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Today — 31 January 2025Wisconsin Examiner

Wisconsin Technical College System lays out budget request during legislative briefing

31 January 2025 at 10:45

(Photo Courtesy of MATC)

Leaders of the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) laid out the system’s requests for the 2025-27 state budget to support college operations  and students’ education during a Thursday legislative briefing.

Education funding will likely be a major point of debate in the upcoming budget process, with public K-12 schools, the UW System and the technical colleges all requesting increases. The technical college system is made up of 16 colleges across the state serving about 287,000 students each year who pursue associate degrees, technical diplomas or short-term certificates. 

The technical college system’s budget for 2024-25 totaled about $1.3 billion, with $592.9 million — or 44% — coming from state aid. About 17% of the remainder comes from tuition and fees and 39% comes from property taxes.

“We are very lean overall in terms of our overall funding picture… we have to be because funding is always limited resources,” said system President Layla Merrifield, who started in the position in September 2024. 

The system’s increase would add up to just under $60 million in general purpose revenue, according to a Department of Administration summary.

According to the system, about 70% of the funding would be distributed based on a formula and 30% would be distributed based on outcomes. 

WTCS policy advisor Megan Stritchko said the request is about 4% of the current budget and is meant to help expand capacity for the technical colleges to meet employer demand across a wide variety of industries. The funding would then be able to be used by each college to meet its “unique needs,” Stritchko said. 

“The colleges are hearing from really all the employers in their district just looking for skilled labor, and so this is to help with capacity to meet that demand,” Stritchko said. “It’s also to help with expanding the pipeline of talent so trying to bring more folks into the technical college system — get them trained up, get them a credential and get them out into the workforce, and then supporting those students while they’re within the colleges and helping ensure that they’re successful.”

Stritchko noted that technical colleges have been facing rising costs, including because of rapidly advancing technology. 

The system is requesting $700,000 in general purpose funds for positions in the Technical College System office and for information technology and security to maintain the system’s operations and enable continuous improvement in outcomes. Merrifield said the office helps coordinate the work of the system.

“We are currently funded at the same level we were funded at 20 years ago,” Merrifield said. “Everything that we do is database decision making. We really try to take in all of this great data from our colleges and then turn it into something useful, and give it back to them so that they know how they can improve relative to their fellow colleges. All of that requires resources.” 

Part of the request includes $3 million across the biennium to provide grants to colleges for teaching and learning materials that are in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use. The system has said the investment would help to reduce the cost of education as students across the system can access those resources, making it more affordable and accessible.

“These textbooks need to be maintained and they need to be updated regularly, just like when you had books, when you’re in school, there are version one, version two, version three and they all need to be updated,” WTCS policy advisor Brandon Trujillo said, adding that the system has identified nursing and automotive as some programs where students would benefit from available materials.

The system is also seeking $10 million across the biennium to prepare students and educators for the adoption of artificial intelligence in the classroom and the workforce.

The system is also requesting $10.8 million in each year of the biennium to go towards Wisconsin Grants, administered by the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board. The program  provides grants to undergraduate Wisconsin residents enrolled at least half-time in degree or certificate programs. 

According to the system, for the first time in over 10 years there has been a waitlist for the grants, with about 3,200 students by the end of fiscal year 2023-24. It is projected that the waitlist will grow significantly in FY 2024-25 due to changes in the federal formula for determining a student’s financial need. 

“We’re seeing student need increase across our system and it’s going to continue to increase,”  Trujillo said. 

While Wisconsin’s state agencies have submitted their budget requests, Gov. Tony Evers will deliver his budget address and release his complete budget proposal next month. The budget will be in the hands of state lawmakers.

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Intel nominee Gabbard tries to win over skeptics in U.S. Senate confirmation hearing

31 January 2025 at 10:00
Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to serve as director of national intelligence, appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

Former Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to serve as director of national intelligence, appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

WASHINGTON — As Tulsi Gabbard bids to be the next director of national intelligence, the former Hawaii congresswoman took heat from U.S. senators Thursday over her past statements and actions.

Gabbard, seen as President Donald Trump’s most vulnerable Cabinet nominee, has been in the thick of controversy over her views on foreign policy, her meetings with the former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and accusations of promoting Russian propaganda.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced serious concerns about Gabbard’s nomination.

If confirmed, Gabbard would take on a massive role in overseeing 18 agencies and organizations in the intelligence community.

She would also be responsible for a budget of more than $100 billion.

Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, ran an unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential campaign and later joined the Republican Party.

She echoed Trump’s claims of “weaponization” in the federal government, particularly in the intelligence community, while appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a highly anticipated confirmation hearing.

Gabbard said she would “work to end the politicization of the intelligence community,” if confirmed.

Cotton, Ernst, Burr offer support

Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence panel, threw his support behind Gabbard ahead of Thursday’s hearing.

The Arkansas Republican took to Gabbard’s defense in his opening remarks, saying he’s “dismayed by the attacks” on “Gabbard’s patriotism and her loyalty to our country.”

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and former North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr also praised Gabbard during their introductions of the nominee, highlighting her military service and congressional record.

Burr, a Republican who previously chaired the Senate Intelligence panel, said Gabbard “fought in war, and yes — she’s tried to stop wars.”

“At the ripe age of 43, Tulsi has the life experiences that match or exceed most members of Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate panel, said he continues to have “significant concerns” regarding Gabbard’s “judgment” and “qualifications to meet the standard set by law.”

“It appears to me, you have repeatedly excused our adversaries’ worst actions — instead, you often blame them on the United States and those very allies,” the Virginia Democrat said.

Bennet presses on Edward Snowden as ‘traitor’

Throughout the tense hearing, Gabbard refused to call Edward Snowden — a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified information regarding surveillance efforts — a traitor.

“Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high,” said Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who asked her the question several times.

While serving in the House, Gabbard introduced a resolution in 2020 alongside then-Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida “expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden.”

Gabbard repeatedly said Snowden “broke the law” and expressed disagreement with “how he chose to release information and the extent of the information intelligence that he released.”

“It’s my focus on the future, and I think we can all agree that we do not want to have another Snowden-type leak, and I’ve laid out specific actions if confirmed as (director of national intelligence) to do that,” Gabbard said.

But when pressed by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins on whether she would recommend any kind of clemency for Snowden, Gabbard said she would not support a pardon, if confirmed.

FISA Section 702

Senators also called out Gabbard’s previous views against Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — a program that authorizes the federal government to conduct surveillance on foreigners outside of the country.

Gabbard introduced a bill in 2020 with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky that sought to repeal the program.

However, she reversed course and is now in support of Section 702, which she said “provides a unique security tool and capability that is essential for our national security.”

Meeting with ousted Syrian dictator, views on Russia

Gabbard also expanded on her controversial meetings with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017.

“I have no love for Assad or Gaddafi or any dictator,” Gabbard said in her opening remarks. “I just hate al-Qaida.”

Gabbard said that when she met with Assad, she “asked him tough questions about his own regime’s actions, the use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people.”

She also said Russian President Vladimir Putin “started the war in Ukraine.”

Gabbard previously made comments appearing to blame the United States and NATO for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border,” she wrote in a post on social media in February 2022. 

GOP members of U.S. Senate probe RFK Jr. on his history of vaccine denial

30 January 2025 at 22:48
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services ,departs after testifying in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services ,departs after testifying in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s opinions about vaccine safety, both past and present, appeared likely to lead at least a few Senate Republicans to vote against his nomination following a second confirmation hearing Thursday.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said at the end of the three-hour hearing that he agrees with Kennedy that vaccines should be safe and effective, but that the two are far apart in how they went about their research.

“As someone who has discussed immunizations with thousands of people, I understand that mothers want reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary, safe and effective. We agree on that point, the two of us,” Cassidy said. “But we’ve approached it differently. And I think I can say that I’ve approached it using the preponderance of evidence to reassure and you’ve approached using selected evidence to cast doubt.”

