous success like ending seven wars. I ended seven wars, nobody’s going to talk about (that) because they’re going to talk about the Epstein whatever,” Trump continued. Trump did not detail specifically which wars.
“I understand that we were subpoenaed to give files, and I understand we’ve given thousands of pages of files, and I know that no matter what you do, it’s going to keep going.”
The GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released roughly 33,000 pages Tuesday night related to the government’s Epstein investigation. But the collection was quickly dismissed by many observers as duplicates and items that were already public.
“I appreciate the efforts of my colleague, James Comer, who’s leading the Oversight Committee,” Massie said of his fellow Kentucky lawmaker. “They may find some information, but they’re allowing the (Department of Justice) to curate all of the information that the DOJ is giving them. If you’ve looked at the pages they’ve released so far, they’re heavily redacted. Some pages are entirely redacted, and 97% of this is already in the public domain.”
Comer’s committee has also subpoenaed testimony from Clinton, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and numerous former Department of Justice officials, from both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Massie told reporters Wednesday that Speaker Johnson urged colleagues not to support the Kentucky Republican’s discharge petition and instead vote for a procedural rule to support the Oversight Committee’s investigation. A committee investigation, however, does not require a floor vote to proceed.
“My message to my colleagues was, ‘Don’t set yourself up.’ Yes, the speaker’s resolution will give you temporary political cover, but there are millions of people watching this,” Massie said.
Members of the House Oversight Committee met with several Epstein victims Tuesday.
Johnson, of Louisiana, said Massie and Khanna’s petition is “moot and unnecessary.”
“The Oversight Committee’s investigation is already ongoing. They’re already producing and putting out there the documents that are covered, the White House is in full compliance. The administration is willfully complying with the subpoenas because they want maximum transparency as well. I talked to the president himself last night, so this is going to be an ongoing effort.”
Jennifer Shutt and Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.
Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in July in New York City. Despite a show of force on immigration raids in cities, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement dropped in August and remain well below the Trump administration’s daily target of 3,000. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Despite the assistance of armed troops in U.S. cities, federal immigration officials recorded fewer daily arrests in August than in July and remain well short of a Trump administration plan for 3,000 arrests a day, according to a new report.
As of Aug. 29, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests averaged 1,055 a day for the month, down 14% from 1,124 a day in July, according to data obtained by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The organization tracks federal immigration data.
“President Trump’s orders recently assigning substantial personnel from the national guard and the U.S. military to target Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. may have been counter-productive in failing to increase total arrests countrywide,” said Susan B. Long, co-founder of TRAC and a professor in the Whitman School of Management, in an e-mail statement.
In a Tuesday decision a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s deployment of Marines and National Guard units to Southern California, where they assisted with immigration and other arrests, was illegal.
In May, Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff, told Fox News that the administration was “looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day and President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would give more financial incentives to state and local police to cooperate with ICE, including reimbursement for salary and benefits for officers trained in the 287(g) program to assist ICE in making arrests, and “performance awards” for “successful location of illegal aliens.”
“By joining forces with ICE, you’re not just gaining access to these unprecedented reimbursement opportunities — you’re becoming part of a national effort to ensure the safety of every American family,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said in a statement.
Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and his boss, Gov. Ron DeSantis, want to eliminate all vaccine mandates from Florida law as well as rules and regulations. (Stock photo by Getty Images)
School children, college students, and even nursing home residents would no longer have to be vaccinated against infectious diseases and viruses if Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and his boss, Gov. Ron DeSantis, have their way.
The DeSantis administration rolled out the proposed change on Wednesday and, if they’re successful, the state would be the first in the nation to completely eliminate vaccine requirements that many health experts credit with nearly eliminating some diseases.
“Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God,” said Ladapo, attacking the government mandates.
“It’s wrong, it’s immoral. They do not have the right to tell you what you put in your body. They don’t have the right to tell you what your kids have to put in [their] body. They do not have the right. Do not give it to them. Take it away from them. And we’re going to be starting that here in Florida.”
Neither Ladapo nor DeSantis discussed with legislative leadership their intent in the 2026 legislative session to push to eliminate vaccine mandates from the books before making the announcement.
The surgeon general praised the Legislature and went so far as saying he “loves our lawmakers.” But Ladapo issued an ultimatum.
“They’re going to have to make decisions, right? That’s the way that this becomes possible. So, people are going to have to make a decision. People are going to have to, have to choose a side. And I am telling you right now that you know the moral side is, it’s so simple.”
Patients would remain free to take shots if they like.
Democratic officials quickly blasted the announcement, deeming it a “reckless” decision that could lead to a drop in those immunized in the state. Florida has already seen its immunization rate for school-aged children tick down in recent years, although more than three-quarters of school children have received shots.
“This is ridiculous. Florida already has broad medical and religious exemptions for childhood vaccines, so any family that has a sincere opposition to vaccination can opt-out. Removing the mandate wholesale is dangerous, anti-science, and anti-child. Nobody wants to go back to the days of iron lungs,” Senate Democratic leader Sen. Lori Berman, from Boynton Beach, said in a statement.
“Republicans have gone from entertaining anti-science conspiracy theories to fully endorsing an anti-science health policy. As a member of the Senate Health Policy Committee, I’ll be doing everything in my power to protect our kids from these reckless attempts to harm them.”
Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat from Miami Gardens, also criticized the announcement.
“Ending vaccine mandates poses a grave public health risk and will likely lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases. This reckless move jeopardizes the health and lives of countless Floridians — from children to seniors — especially those too young to be vaccinated or those with compromised immune systems. The DeSantis administration is actively undermining public health, making communities more vulnerable to outbreaks and increasing the burden on healthcare systems.”
Public Citizen’s Health Research Group Director Robert Steinbrook said ending all vaccine mandates is a “recipe for disaster” and goes in the wrong direction. He urged the Legislature to stand against the DeSantis administration.
“High immunization rates against dangerous infectious diseases such as measles and polio protect individuals as well as their communities. If this plan moves forward, Florida will terminate one of the most effective means of limiting the spread of infectious diseases and embolden U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to wreak even more havoc on vaccinations nationally. The Florida Legislature and state residents must vociferously reject these plans,” Steinbrook said in a prepared statement.
Florida law contains a number of immunization requirements for the young and the old.
Immunization for poliomyelitis, diphtheria, rubeola, rubella, pertussis, mumps, and tetanus are required for entry and attendance in Florida schools, childcare facilities, and family daycare homes. The state allows exemptions for valid medical reasons but also for religious and certain belief systems and, in some cases, allows personal exemptions for philosophical beliefs.
Florida law also requires school districts to develop and disseminate parent guides that include information about the importance of student health and available immunizations and vaccinations, including, but not limited to, recommended immunization schedules in accordance with federal recommendations.
The school guide must include detailed information regarding the causes, symptoms, and transmission of meningococcal disease and the availability, effectiveness, known contraindications, and appropriate age for the administration of any required or recommended vaccine against that infection.
The Florida Education Association issued a statement warning that changing the rules would endanger students and faculty.
“When leaders talk about pulling back vaccines, they’re talking about disrupting student learning and making schools less safe. State leaders say they care about reducing chronic absenteeism and keeping kids in school — but reducing vaccinations does the opposite, putting our children’s health and education at risk,” the union said.
“We’re reviewing the potential impacts on public schools and our communities. But, make no mistake, FEA will continue to stand up for our students, our educators, and our public schools.”
College students who reside in on-campus housing must provide documentation of vaccinations against meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B. Again, the law contains exemptions and students who refuse the vaccines are required to sign waivers.
Nursing homes are required to assess residents within five business days post admission of eligibility for pneumococcal vaccinations or revaccinations. If indicated, the resident must be be vaccinated or revaccinated within 60 days after admission, in accordance with the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, subject to exemptions for medical contraindications and religious or personal beliefs.
Immunization may not be provided to a resident who provides documentation that he or she has been immunized. A resident may elect to receive the immunization from his or her personal physician and, if so, the resident needs to provide proof of the immunization to the facility. The agency may adopt and enforce any rules necessary to comply.
The 2026 legislative session begins in January, which is when the DeSantis administration will work with the Legislature in hopes of accomplishing its goal. But the Department of Health will also revise rules for a handful of vaccines that are mandated in rule but not in statue.
A substantially scaled-back effort to address vaccine mandates fell short during the 2025 session.
The DOH this spring championed a broad bill (HB 1299) continuing a law initially passed in 2021 that banned businesses, government entities, and education institutions from denying people entry or service based on vaccination status or requiring people to wear masks. HB 1299 extended the ban permanently.
The bill expanded the Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities statutes to prohibit providers and facilities from denying admission, care, or services to a patient based solely on vaccination status.