Throughout the hearing, Cassidy and numerous other senators from both political parties asked Kennedy about previous statements he’s made, including a repeatedly debunked claim that certain vaccines lead to autism.

Kennedy, who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to the hugely influential post of secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said that he would apologize and reassure Americans about the measles and Hepatitis B vaccines, if Cassidy could show him data establishing their safety.

Cassidy discussed the decades of safety data during the hearing and cited peer-reviewed studies, but Kennedy never backed away from his claims.

Kennedy repeated statements he made during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, during his Thursday hearing, including that he just wanted to follow the science, though he added caveats.

“I am not going to go into HHS and impose my pre-ordained opinions on anybody at HHS,” Kennedy said. “I’m going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that’s evidence based, that’s replicable, where the raw data is published.”

The Autism Science Foundation writes on its website that Autism Spectrum Disorder is “a brain-based disorder that is characterized by social-communication challenges and restricted and repetitive behaviors, activities and interests.” The nonprofit, which funds research into the causes of autism, notes that “there are many genetic and environmental factors involved with autism.”

“These include both rare and common variants. About 15% of cases of autism can be linked to a specific gene mutation,” the organization says. “Some of the environmental factors that have been studied include medical conditions in parents, age, toxic chemicals, medications taken during pregnancy and before pregnancy, and diet and nutrition.”

Sanders: ‘Take on the insurance companies’

Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, ranking member on the HELP Committee, said there were areas where he hoped Kennedy succeeded, including reducing obesity and reducing ultra processed foods. But he said that actually improving Americans’ overall health would require much more than that.

“I’m not quite sure how we can move to making America healthy again, unless we have the guts to take on the insurance companies and the drug companies that guarantee healthcare to all people,” Sanders said.

Other policy changes, like paid family and medical leave, are essential to ensuring that people can live healthy lives, he said.

“There are women today who are having babies, then they’re going to go back to work in a week or two because they have no guaranteed paid family and medical leave,” Sanders said. “How do you have a healthy country when women are forced to go back to work? When women and men get fired because they stay home taking care of their sick kids? That’s not making America healthy again.”

Sanders said it’s extremely difficult for people to find time to live healthy lives when they must work extremely long hours, making $13 or $14 an hour, only to still live in poverty.

Murkowski focuses on Native Americans’ health

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another centrist Republican who hasn’t publicly announced whether she’ll support Kennedy’s confirmation, questioned him about how he’d help improve health outcomes in Native American communities.

“When you look at our health statistics, whether it’s Alaska Natives or whether it is American Indians, our health statistics in this country … are not where they need to be,” Murkowski said. “And it’s in all categories. It’s infectious disease, it’s tuberculosis, it’s Hep C, it’s mental health, it’s depression, it’s substance use, it’s sexually transmitted diseases, it’s hypertension, stroke. It is so deep, and it is so challenging and it is so hard.”

Murkowski cited Kennedy’s prior comments where he said he’d triple the amount of federal spending to tribal communities.

Kennedy didn’t commit during the hearing to boosting funding for the Indian Health Service or other programs designed to support Indigenous communities, but said he did hope to hire someone from one of those communities at the assistant secretary level at HHS.

“I’d like to get him actually designated as an assistant secretary … to ensure that all of the decisions that we make in our agency are conscious of their impacts on the First Nations,” Kennedy said.

Murkowski also expressed concern about Kennedy’s statements on vaccine safety, saying that while some things need to be shaken up, there also has to be a “level of confidence” in public health programs.

“We have made some considerable gains in my state of Alaska with vaccinating the many people in very rural areas where one disease outbreak can wipe out an entire village,” Murkowski said. “We saw this in 1918 with the Spanish flu. And that’s why everyone was rattled to the core; villages were shut down entirely, entirely, during COVID because of the fear of transmission.”

Murkowski told Kennedy he was clearly an influencer with a platform he could use to greatly benefit people, if he chooses to.

“I’m asking you to focus on how you can use your position to provide for greater levels of confidence to the public when it comes to these life-saving areas,” Murkowski said.

Collins probes on vaccines

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a centrist who faces a challenging reelection bid next year, told Kennedy she agreed with him that the federal government needs to focus more time, energy and money addressing chronic diseases, like diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

“But it concerns me when I read a quote from you that says, ‘I’m going to say to NIH scientists, God bless you all. Thank you for your public service. We’re going to give infectious diseases a break for about eight years,’” Collins said. “Don’t we need to do both?”

Kennedy said he “absolutely” agreed that researchers should focus their attention on finding solutions to both forms of illness and disease, but argued enough money hasn’t gone to studying both.

Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sought to remind Kennedy that the Constitution gives Congress the ability to spend federal money and direct where that money goes.

Collins mentioned a pediatric nurse in Maine who shared worries about the impact a decrease in childhood vaccinations could have on other children in their communities, especially those who cannot get vaccines because of illnesses or allergies.

“She raised the concern that if people are discouraged from getting their children vaccinated, we will lose the herd immunity in a classroom,” Collins said. “And that means that a child who may be immunosuppressed and cannot get a vaccine are at risk of being in a classroom with an unvaccinated child. And thus at risk of getting the infectious disease because we’ve lost the herd immunity.”

Kennedy said he believed that people have stopped trusting in the safety of vaccines, but pledged to bring in “good science” if confirmed by the Senate.

“I’m going to restore trust and that will restore vaccine uptake,” Kennedy said.

Hassan challenges Kennedy on autism

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan had one of the most pointed exchanges with Kennedy during the hearing, challenging the statements from some GOP senators who criticized Democrats for asking Kennedy certain questions regarding his past statements on vaccines. 

“Now, some of you are new to this committee and new to the Senate, so you may not know that I am the proud mother of a 36-year-old young man with severe cerebral palsy,” Hassan said. “And a day does not go by when I don’t think about, ‘What did I do when I was pregnant with him that might have caused the hydrocephalus that has so impacted his life?’

“So please do not suggest that anybody in this body of either political party doesn’t want to know what the cause of autism is,” she said, adding that many of her friends have children with autism.

“Mr. Kennedy, that first autism study rocked my world. And like every mother, I worried about whether, in fact, the vaccine had done something to my son,” Hassan said. “And you know what? It was a tiny study of about 12 kids. And over time, the scientific community studied and studied and studied and found that it was wrong. And the journal retracted the study because sometimes science is wrong. We make progress. We build on the work and we become more successful. And when you continue to sow doubt about settled science, it makes it impossible for us to move forward. So that’s what the problem is here.”

Investigations launch into horrific DC plane crash as Trump without evidence blames DEI

Emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025, after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025, after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators said Thursday they are investigating the deadly midair collision between a commercial jet carrying 64 people and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia, just outside the District of Columbia.

Meanwhile, with no conclusive evidence on the cause of the worst U.S. air disaster in years yet disclosed, President Donald Trump in a White House press event tied the tragedy to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the Department of Transportation.

The president blamed air traffic controller standards and the Biden administration’s “big push to put diversity into the FAA program,” pointing to former DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg in particular. Buttigieg released a statement on social media shortly after the press conference criticizing Trump’s comments as “despicable.”

When reporters asked how he knew that diversity among air traffic controllers was a factor in the crash, Trump responded: “Because I have common sense.”

Officials believe there are no survivors from the regional jet or the Black Hawk, which were sent plunging into the frigid Potomac River late Wednesday. The death toll stands at 67, including the three members of the helicopter crew. Officials said 28 bodies had been recovered as a massive operation in the river continued.

Senators expressed their condolences to the families of crash victims and vowed to get answers. ​​​J. Todd Inman, a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the independent investigative agency will have a preliminary report within 30 days and then a final report.

“It’s a horrifying accident,” said West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who sits on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “Looks like human error.”

The chair of that panel, Sen. Ted Cruz, said that he was briefed by senior leadership from the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB in his office along with members of the committee.

“Obviously, something happened that should not have happened, but I think it is a mistake to speculate until we see what the evidence demonstrates,” the Texas Republican said.

Maj. Gen. Trevor J. Bredenkamp said in a written statement Thursday that the Army’s “top priority is to assist in the recovery efforts, while fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other investigative agencies to determine the cause of this tragic incident.”

“While the investigation is ongoing, we are committed to transparency and will share accurate updates as soon as they become available,” said Bredenkamp, commander of the Joint Task Force for the National Capital Region.

Air Florida crash

Wednesday’s collision was the deadliest plane crash in the D.C. area since 1982, when an Air Florida flight crashed into the Potomac River and killed 78 people, and it’s the first major disaster of the Trump administration’s second term.

The crash of the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700, which occurred around 9 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, came two days after the Senate confirmed former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as Trump’s nominee to be Transportation secretary.

In a Thursday morning briefing, Duffy said that he thought the crash was preventable — in line with early social media posts from the president — but deferred further conclusions to the NTSB, which will lead the investigation.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the Senate floor that his prayers were with those who lost their lives in the crash and that Congress, in its oversight role, will investigate the incident.

“It’s too early to know why last night’s crash occurred, but we’re going to find out,” the South Dakota Republican said. “And Congress and federal agencies will be closely examining this tragedy to ensure that America’s skies are safe.”

Trump names acting FAA chief

As of Thursday morning there was no acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Trump said during the White House briefing, at approximately 11:20 a.m. Eastern, that he was immediately naming the agency’s deputy administrator, Christopher Rocheleau, to the role of acting FAA administrator.

During the roughly 35-minute press conference, Trump told reporters, “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas.”

As he stood before the press less than 24 hours after the American Airlines Flight 5342 crash, Trump said former President Joe Biden had allowed the FAA to hire persons with disabilities. Trump then specifically said those with “hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism  — all qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot, a little dot on the map, little runway.”

The American Association of People with Disabilities pushed back on Trump’s comments, writing on social media that “FAA employees with disabilities did not cause last night’s tragic plane crash.”

“The investigation into the crash is still ongoing,” AAPD said in a statement. “It is extremely inappropriate for the President to use this tragedy to push an anti-diversity hiring agenda. Doing so makes all Americans less safe.”

Vice President J.D. Vance, along with Duffy and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, echoed Trump’s comments about DEI at the press briefing.

During Trump’s first administration, in April 2019, the FAA announced an initiative to enroll up to 20 persons with disabilities into an Aviation Development Program.

Trump signed an executive order last week directing the FAA “to immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.”

Trump also told reporters he listened to the air traffic controller audio in the seconds leading up to the crash, and “you had a pilot problem from the standpoint of the helicopter.”

Traffic controllers can be heard on the audio telling the Sikorsky H-60 helicopter “I need you to land immediately.”

Buttigieg said in his statement that Trump was not telling the truth about the FAA under Biden.

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch,” Buttigieg said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, also criticized the president’s news conference.

“Listen, it’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracies, it’s another for the president of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families are still being notified,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “It just turns your stomach.”

Local lawmakers have long worried about DCA

Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Democratic Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have long criticized the large number of flight slots at DCA and have pushed back on adding new slots to the airport, which is a favorite for lawmakers as it’s close to the U.S. Capitol.

In April, there was a near-miss, when two planes cleared to take off came within 400 feet of crashing.

Last year, Congress in May approved an FAA bill that finalized a five-year, $105 billion plan that added flight slots to an already busy DCA.

Cruz defended the long haul flights he pushed for in the FAA bill, some that included Texas.

“I believe we should wait for the investigation to demonstrate what actually caused the accident, rather than speculating,” he said. “We know it was tragic, and there are families of 67 men and women grieving right now.”

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents aviation professionals, said in a statement that “it would be premature to speculate on the root cause of this accident.”

“We will wait for the National Transportation Safety Board to complete its work and use that information to help guide decisions and changes to enhance and improve aviation safety,” he said.

Joseph McCartin, a Georgetown University professor who has studied the nation’s air traffic controllers, said Trump’s comments attributing the crash to DEI programs are “absurd.”

“The problem is that, if there is a problem at the FAA, it certainly doesn’t stem from DEI. Rather, it stems from consistent and chronic understaffing of air traffic control facilities, which has been happening over years,” said McCartin who published the 2011 book “Collision Course:  Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America.”

Who was aboard the jet

Among the 60 passengers and four crew members on the plane were U.S. Figure Skating coaches and athletes, along with their families, returning from a national development camp held in concert with the association’s championships in Wichita, the association confirmed Wednesday night.

Six members, including two teen athletes, two parents and two coaches, of the Skating Club of Boston were on board, according to reporting by WBUR and the Rhode Island Current.

Club officials identified the skaters as Jinna Han,13, and Spencer Lane, 16, along with their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane. The club’s coaches, among the victims, were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, according to the organization.

Russian state media confirmed Thursday morning that two Russian figure skaters and other Russian citizens were on the plane.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson told States Newsroom that officials had reached out to the foreign diplomat community and will provide an update once the department receives confirmation from the NTSB of foreign national casualties.

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said at a press conference Thursday morning that the city had not yet reviewed the passenger manifest, but said one family showed up at the Wichita airport Wednesday night seeking information about the crash.

The direct flight from Wichita to Washington, D.C., had only just begun in January 2024.

Virginia’s Loudoun County School District Superintendent Aaron Spence issued a letter Thursday confirming that one of its students had been on the flight, according to FOX5 Washington, D.C. The letter did not identify the student.

The United Association wrote on social media Thursday that four of its union members from Steamfitters Local 602 were among the plane’s passengers. The union local is based in Landover, Maryland.

The flight crew was based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer reported.

FOX5 Atlanta reported that one of the plane’s pilots was a 28-year-old named Sam Lilley. The local affiliate cited the pilot’s father Timothy Lilley, who has ties to Georgia.

No survivors found in crash between military helicopter and jet over Potomac River near DC

Emergency response units on Jan. 30, 2025, search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane collided with a military helicopter the previous night on approach to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Emergency response units on Jan. 30, 2025, search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane collided with a military helicopter the previous night on approach to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — An American Airlines regional jet carrying 64 people collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday near Reagan National Airport in Virginia just across from the District of Columbia, plunging both aircraft into the Potomac River.

“Unfortunately we were not able to rescue anyone,” Jack Potter, head of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said during a Thursday morning press conference.

American Eagle flight 5342 had originated in Wichita, Kansas. Those aboard included U.S. figure skaters traveling from Kansas as well as from Russia, according to the U.S. Figure Skating association and the Kremlin.

American Airlines confirmed there were 60 passengers on board and four flight crew and that the flight was landing at DCA, the National Airport call letters. The crash occurred around 9 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

John Donnelly, D.C. fire chief, said about 300 emergency responders were searching the Potomac. Donnelly noted in a Thursday morning press conference at the airport that they were pivoting from rescue operations to recovery.

He said 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter.

President Donald Trump said at a Thursday morning press briefing from the White House, “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions.”

Minutes later he added, “This has been a terrible very short period of time. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and newly installed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent several minutes during the remarks blaming the crash on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and the administrations of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

When asked by reporters how he knew that diversity among air traffic controllers was a factor in the crash, Trump responded: “Because I have common sense.”

Hegseth earlier said on social media that an investigation by DOD and the Army has “launched immediately.”

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation of the crash, officials said.

Hegseth posted an email statement from spokesperson Heather Chairez for the U.S. military’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, stating that the helicopter had been on a training flight. The helicopter was operating out of Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, according to the statement.