Although the House agreed to the language, passing HB 1299 by a near-unanimous vote, state Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Republican from Stuart whose late husband was a physician, warned that the requirement would open doctors to increased liability. Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Hollywood lawmaker with no party affiliation, said the mandate to treat patients would have contradicted a law DeSantis championed that guarantees Florida physicians legal protections to not treat patients on the basis of their conscience.
The Senate deleted the language before passing the proposal and the House ultimately agreed to the Senate’s version.
Ladapo is a well known vaccine skeptic. He emphasized parents’ rights to send their kids to school unvaccinated in spring after a measles case in a Miami-Dade County high school. He altered a DOH COVID-19 vaccine study to exaggerate the risks of cardiac death for young men
His positions on vaccinations aren’t the only reason he’s become a public health lightning rod.
The DOH last month announced 21 cases of Campylobacter and E. coli infections tied to raw milk consumption in the central and northeast portions of the state, and said that seven people had been hospitalized. Six of the cases were reported in children under age 10. Nevertheless, Ladapo didn’t warn against consuming raw milk.
Two days later, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson issued a statement encouraging residents to stick to pasteurized milk.
And in 2021, Ladapo made national headlines when he refused to don a mask during a meeting with state Sen. Tina Polsky, who was being treated for cancer and requested that he wear one. At the time, Ladapo was up for Senate confirmation.
Polsky, a Democrat from Boca Raton, lambasted Ladapo’s announcement Wednesday.
“Vaccines are crucial for our children because they protect them from deadly diseases and keep entire communities safe through herd immunity,” she said in a written statement.
Diseases, including polio, that once destroyed our children’s health and futures, will have the chance to return under this dangerous policy change. I voted against Dr. Ladapo’s confirmation in 2023 because he has a habit of misrepresenting science and making decisions that affect the health of Floridians. He remains determined to prioritize political dogma over smart health decisions.”
Ladapo’s announcement dovetails with DeSantis’ news that he has created a Florida Make America Healthy Again Commission that will recommend the integration of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again effort. The Florida Commission will be co-chaired by first lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.
Meanwhile, at the end of August, the Food and Drug Administration approved updated vaccines for COVID-19. While previous versions of the vaccine were recommended to individuals 6 months of age and older, access to the FDA’s newly approved vaccines is limited to individuals 65 and older and individuals between the age of 5 and 64 with an underlying condition placing them at high risk for severe COVID-19.
Florida Phoenix reporter Jay Waagmeester contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with reaction from lawmakers, the Florida Education Association, and the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group.
This story was originally produced by Florida Phoenix, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
A courtroom and a judge's gavel. (Getty Images creative)
The Milwaukee County judge accused of helping a man evade arrest by federal immigration authorities this spring is set to go to trial in December.
Judge Hannah Dugan, who has been charged with federal felony and misdemeanor counts, said on Wednesday she would not appeal a U.S. District Court judge’s decision not to dismiss the case against her — though she reserved the right to appeal later. On Wednesday, federal Judge Lynn Adelman scheduled Dugan’s trial to begin Dec. 15.
Dugan’s case has become a national example of the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on officials in other branches of government at the local, state and federal levels who are perceived as working against Trump’s aggressive immigration policies. Her April arrest drew widespread condemnation as a threat to judicial independence and criticism of federal Department of Justice officials for publicizing the case before she was even indicted.
The case stems from what federal prosecutors allege was a deliberate attempt to conceal Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican immigrant, from federal authorities. Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s courtroom for an appearance in a misdemeanor battery case against him when federal agents arrived with an administrative warrant — which only allowed the agents to operate in the public areas of the Milwaukee County courthouse, not within Dugan’s courtroom.
Dugan directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a side door of the courtroom, which led them to the same hallway where the agents were standing but not directly past them. An agent rode down in the elevator with Flores-Ruiz and he was later arrested on the street.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks alongside President Donald Trump at a news conference on May 12. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Public health and access to lifesaving vaccines are on the line in a high-stakes leadership battle at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire CDC director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. The firing marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-vaccine, anti-science agenda that will have profound effects on the lives and health of all Americans, public health leaders say.
Kennedy wants to see the Pfizer and Moderna messenger RNA-based covid-19 vaccines pulled from the market, according to two people familiar with the planning who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the press. He’s also set his sights on restricting or halting access to some pediatric immunizations, some public health leaders say.