Many questions

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said during the airport press conference that “at this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path” of the passenger aircraft.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that she had spoken to Trump administration officials, but not directly with Trump.

Trump overnight posted on social media, seemingly criticizing that the crash occurred, and that it’s a “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.”

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” he said. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.”

Secretary of Transportation Duffy said at the airport press conference that he agreed the crash was preventable, that Wednesday night was “a clear night,” and that both aircraft were in a “standard flight pattern.”

“Prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown from the military and from American (Airlines), that was not unusual for what happens in the DC airspace,” Duffy said.

He added that “everything was standard in the lead up to the crash.”

“Something went wrong here,” Duffy said.

A separate White House statement noted that the president had been briefed and was monitoring the situation.

Virginia’s Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, who have raised concerns about crowded flight paths at DCA, said they look forward to the independent investigation from NTSB.

“It’s not a time to speculate,” Kaine said. “It’s a time to investigate and get answers to the questions we need, and I have confidence that will be done.”

Difficult conditions for rescue operations

Bowser said the governors of Maryland and Virginia provided D.C. with personnel to aid in search and rescue operations.

Donnelly noted there were major challenges in the rescue operations, such as water that’s 8 feet deep, freezing temperatures, and the cover of night.

“There is wind, there is pieces of ice out there, so it’s just dangerous and hard to work in, and because there’s not a lot of lights, you’re out there searching every square inch of space to see if you can find anybody,” he said. “The water is dark, it is murky, and that is a very tough condition for them to dive in.”

Kansas Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall were at an earlier press conference at DCA, hours after the crash.

“We’re we will do everything we can to make certain that we’re supportive of the rescue efforts, and we’ll do everything we can to make certain that our subcommittee and Congress is engaged in what needs to take place following the outcome of this evening and this this month’s kind of investigation,” Moran said.

Moran sits on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He added that he’s talked to the White House, American Airlines and DOD.

At the first press conference hours after the crash, Duffy noted that there would be an investigation.

“So obviously, there’ll be a review of what happened here tonight, and after the FAA studies what happened, we will take appropriate action if necessary to modify flight paths,” Duffy said. 

Marshall expressed his sympathies with those on board the flight.

“We wish there was more that we can do,” he said. “I want the folks back home to know that we care and we love them.”

U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that several of its team members were on the flight.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available,” the organization said in a statement provided to States Newsroom.

Unknown number of Kansans aboard

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said during a Thursday morning press conference at 8 a.m. Central that they had not received the flight manifest and do not know whether or how many Kansas residents were on board.

“I am in direct contact with American Airlines to find out the confirmed information to provide to all of you,” Wu said.

The Wichita Airport Authority activated its family incident support team Wednesday night, and Wu said one family came to the airport seeking information about the crash.

The direct flight from Wichita to Washington, D.C., began on Jan. 8, 2024, according to Wichita officials.

“We were very honored to have gotten that flight and continue to advocate for those nonstop flights out of our community,” Wu said. “This is a true tragedy, and one that this (city) council and myself want all of our community members to know that our hearts are heavy, they’re also grieving, and we will provide the support that we can to those who have been affected.”

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes said he was in touch with White House officials through Wednesday night.

“When a tragic incident like this happens, obviously, we want to do the investigation, which will take days and weeks to go through that process, and to make sure that we can prevent accidents like this from happening in the future,” Estes, who represents the Wichita area, said at the press briefing.

Kansas legislators react

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, who represents the Wichita suburb of Andover, released a statement Thursday saying the crash was “unfathomable.”

“Last night, in the skies above our nation’s capital, a military helicopter collided with American Eagle Flight 5342 flying inbound from Wichita to Reagan National Airport. As our leaders seek answers, the Kansas Senate stands united in constant prayer for the passengers and crews, their families and loved ones, and every soul who is impacted by this awful tragedy. Together, we mourn for those who lost their lives and pray for God’s comfort for all,” Masterson said.

American Airlines is publishing updates at news.aa.com, and the company is instructing victims’ family members to call 1-800-679-8215.

Cold weather was stress test for unhoused Milwaukee residents

30 January 2025 at 11:30
Tents in the Street Angels warming room. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Tents in the Street Angels warming room in 2021. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

In Milwaukee, during a spate of freezing winter weather earlier this month, cold-challenged frontline organizations are providing crucial services to hundreds of residents, many of whom are unhoused. Night to night, week to week, the level of need some advocates and outreach groups have witnessed is staggering. 

Eric Collins-Dyke, deputy administrator for Milwaukee County Housing Services, said that since early December, the housing division’s outreach teams have encountered between 75 and 100 people on a regular basis. Last Monday, a day center was opened inside the Marcia P. Coggs Health and Human Services Center, which serves over 100 people daily. While Collins-Dyke said he was happy to see the center serving so many people, he also saw it as a sign of how many people are in need. The most recent data showed that the county’s warming rooms “had seen 800 unique individuals” since opening in late November, he said. 

Pastor James West, executive director of Repairers of the Breach in Milwaukee, also said that the group’s resource center sees up to 140 people each  day. “Nothing less than 100,” West told Wisconsin Examiner. Repairers of the Breach provides food, private showers, employment assistance, free health care, telephones, and other services every day except Sunday. Since late November, West’s staff have been on “double duty,” he said. Dozens of people are showing up at night, in addition to those who arrive during the day. Recently, when temperatures across the state dropped below freezing, Repairers of the Breach was open for a 44-hour stint – including on Sunday – due to the cold. Over those days, West saw many people including the elderly,  wielding canes or walkers, and struggling with mental illness come in. 

While Milwaukee’s unhoused population is made up of a diverse group of people from many backgrounds, a growing number are elderly. “I think of the 800 unique individuals, 248 were over 60 [years old] off the top of my head,” said Collins-Dyke. “That’s an increase that we’ve seen. So unfortunately we’re seeing individuals who are older experiencing unsheltered homelessness.” It’s something that the county is “trying to wrap our arms around,” Collins-Dyke explained, with plans for a new grant focusing on elderly unhoused people in the works. 

Supplies aboard the new Street Angels outreach bus. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
Supplies aboard the Street Angels’ outreach bus. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

From Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office documented five deaths due to hypothermia. All of the individuals – four male and one female – ranged from 56 to 82 years old. Three of them were logged as “homeless” and were found in the cities of Milwaukee and Oak Creek. 

According to Medical Examiner records the oldest victim, 82-year-old Michael Kies, was found dead in November after Meals on Wheels, which provides meals to 2.2 million seniors nationwide, and Kies’ loved ones asked police to conduct a welfare check. Kies was found in his bedroom. 

In early December, the Oak Creek Fire Department reported the death of Jehovah Holy Spirit Jesus, 60, who was found seated in a chair behind trash dumpsters outside the business Eder Flag. Jesus “appeared dressed for the weather and was not visible from the roadway,” medical examiner records state. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Jesus walking in a nearby field on Nov. 28. By the time staff returned to work on Dec. 2, Jesus – believed to be unhoused and struggling with mental illness – was found cold and unresponsive behind the business. 

Three more elderly residents died from Dec. 11-13, including two unhoused Milwaukeeans who died on the same day. One of them, 64-year-old Carolyn Lovett, was taken to the Aurora Sinai Medical Center by firefighters for hypothermic cardiac arrest. She’d been found unresponsive in a roadway, medical examiner records state. Although friends of Lovett arrived at the hospital later, including a cousin who said that they lived together, records list her as homeless. 

That same day, firefighters also found 60-year-old Richard Montgomery in a vacant, fire-damaged house on Milwaukee’s North Side. Montgomery’s family had contacted city departments for a welfare check on Montgomery. One of his neighbors – who believed Montgomery struggled with schizophrenia – had also requested a welfare check. The house was owned by Montgomery’s parents, who’d been deceased for many years, reports state. Although multiple fires had left the home uninhabitable, Montgomery continued living there, according to records. 

Tents around King Park in Milwaukee. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
Tents around King Park in Milwaukee during the summer of 2024. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

In the third and fourth weeks of January, arctic cold whipped Wisconsin with 30-35 below zero wind chills. Residents in southern Wisconsin were warned that just 15 minutes of bare skin exposure to the cold could cause frostbite. By the end of January, three more people (ranging from 40-69 years old) had possibly succumbed to the cold. WISN reported that on Jan. 12, a 64-year-old man was found under a bridge. The next day, a 69-year-old man was found in a vehicle that was being used as shelter. Two days later on Jan. 15, a 40-year-old man was found on a heating mechanism near railroad tracks.

The recent deaths spanned from the south of Milwaukee to the north. Although Repairers of the Breach is based in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood, the group sees people from as far away as Waukesha and Germantown. 

King Park has become a focal point for housing issues in Milwaukee over the years. In 2021, people expressed concerns about a growing tent community made up of dozens of people in the park. Although county officials have worked to find housing and services for those living in King Park, the area has never been entirely free of unhoused people looking for space and privacy. 

Last summer, King Park’s unhoused population again began to rise as the Republican National Convention approached. During the convention, out-of-state police officers from Columbus Ohio killed Sam Sharpe, a man who’d been living in the park. Sharpe was known to housing outreach groups like Street Angels, who said after his death that they serve up to 300 unhoused residents a night. Whereas some find quiet spots off to themselves, others group together in encampments, or stick together in nomadic caravans of half-working vehicles. 

While county and advocate groups work to get unhoused people supplies and shelter, many living on the street also display a unique kind of resilience. Collins-Dyke told Wisconsin Examiner that “seeing sort of the resilience and the ingenuity of a lot of the people that we serve on the street is pretty incredible, to be able to survive.” 

Nevertheless, county teams always encourage even the hardest of folks to come with them and come to a warming site. Collins-Dyke also noted that the county is working with landlords to get people housed more quickly. The county’s housing navigation and outreach teams, Collins-Dyke explained, are currently working to assess people visiting warming sites to get them into housing. 

In December 2024, Milwaukee County received federal funding for housing support and other services for elderly residents, and those transitioning out of the Community Reintegration Center (formerly known as the House of Corrections). “Housing is a matter of public health, and housing security is a critical social determinant of health,” County Executive Crowley said at a press conference announcing the funds.  

“Our shared vision for Milwaukee County includes expanding equitable access to safe, quality and affordable housing and supportive services for those in need,” Crowley added. “By supporting our aging population and investing in reentry housing services for those seeking a second chance, we are working to improve outcomes for some of our most vulnerable residents and build a stronger Milwaukee County for all.”

“Housing is a key social determinant of health. We want to ensure that older adults and people reentering their communities from the CRC have access to safe and affordable housing,” said Shakita LaGrant-McClain, Executive Director of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Through these efforts, we are working to empower vulnerable residents to lead full lives.”

Orders by the Trump administration, however, have thrown the grant and other funds into uncertain territory. A two page memo from the Office of Management and Budget announced the sudden freeze of federal program funds to state and local governments. Wisconsin joined other states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit to stop funding from being cut off to local and state governments, and af ederal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must wait at least a week before pausing funds. On Wednesday, the administration rescinded the memo.  

Before the memo was rescinded a Milwaukee County spokesperson said in an email statement to Wisconsin Examiner that County Executive David Crowley “remains concerned” about the memo “and the potential impacts to not only County projects and services, but the overall health and safety of Milwaukee County residents, families, and children who rely on federally-funded programs and services.”

Numerous Milwaukee County departments rely on federal funding including human services and transportation services. “We will continue engaging with local, state, and federal leaders on this evolving matter,” said the spokesperson. 

Pastor West also stressed collaboration between the county government and community groups. Beyond receiving government funds, West wonders “why not outsource it to us…Let us service the people in the way that we know how to service that’s been successful.” That would allow different community organizations working on the frontlines of the housing issue to learn from each other, he said. “I will say in the last five years, there’s been more of that,” said West of  support from the city and county. “And it’s working.” 

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Trump orders Education Department to guide states on use of federal funds for school choice

30 January 2025 at 11:15
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)  

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)  

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Wednesday that prioritize school choice funding and seek to end what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.”

Trump is carrying through on education-related campaign promises he made as part of his sweeping vision to “save American education.” These efforts mark the latest in a deluge of wide-ranging executive orders the president began signing since he took office last week.

One executive order directs the U.S. Education Department secretary “to issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds” to support K-12 school choice initiatives within the next two months.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Education secretary, has yet to sit before a Senate panel for a confirmation hearing.

McMahon — a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, the prior head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration and a wealthy donor — could be pivotal to carrying out Trump’s sweeping education agenda.

The order also directs the Education secretary to “include education freedom as a priority in discretionary grant programs, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.”

Trump is also tasking the Department of Health and Human Services with issuing guidance on how states receiving block grants “can use them to expand educational choice and support families who choose educational alternatives to governmental entities, including private and faith-based options.”

He is also requiring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to review how any “military-connected families” could use Department of Defense funds to attend a school of their choice and must submit a plan to describe these mechanisms and the steps to implement them.

Trump is asking the same for the Department of the Interior — requiring that the agency’s next leader review how anyone eligible to attend a school within the Bureau of Indian Education can use federal funds to attend a school of their choosing.

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the department, appears to be on a smooth path to becoming the next Interior secretary.

‘Radical indoctrination’ in K-12 schools

Meanwhile, Trump signed a sweeping executive order that aims to bar federal funding for schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology,” which the administration describes as “an ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.”

The order also requires the respective secretaries of Education; Defense; and Health and Human Services; to provide Trump with an “ending indoctrination strategy” in the next 90 days.

The plan would include recommendations for “eliminating Federal funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools.”

Trump also signed another executive order Wednesday that takes additional measures to try to combat antisemitism on college campuses. 

Yesterday — 30 January 2025Wisconsin Examiner

Clean energy is key to reducing lung cancer deaths

30 January 2025 at 11:00
Getty Images

Getty Images

As an oncologist, I can’t forget some of my patients’ stories. One of those belongs to a mother of two I diagnosed at age 35 with non-small cell lung cancer. She was a physician and a long-distance runner who had never smoked a day in her life. She died of metastatic lung cancer about two years after her diagnosis. 

Sadly, her story echoed that of another one of my patients, a 32-year-old emergency room nurse who never smoked and raised two teenage daughters. She was divorced and spent her days in my care desperately worried about what would happen to her daughters after she passed. Both women were medically considered “lucky” to survive long enough to see their children graduate high school, but they should have had decades left with their kids.

I will never know exactly what caused the lung cancer in these two particular women, but the number of people being diagnosed who have never smoked is rising, particularly in young women. And these diagnoses are deadly. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in America, responsible for about 125,000 deaths each year. Even with new, cutting-edge treatments, the five-year survival rate of patients with metastatic lung disease is only 6%.

Switching from coal to gas is like seeing one of my patients switch from smoking to vaping.

– Dr. Joan Schiller

Why do I mention these dismal statistics? Because after witnessing too many tragic deaths, I feel a deep responsibility to educate my community and policymakers about what contributes to lung cancer. And all too often, fossil fuel pollution is not on their minds, even though reducing that pollution is one of the strongest actions we could take to prevent future kids from growing up without their moms. 

Air pollution is a Class 1 carcinogen, as rated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The word carcinogen means “cancer causing,” and air pollution is responsible for about 14% of all lung cancer deaths. It can cause lung cancer even in people who have never smoked and can significantly affect the prognosis and treatment of other cancer patients.