His actions have already reduced federal help to states, creating the potential for more infectious disease outbreaks and incidences of foodborne illness. Some public health leaders say they expect Kennedy will use the CDC to publicize health information that isn’t grounded in science.
“It’s crazy season,” said Richard Besser, former acting CDC director during the Obama administration. “People want information they can trust to make critical decisions about their health. Until now, we’ve been able to say look at the CDC. Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that anymore.”
HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard disputed the criticism.
“Secretary Kennedy remains firmly committed to delivering on President Trump’s promise to Make America Healthy Again, dismantling the failed status quo that fueled a nationwide chronic disease epidemic and eroded public trust in our public health institutions,” Hilliard said in a statement.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Kennedy and Commissioner of Food and Drugs Marty Makary have reiterated that covid shots will remain available for Americans who need and want them.
“The Trump administration is restoring Gold Standard Science as the sole guiding principle of health decision-making,” Desai said in an email. “Only the Fake News could ignore these facts to continue pushing Democrat talking points and hysteria.”
The shake-up began last week, when Kennedy sought to fire Monarez, a microbiologist who’d just been confirmed by the Senate in July. She refused to leave the position, and her lawyers said Kennedy sought to oust her because she wouldn’t fire senior staff or follow unscientific directives. Four top career officials at the CDC resigned on Aug. 27 in protest.
Career staffers at the CDC and some public health groups had hoped President Donald Trump would intervene and put the brakes on Kennedy. Instead, the White House backed Kennedy, saying Monarez was fired.
Trump on Sept. 1 demanded that drug companies show that covid vaccines work, in a further sign he’s not set on defending the shots.
“I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” Trump said on Truth Social.
Operation Warp Speed was the initiative that Trump himself announced in 2020 to accelerate the development of covid vaccines, including the Pfizer and Moderna shots. The vaccines have proved safe and effective in multiple clinical trials; a study published in JAMA Health Forum estimated that they saved about 2.5 million lives worldwide.
CDC staffers are worried the agency’s next director won’t fight for science, according to an employee who asked not to be identified for fear of professional retaliation.
Trump’s support for Monarez’s ouster was a watershed moment that signaled there are no checks on Kennedy and his agenda, public health advocates say. Leading congressional Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Kennedy’s firing. Hundreds of HHS staffers have also implored Congress to intervene, saying Kennedy threatens science and public health. He is slated to testify Sept. 4 before the Senate Finance Committee.
Kennedy said in a message to CDC staff that his focus is on boosting the agency’s reputation and leadership. The Atlanta-based agency was already reeling after the Trump administration pushed out thousands of its staff and a gunman who reportedly believed the covid vaccine had caused him health problems fired hundreds of rounds at its campus last month, killing a police officer.
“The CDC must once again be the world’s leader in communicable disease prevention. Together, we will restore trust,” Kennedy wrote. “Together, we will rebuild this institution into what it was always meant to be: a guardian of America’s health and security.” He said his deputy, Jim O’Neill, would serve as acting CDC director.
Nine former CDC directors or acting directors who served under both Republicans and Democrats criticized Kennedy in the aftermath of the Monarez firing, saying in an op-ed in The New York Times that the impact on public health is “unacceptable, and it should alarm every American, regardless of political leanings.”
HHS spokesperson Hilliard took exception with this point, listing four covid vaccines that continue to get the nod for use.
However, the Food and Drug Administration last
week approved updated covid mRNA boosters only for people 65 or older and others at high risk of complications. The CDC has also stopped recommending the shots for healthy children and pregnant women. Previously, the shots had been advised for anyone 6 months or older.
As a result, many people who don’t meet the criteria but want the vaccine will have to get prescriptions or consult with their doctors. Insurance may not always cover the shots, which can run around $200. Major drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS have said the shots may not be available at all pharmacies and may require a prescription.
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Aug. 19 broke with the administration, recommending that all young children get the covid vaccine. Insurance still may not cover the cost in some cases and parents could face obstacles in getting the vaccines without a prescription.
Kennedy and his team changed official covid vaccine recommendations even though there have been no new safety issues. A dose of the 2023-24 covid mRNA vaccine prevented significant illness and death across all age groups, according to a study published in August led by a University of Michigan researcher. The virus killed about 1,000 people a week in the U.S. in mid-January, and cases are rising again and expected to accelerate this winter.