One of those key pollutants is fine particulate matter, also called PM 2.5. That means the particles are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter or 20 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These microscopic particles primarily come from the burning of fossil fuels. 

That’s why I am deeply concerned that several Wisconsin utilities, including We Energies, WPS, Alliant Energy, and Madison Gas and Electric, recently delayed their plans to retire coal and are proposing new methane gas plants in Wisconsin. In the next few months alone, the Public Service Commission will determine the fate of $2 billion in new gas infrastructure proposals.

Switching from coal to gas is like seeing one of my patients switch from smoking to vaping. Billions have been spent to market vaping as a better, cleaner alternative. A ploy that is not only blatantly false when it comes to the heart health impacts, with vaping causing an outbreak of cardiovascular injuries, but it has dangerously hooked a new youth generation of smokers. 

Similarly, billions have been spent to market natural gas as safe. But make no mistake, just like coal pollution, gas plants kill people by emitting PM2.5 and a mix of other hazardous pollutants that are inhaled through the lungs. From there, those toxicants can enter the bloodstream, heart, brain, and even the placenta. Akin to hooking a new generation of smokers, building new and expensive gas plants locks us into decades of fossil fuel dependence. We can’t afford that when 99% of scientists agree that we must take rapid action to decrease fossil fuels to maintain a liveable climate. Meanwhile, our neighboring states investing in wind, solar and energy efficiency prove that a better way forward is possible and that path saves lives and creates jobs.

As I think back to my two patients who died too young from lung cancer, it’s clear that we must do more. We must reduce air pollution and address climate change by decreasing fossil fuels. We can’t let Wisconsin get left behind. We need to ensure that new gas plants, such as the Oak Creek Gas Plant and Paris Plant, are not built in Wisconsin. We must come together to prevent more needless deaths from lung cancer.

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RFK Jr. turnabout on vaccines, abortion slammed at HHS confirmation hearing

30 January 2025 at 00:23
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s alternating views on vaccines, reproductive rights and public health issues were a central focus at his first confirmation hearing Wednesday, with Democratic senators expressing dismay at his nomination and Republicans signaling he’ll likely have their support.

Kennedy pledged to bring “radical transparency” to the Department of Health and Human Services if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, though he didn’t detail his plans for large-scale health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid during the nearly four-hour hearing.  

Kennedy repeatedly testified before the Finance Committee that he wants to reduce chronic illnesses throughout the country and let scientific research lead the way.

But Democratic senators were skeptical he would improve the country’s overall health outcomes if confirmed as HHS secretary, listing off several of his past claims not backed by research or medicine. 

“For a long time the nation has been locked in a divisive health care debate about who pays. When health care costs reach 20%, there are no good options, only bad ones,” Kennedy said. “Shifting the burden around between government and corporations and insurers and providers and families is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”

Kennedy said that if confirmed he would try to ensure federal spending on nutrition programs goes to “healthy foods” and bolster scrutiny of “chemical additives in our food supply.”

“We will remove financial conflicts of interest from our agencies. We will create an honest, unbiased, gold standard science at HHS, accountable to the president, to Congress and to the American people,” Kennedy added. “We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to good health.”

Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders questioned how senators or Americans could trust what Kennedy said during the hearing, given his rapid change in opinion on vaccine safety and the government’s role in abortion access, compared to comments made just last year.

“Tell me why you think people should have confidence in your consistency and in your work, when you really made a major U-turn on an issue of that importance in such a short time?” Sanders said.

‘Conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans’

Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, rebuked Kennedy for some of his prior comments on vaccine safety, saying he “embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans.”

“Mr. Kennedy has changed his views so often, it is nearly impossible to know where he stands on so many of the basic issues that impact Americans’ daily lives,” Wyden said.

Kennedy testified at several points during the hearing that he supports certain vaccines, including measles and polio, and science-backed research into medical treatments.

“I support vaccines. I support the childhood schedule. I will do that,” Kennedy said. “The only thing I want is good science and that’s it.”

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan said Americans should be proud that vaccines have largely eradicated deadly diseases within the United States, including polio and smallpox.

“I am extremely concerned that as secretary, you would be able to halt critical vaccine research and to exploit parents’ natural worries by advising them not to vaccinate their children,” Hassan said. “This will lead to more children getting sick and some will even die.

“Before the measles vaccine about 500 American children died a year from measles. This is too much of a risk for our country and there is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views that you have promoted for 25 years.”

Abortion pill

Kennedy, who made several different statements about abortion access during his unsuccessful run for president, pledged during the hearing to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda on reproductive rights, whatever that might be.

Anti-abortion groups are advocating for the Trump administration to restrict access to medication abortion, a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone and misoprostol that’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration up to 10 weeks gestation. The FDA is housed within HHS.

“President Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone,” Kennedy said. “He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies. I will work with this committee to make those policies make sense.”

The FDA originally approved mifepristone in 2000 and made several changes to prescribing guidelines in 2016.

Those changes included increasing the gestational limit from seven to 10 weeks and making dosage and timing changes for both pharmaceuticals. The updated guidelines allowed qualified health care providers with the ability to prescribe medications to do so with mifepristone, not just doctors. And the requirement for three in-person doctor’s office visits was removed.

Numerous medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine filed briefs to the Supreme Court last year attesting to the safety and efficacy of mifepristone in a case that ultimately left access to medication abortion intact.

Kennedy also said during the hearing that he supports Trump’s policies on the Title X family planning grants program, including blocking federal funding from going to any organizations that perform or refer patients for abortions.

Federal law prevents taxpayer dollars from going to abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the pregnant patient.

Emergency medical treatment

Kennedy didn’t appear familiar with a federal law that ensures patients access to emergency health care regardless of insurance status.

The law, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, was a point of strong disagreement between Republican-controlled states and the Biden administration after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. 

It is the subject of an ongoing case that made its way up to the Supreme Court before being sent back to the circuit court, which heard arguments in December.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto asked Kennedy a series of questions about protections under EMTALA during the hearing, starting with whether a woman experiencing a heart attack should receive care under that federal law regardless of her insurance status.

Kennedy said yes. But he said he didn’t know if the law would protect a woman experiencing life-threatening bleeding from an incomplete miscarriage whose doctor said she needed an abortion.

Kennedy struggled to answer another question from Cortez Masto about what authorities HHS has to enforce EMTALA at hospitals that receive Medicare funding, saying he thought he had budget power but nothing else.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, she said, “actually investigates complaints of EMTALA violations, as well as the Health and Human Services inspector general, who, by the way, was just recently fired by Donald Trump.”

“So you will be enforcing EMTALA laws, and it’s important that you understand their impact and don’t play politics with the patient presenting at the ER based on a position that this administration has taken,” Cortez Masto said.

Cassidy questions on Medicaid

Kennedy similarly struggled to answer questions from Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy on Medicare and Medicaid, in an exchange that could lead to significant hurdles for his confirmation if Cassidy does not support him.

Cassidy — a doctor and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which holds its confirmation hearing for Kennedy on Thursday — repeatedly asked Kennedy how he’d improve Medicaid.

Kennedy listed off his criticisms of the program, before he said states should experiment with pilot programs and that the goals should be value-based care, transparency and accountability.

Kennedy said there were also many options through telemedicine and artificial intelligence before talking about AI nurses.

Kennedy, when asked by Cassidy about people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, said he thinks the answer to that is “that the programs are consolidated, that they’re integrated, and the care is integrated.”

But Kennedy, when pressed on how he would handle that, didn’t have an answer. He also got basic facts about Medicaid, including that costs are shared between the federal and state governments, incorrect.

“I’m not exactly sure, because I’m not in there,” Kennedy said. “I mean, it is difficult to integrate them, because Medicare is under fee-for-service and is paid for by employer taxes. Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government, and it’s not fee-for-service. So I do not know the answer to that. I look forward to exploring options with you.”