Kennedy has handpicked a vaccine advisory committee for the CDC that is reviewing mRNA-based covid vaccines, which he falsely claimed in 2021 were “the deadliest vaccine ever made.” The covid vaccine review is being led by Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has said without evidence that the shots cause serious harm, including death. If the committee recommends against them, Kennedy and the FDA could then begin the process of removing them from the market.
Taking mRNA-based covid shots off the market would leave consumers with fewer options for protection. Paxlovid, an antiviral medication that treats the infection in high-risk adults, would be available.
The CDC advisory committee reviewing the covid shots is also probing a long-debunked link between aluminum, used in many childhood immunizations such as those for hepatitis A and pneumonia, and autism or allergies.
The group’s findings are expected to support the erroneous link, some public health officials say. HHS could then require drugmakers to undertake costly reformulations of the shots or stop manufacturing them altogether.
“That would set up the elimination of all childhood vaccines,” Besser said.
The advisory group’s next meeting is set for Sept. 18, although Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has called for the meeting to be indefinitely delayed. Cassidy, a physician who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, voted for Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS secretary after receiving assurances, he said, that the longtime vaccine opponent wouldn’t disrupt the U.S. vaccination system. Kennedy’s promises, Cassidy said, included that he wouldn’t change the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Kennedy removed all of the panel’s members in June and replaced them with his own appointees, including anti-vaccine activists.
Kennedy’s move to put his stamp on the CDC means states that have long relied on the agency’s expertise and help in crises such as disease outbreaks will largely be left to fend for themselves, said Ashish Jha, who served as President Joe Biden’s covid response coordinator from 2022 to 2023.
“States are going to be left on their own,” Jha said. “States will struggle with the CDC incapable and dysfunctional. Our system is not designed for states to go it alone.”
The CDC typically plays a critical role by assisting states with disease surveillance, public health interventions, and outbreak response, especially when a crisis spills across state lines. An outbreak of measles this year led to more than 1,400 cases nationwide, and states including Texas, where the outbreak was identified, struggled to get help from the CDC.
A CDC program that has long tracked pathogens in food has already reduced the number of hazards it looks for from eight to two, which public health leaders say is making it harder to identify outbreaks. Staff overseeing a CDC program that tracks outdoor pollution that can exacerbate asthma also have been cut.
The agency runs a hotline that doctors around the country can call to get treatment and other types of advice. Under Kennedy’s watch, the CDC has had to pare assistance because of staffing reductions, said Wendy Armstrong, vice president at the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“Lives are 100% at stake, no question about it,” Armstrong said. “That you can no longer trust the recommendations out of the CDC is just devastating. It’s appalling to think we can’t trust that information is science-based anymore.”
Kennedy wants to shake up CDC leadership because he sees the agency as the heart of corruption and resistance within the federal health bureaucracy, according to people familiar with his planning. Kennedy has said the agency suffers from malaise and bias.
Many public health leaders, however, view the CDC as under siege by an administration they say is corrupting science for its own ends. HHS staffers signed onto a letter that now has more than 6,800 signatures, saying Kennedy is “endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”
Kennedy has also been fending off mounting criticism of his response to the shooting at the CDC’s headquarters. He responded to the attack on social media, hours later, after first posting pictures of himself fly-fishing.
Some younger staffers are considering leaving and some workers feel like the shooting accelerated Kennedy’s overhaul of the agency, the CDC employee said.
With the battle for control of the CDC still raging, public health leaders are now looking to Congress to put the brakes on Kennedy. Some Republican lawmakers have called for a review of Kennedy’s actions.
“These high profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee,” Cassidy said Aug. 27 on the social platform X. Cassidy had backed Monarez to lead the agency.
Renuka Rayasam, KFF Health News senior correspondent, and Andy Miller contributed to this article.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said Wednesday that the Evers administration is “drunk with power” and is upending a process “that has literally worked for generations.” Vos speaks to reporters in Jan. 2024. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
The Joint Committee on Employment Relations unanimously approved pay raises for state and University of Wisconsin employees Wednesday morning, but not without criticism from the top Assembly Republican of Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to implement them ahead of the committee.
The budget — passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Evers in early July — included a 3% pay increase in the first year of the budget and a 2% increase in the second year. Evers, seeking to get the pay raises to employees as soon as possible, instructed the Department of Administration (DOA) to implement the raises without getting the additional go-ahead from the committee in mid-August.
DOA Deputy Secretary Anne Hanson told the committee that the raises should be reflected in paychecks starting this week.