Kennedy said in response to a question from Cassidy about the differences between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage that people have the choice “right now,” though he said he expects more people would like to be on Medicare Advantage if it wasn’t for the more expensive price.

COVID-19 claims

Another, potentially damaging exchange for Kennedy’s confirmation prospects, came when Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet asked a series of questions about previous statements Kennedy has made on various public health issues.

“Mr. Kennedy, did you say that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets Black and white people, but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people?” Bennet asked.

Kennedy responded that he “didn’t say it was deliberately targeted.”

Kennedy said he “probably” had made comments that Lyme disease was a military engineered bioweapon.

Kennedy said he wasn’t sure if he had written in one of his books that it is “undeniable that African AIDS is an entirely different disease from Western AIDS,” following a question from Bennet.

Kennedy, however, denied making statements that pesticides cause children to become transgender.

Bennet said he would have those prior Kennedy statements entered into the committee’s official record. 

Commerce nominee Lutnick in confirmation hearing backs Trump’s tariff plans

29 January 2025 at 23:24
Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce secretary, during his Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce secretary, during his Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick got a step closer to potentially serving as the next Commerce secretary after largely sailing through his confirmation hearing Wednesday before a U.S. Senate panel.

If confirmed by the Senate, which appears likely, Lutnick would lead the department responsible for promoting and serving the country’s international trade and economic growth. He would be critical to carrying out President Donald Trump’s vision for imposing big tariffs.

“We need healthy businesses — small, medium and large — to hire our great American workers to drive our economy,” Lutnick told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

The New Yorker said he would dedicate himself to “making our government more responsive, working to ensure Americans have the greatest opportunity for success.”

During the lengthy hearing that featured questions from senators on both sides of the aisle regarding artificial intelligence, trade policy, manufacturing and export controls, Lutnick said he believes that the country’s farmers, ranchers and fishermen are “treated with disrespect around the world.”

‘Across the board’ tariffs

Lutnick, who prefers “across the board” tariffs, said “we need that disrespect to end, and I think tariffs are a way to create reciprocity, to be treated fairly, to be treated appropriately, and I think it will help our farmers, our ranchers, our fishermen — to flourish.”

The Commerce Department’s wide portfolio also touches on technology, science and innovation.

Some of the department’s 13 bureaus include the International Trade Administration, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The department is also responsible for carrying out the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which authorizes billions of dollars in funding for the production and research of semiconductors in the United States.

Lutnick said he thinks the CHIPS and Science Act was an “excellent down payment” in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and noted that “we need to study it.”

Lutnick also said he has a “very jaundiced view” regarding China. “I think they only care about themselves and seek to harm us, and so we need to protect ourselves — we need to drive our innovation — and we need to stop helping them.”

Vice President J.D. Vance praised Lutnick during an introduction of the nominee, dubbing him “just a good dude.” 

Vance, who served on the commerce panel while a U.S. senator representing Ohio, said Lutnick “is a person who on the world stage will say more and do more and convince businesses that America is back — that America is growing and thriving.”

Trump is promoting an “America First Trade Policy” and issued a memo last week that called for the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the Commerce and Homeland Security secretaries, to consider the establishment of an External Revenue Service.

The agency would “collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues,” according to the memo. 

Trump also directed the Commerce secretary to “investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods.”

Potential conflicts of interest

Lutnick, who’s taken heat over his business ties and potential conflicts of interest, vowed to sell all his business interests within 90 days, if confirmed.

“I made the decision that I made enough money in my life,” Lutnick said. “I can take care of myself, I can take care of my family. It is now my chance to serve the American people.”

He currently has or previously had a position in more than 800 organizations and businesses outside the government, according to his financial disclosure report.

Lutnick is the chairman and chief operating officer of Cantor Fitzgerald, a large financial services firm. He rebuilt the company after more than 650 employees, including his brother, died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He also established a multimillion-dollar fund for the families of the victims.  

Trump vows to build migrant detention center at Guantanamo Bay as he signs Laken Riley bill

29 January 2025 at 22:30
Surrounded by members of Congress and the family of Laken Riley, President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation passed during his second term in office, in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican who represents the district where Riley was killed, is at far left.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Surrounded by members of Congress and the family of Laken Riley, President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation passed during his second term in office, in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican who represents the district where Riley was killed, is at far left.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Wednesday signed into law the first bill of his second term, a measure that would require immigration officials to detain immigrants arrested or charged with property crimes, among others, and give broad legal authority to state attorneys general to challenge federal immigration law.

“Today’s signings bring us one step closer to eradicating the scourge of migrant crime in our communities once and for all,” Trump said.

Immigration advocates and attorneys have warned the bill would help fuel Trump’s promise to enact mass deportations by requiring the detainment of immigrants charged with property crime. ICE has funding for roughly 41,000 detention beds.

During the ceremony, Trump said that he will also sign a directive Wednesday to instruct the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to prepare for a migrant detention center in Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 beds.

“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said. “Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo. That’s a tough… place to get out of.”

From 1994 to 1996, the U.S. government used Guantanamo Bay to detain more than 30,000 Cubans fleeing due to political instability and economic downturn. In 2002, former President George W. Bush used the site to hold terrorism suspects who could be detained and interrogated without restraint following the Sept. 11 attacks.

DHS did not respond to States Newsroom’s questions about a new detention center in Guantanamo Bay. The facility has typically been used to detain asylum seekers on the way to the United States, rather than to move people already in the country to the naval base.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told reporters that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would run the naval base.

“We’re just going to expand upon the existing migrant center,” Homan said.

Laken Riley Act signed

The bill Trump signed is named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, who was murdered by a man immigration officials say was in the country without authorization and was previously charged with shoplifting.

“We will keep Laken’s memory alive in our hearts forever, everyone’s hearts with today’s action,” Trump said. “Her name will also live forever in the laws of our country and this is a very important law.”

Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, was also at the signing and thanked Trump for the bill.

“There’s no amount of change that will ever bring back our precious Laken,” she said. “Our hope moving forward is that her life saves lives.”

Trump criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policy and blamed it for Riley’s death.

“Under the cruel policies of the last administration, instead of being deported as he should have been, he was released into the United States, as were millions of other people, many of them very dangerous people, and you see what we’re doing, we’re getting (them) the hell out of here,” Trump said.

Senate Republicans also expanded the mandatory detention requirements originally for property crime, like shoplifting or burglary, to include the assault of a law enforcement officer and bodily harm to another person.

Trump praised Alabama GOP Sen. Katie Britt for shepherding the bill in the upper chamber.

He also called on Congress to provide his administration with funding to carry out deportations.

“We need Congress to provide full funding for the complete and total restoration of our sovereign borders, as well as financial support to remove record numbers of illegal aliens,” Trump said.

ICE has estimated the cost of enforcing the Laken Riley Act would be $26.9 billion in its first year, according to NPR. The budget for ICE for fiscal year 2024 is about $9 billion.

Due process criticism

The bill gained bipartisan support, despite concerns from immigration advocates and attorneys who warned the measure would scuttle due process rights for immigrants, and give state attorneys general the authority to question the bond decision of immigration judges.

Additionally, there is no carve-out for immigrant children in the bill, meaning they could be detained and not released on bond. Immigration attorneys have argued that while the bill aims to target people in the country without proper authorization, it would ensnare some immigrants with legal statuses that are discretionary such as humanitarian parole and even Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, colloquially called Dreamers.

The Trump administration last week, gave immigration officials the authority to cancel humanitarian parole — a discretionary status —  for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. within the last two years. That would include the roughly 1.5 million immigrants the Biden administration allowed into the U.S. through various legal pathways.