“When the Wisconsin Supreme Court clarified that the state separation of power doctrine in Evers v. Marklein last year, it became clear that the implementation of raises established and funded by the state budget legislation would no longer necessitate separate approval by a legislative committee under the direction of Gov. Evers,” Hanson said. “DOA staff worked quickly to carry out the law.”
The Evers v. Marklein case centered on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program and projects being blocked by the Joint Finance Committee. The Court found 6-1 that it was unconstitutional for the committee to withhold already appropriated funds for the program.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) complained about Evers’ actions before the committee voted Wednesday, saying the Evers administration is “drunk with power” and is upending a process “that has literally worked for generations.”
“Really seems like rather than trying to be collaborative and go through the normal process where Republicans, Democrats, legislators, executive branch, all sit down and work out a deal, they’re just going to try to impose their will on the state, which will mean unfortunately that during the next budget discussion, it will be dramatically different,” Vos said. “It’s really a shame that the Evers administration has decided to play politics with it and do something which is clearly outside the scope of norm and what should be outside the scope of the law.”
The conflict over the powers of the Legislature and of the executive branch goes beyond the implementation of pay raises. Republicans lawmakers are also trying to stop the implementation of administrative rules by the Evers administration, which was seeking to put some in action without going through the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. Evers in this case cited another recent state Supreme Court decision as clarifying his authority.
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the Democrats on the committee, did not speak to the issue, though Hesselbein said she is concerned that the pay for employees isn’t enough.
“I’m glad we’re doing this adjustment, but I would like to note after a conversation with representatives of hard-working men and women throughout the state providing public services… that the compensation for the average state employee does remain 18% below inflation since 2012,” Hesselbein said. “While this is a small step in the right direction, we have a lot more to do.”
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Prisoners look out of their cell as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center, or CECOT, on March 26, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. The Trump administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations 'Tren De Aragua' and Mara Salvatrucha. (Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court late Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, finding there is no “invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign government and therefore President Donald Trump cannot invoke the wartime law to quickly expel Venezuelan nationals without due process.
The 2-1 ruling rejected the administration’s argument that the Venezuelan migrants were part of an “invasion” to the United States and represents a setback for the president, who invoked the wartime law in March as a pillar of his mass deportation campaign to deport people without permanent legal status.
The decision out of the conservative-leaning 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas is likely to head back to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Appeals Court Judges Leslie Harburd Southwick, nominated by former President George W. Bush, and Irma Carrillo Ramirez, nominated by former President Joe Biden, made up the majority in the case. Judge Andrew Oldham, nominated by Trump, dissented.
“A country’s encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States,” according to the majority in the175-page opinion. “There is no finding that this mass immigration was an armed, organized force or forces.”
The lead attorney on the case, Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, praised the ruling.
“This critical decision makes clear that the president cannot invoke whatever powers he wants,” Gelernt said in a statement. “This is a huge victory for the rule of law.”
Oldham dissented with the majority, arguing that a president’s authority to make the “declaration of an invasion, insurrection, or incursion is Conclusive. Final.”
“And completely beyond the second-guessing powers of unelected federal judges,” Oldham wrote in his dissent.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Tuesday’s decision is not final.
“President Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Unelected judges are undermining the will of the American people. This ruling will not be the final say on this matter. We are confident in our position, and we have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”
In March, President Donald Trump applied the Alien Enemies Act to Venezuelan nationals ages 14 and older who were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang.
He used the proclamation to send more than 200 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador, where they remained for months before being released to the Venezuelan government in a prison exchange this summer.
Trump also designated the Venezuelan gang as a foreign terrorist group earlier this year.
Prior to March, the Alien Enemies Act had been invoked only three times – in the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. The Trump administration applied the law to quickly expel Venezuelan nationals and argued the proclamation allowed for the skirting of due process rights, which judges have rejected.
In April the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the Trump administration to use the wartime law but said those subject to the proclamation needed to have adequate notice to challenge their removal.
In May, a separate Alien Enemies case was sent to the high court, which instructed the 5th Circuit to determine if the Trump administration’s declaration of the wartime law was legal. Tuesday’s decision stemmed from that case.
The decision only applies to the use of the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration can continue to remove people who are not U.S. citizens deemed as foreign threats.
Sabrina Prochaska, a barista at Anodyne, tells reporters at a news conference Tuesday morning that the wages she and coworkers are paid aren't enough to live on. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Wisconsin grass-roots advocates called on state lawmakers Tuesday to adopt a platform for workers that would nearly triple the state’s minimum wage, then increase it to keep pace with rising prices.
“The key here is to not leave workers behind with a poverty wage, but instead bring that living wage number up to at least $20 an hour,” said Peter Rickman, president of the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers union — MASH — at a press conference Tuesday in the state Capitol.
Wisconsin’s minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum, which was last set in 2009.
The timing of Tuesday’s press conference, organized by a coalition that includes MASH, was part of the group’s message to lawmakers and to the public.
Monday was Labor Day, “when politicians issue statements celebrating the American worker, maybe even declaring their support for labor and the working class,” Rickman observed.
“But we’re here the day after Labor Day, calling on political leadership in Wisconsin to make all of those statements real,” he said. “To make work pay, to deliver for the working class majority in our state with a guarantee that no matter where we punch a clock, no matter where we bring our paychecks home, that paycheck has a living wage.”
A hotel worker named Adrienne, who did not give her last name, said the current minimum wage “keeps the pay ceiling embarrassingly low for workers at a time when housing has become less and less secure, health care is being threatened, grocery prices are at an all-time high, and educational expenses are crippling entire generations.”
Rickman told the Wisconsin Examiner Adrienne didn’t further identify herself because she works at a nonunion Milwaukee hotel that is currently being organized by MASH.
“I have to express my disappointment with the way many of our representatives have failed to show up for workers like myself,” Adrienne told reporters. “Twenty-five dollars an hour would be a wage that would allow workers to thrive and build further futures, but today we’re simply asking for a wage that will allow workers to survive.”
Sabrina Prochaska, a barista at Anodyne Coffee in Milwaukee, said her current wage of $15.81 an hour isn’t enough to cover her living expenses, including groceries, rent and health care.
“Every month my partner and I scrape together money to pay rent on our one-bedroom apartment,” Prochaska said. “And I’m stressed out every 30 days because I know half my paycheck is going to go to put a roof over our heads.”
A recent visit to urgent care was billed at more than $3,000, Prochaska said, “and the truth is I don’t know how to pay that off and I don’t know how I’m going to cover it.”
Anodyne employees voted unanimously in June for MASH to represent them. “We’re ready to do whatever it takes to win living wages at the bargaining table,” Prochaska said. “It’s time for these politicians to do what people like me do every day: Show up, do their job and take care of their people. It’s time to make work pay. It’s time for a living wage for all Wisconsin workers like me.”
In addition to MASH the coalition that sponsored Tuesday’s press includes Citizens Action Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Working Families Party/Power, along with Our Wisconsin Revolution and the Fighting Oligarchy Coalition.
Our Wisconsin Revolution grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. The Fighting Oligarchy Coalition is a new grass-roots organization that formed as Sanders embarked on a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to oppose the influence of billionaires in the current U.S. political environment.
The proposal outlined Tuesday hasn’t yet found its way into proposed legislation, but organizers of the campaign said they are clear on what it should include.
“We are calling on [state lawmakers] to, in collaboration with the Living Wage Coalition, draft comprehensive living wage legislation, with a $20 minimum, indexed to inflation, reduce the tip penalty, and restore local control,” Rickman said.
The “tip penalty” refers to the lower minimum wage for Wisconsin employees whose jobs make them eligible for tips — $2.33 an hour. The group also wants to repeal state laws that prevent local governments from setting labor standards.
Rickman said recent state and federal measures to abolish the tax on tips for tipped employees should not undermine the effort to stop paying tipped employees much less than the minimum wage.
“Tax policy… in lieu of wages has never done enough to increase working class household income,” he said. “It’s a scam.” All businesses, he added, “no matter what they do, [should] guarantee a living wage, not leave it up to government tax expenditures.”
Simon Rosenblum-Larson, an organizer for the Fighting Oligarchy Coalition, said the campaign to guarantee livable wages would “create real economic growth as workers here in Wisconsin spend their money here in Wisconsin instead of CEOs that take the money out of state [where] they buy houses, they put money in offshore bank accounts and trust funds for their kids.”
The campaign also lays down a marker for the 2026 elections.
In Wisconsin, 800,000 workers would see a raise if the minimum wage were increased to $20 an hour, Rosenblum-Larson said. “And we will be demanding that every legislator, Democrat or Republican, pledge their support in the 2026 election cycle for a $20 an hour minimum wage for every Wisconsinite.”
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