And legal advocates this week said they were barred from providing legal services in detention centers and had their Justice Department funding cut that provided assistance to immigrants navigating immigration court proceedings.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday also revoked an extension for temporary protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans.

Trump praised Noem for her work so far. Earlier this week, Noem was in New York City earlier accompanying ICE on raids.

“I know it’s probably not complimentary, because she is a woman, but she is tough,” Trump said of Noem.  

Newest round of Trump moves targets federal employees, care for transgender kids

29 January 2025 at 22:20
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s latest actions included an offer to buy out a large swath of the federal workforce, and an order narrowing medical options for transgender children, and some transgender adults.

Millions of government employees received an email Tuesday evening instructing them to reply with the word “resign” by Feb. 6 for a “dignified, fair departure” that promises full pay and benefits through September 2025, with the option of continuing to work from home.

The offer was not extended to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, or “those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security,” and other “specifically excluded” jobs.

According to a copy of the email reviewed by States Newsroom, those who choose to remain as part of the “reformed federal workforce” will be expected to return to the office in person five days a week and be “reliable, loyal, trustworthy” employees.

Workers who break the law or engage in “other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination,” according to the email.

The unsigned memo also warns that while some federal agencies and military branches may grow, the administration expects others to shrink.

“At this time we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” according to the email, which was sent from hr@opm.gov.

Union warns against ‘hasty decision’

The offer drew criticism, including from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who said on the Senate floor Wednesday that Trump “has no authority to make that offer.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 800,000 federal and D.C. employees, advised its members in a social media post to “NOT to make a hasty decision to resign until you have further details.”

A statement from the union’s national president, Everett Kelley, said the “purging” of government workers will have “vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government.”

“This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” Kelley said.

The federal government employs around 3 million people, making it the 15th-largest employer in the country, according to USAFacts.org.

Blocking funds for trans care for kids

Adding to a cascade of executive orders signed during his first nine days in office, Trump issued a directive late Tuesday that aims to limit treatment options for transgender children and adults under the age of 19.

The dictate is the latest in a string of orders by Trump to govern gender from the Oval Office.

On Monday, Trump banned openly transgender people from serving in the armed forces. On the night of his inauguration, the president declared the federal government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, ending “gender ideology extremism.”

According to Trump’s latest gender-related order, the government will “not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

The order defines a “child” as being under age 19, although most states recognize 18 as the legal age of adulthood.

Under the directive, heads of federal health agencies must pull research and educational grants from any medical schools or hospitals that continue to offer hormone treatments, often called puberty blockers, or gender transition surgery to patients under 19 years old.

Additionally, the order directs the U.S. attorney general — who will likely be former Florida AG Pam Bondi — to work with Congress on legislation that would “enact a private right of action for children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals” who prescribed hormone treatments or transition surgery. The legislation should “include a lengthy statute of limitations,” the order states.

DOJ instructions

The decree also instructs the Department of Justice to “prioritize” investigating cases of female genital mutilation, prosecutable under a federal law meant to protect girls in the United States from the religious or cultural custom of removing portions or all of the genitalia.

Trump’s order ensures that neither Medicare nor Medicaid can cover hormone therapy and certain surgical procedures for recipients under 19, and that insurance benefits offered to federal employees also do not offer coverage for those under 19 receiving the specified treatments.

The directive also mentions a ban on such health coverage for the trans children of U.S. service members, but that prohibition was already made explicit in Congress’ most recent annual defense authorization package.

The executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” gives the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services three months to publish a review of “best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion” — but specifically labels any guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health as “junk science.”

Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the nation’s next health secretary.

Wisconsin joins legal effort to preserve tougher requirements for lead in water

By: Erik Gunn
29 January 2025 at 19:58

Then-President Joe Biden visited Milwaukee in October 2024 to announced a new rule requiring the replacement of all lead water pipes in the U.S. by 2037. On Wednesday, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wisconsin is joining nine other states and D.C. to defend the rule. (Oct. 8, 2024 screenshot/White House livestream)

Wisconsin has joined with nine other states and the District of Columbia to defend the federal lead and copper water rule that took effect Dec. 30, tightening standards for lead exposure and requiring water systems across the county to replace lead pipes by 2037.

The new rule, which then-President Joe Biden announced in Milwaukee in October, has been challenged by the American Water Works Association, a trade group for water and wastewater utilities.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced Wednesday the state was joining the legal effort to intervene in the lawsuit in support of the rule. Other states in the coalition are California, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and North Carolina, along with D.C.

“Reducing lead in our drinking water shouldn’t be controversial,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said. “This common-sense rule that helps protect people’s health should remain in place.”

Lead exposure has been identified as a health hazard, especially for children, and has been linked to premature birth, damage during brain development and learning disabilities, delayed physical development in children and cardiovascular and kidney problems in adults. No amount of lead in drinking water is safe, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers approved an emergency rule from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) to lower the threshold for lead poisoning to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. The change makes more children and families eligible for intervention to diagnose and treat lead poisoning.

Evers has announced plans to seek a $6.2 million increase for local health departments, some of that to address lead poisoning, in the 2025-27 state budget that he will release in February.

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Extension of temporary protections for Venezuelan immigrants revoked by Trump administration

29 January 2025 at 19:04
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security late Tuesday revoked an extension of temporary protective status for nearly 600,000 Venezuelans, according to an unpublished Federal Register document obtained by States Newsroom.

The New York Times first reported on the decision.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, whom the U.S. Senate confirmed to lead the agency on Saturday, canceled the 18-month protections of temporary protected status. A country under TPS is deemed too dangerous to return to due to war, disaster or other unstable conditions.

It means more than 600,000 Venezuelans, who had TPS status renewed until October 2026, due to a last-minute action by former President Joe Biden, will have that extension undone. It comes as President Donald Trump has directed his administration to carry out highly publicized immigration enforcement actions in cities across the United States.

The president has said his administration will conduct mass deportations of undocumented people as well as immigrants let into the country under various legal pathways crafted under the Biden administration, including the TPS extension for Venezuelans.

The decision to revoke the renewal is effective immediately, according to the document. 

Because of the instability of the Venezuelan government, those nationals have fled to the U.S. in recent years, with TPS designation in 2021 and an expanded redesignation in 2023, creating two separate filing processes for people from the same country.

Venezuelans who had TPS status in 2023 will have protections until April 2, and Noem will have until Saturday to make a decision to extend protections, according to the document.

Those nationals from Venezuela who had TPS status in 2021 will have protections until Sept. 10, and Noem will have until July 12 to make a decision about renewing the designation, according to the document.

In the document, Noem argued that former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made his decision to renew TPS for Venezuela too early as her reasoning for revoking the extension.

The move is likely to face legal challenges. During the first Trump administration, DHS tried to end TPS for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Sudan, but the courts blocked those attempts in 2018.

In a statement, Nevada’s Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto argued that DHS did not have the legal authority to revoke the TPS extension for Venezuela.

“The Trump administration does not have the authority to revoke this TPS extension – it’s cruel, misinformed, and illegal,” she said. 

Noem noted in her confirmation hearing that she disagreed with the Biden administration’s decision to renew TPS recipients from Venezuela. She criticized the TPS program, and said those countries should have their designation reevaluated.

“This program has been abused and manipulated by the Biden administration, and that will no longer be allowed,” Noem said during her confirmation hearing.

There are currently 17 countries under TPS status – Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen. 

Grassley defends Bondi as her nomination for attorney general advances in U.S. Senate

29 January 2025 at 19:00
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Former Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi is one step closer to leading the U.S. Department of Justice after senators on Wednesday advanced her nomination.

Lawmakers on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted along party lines, 12-10, to send Bondi’s nomination to the full Senate. A final vote for President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general has not yet been scheduled.

Committee Chair Chuck Grassley of Iowa spoke ahead of the vote to address “some of the attacks against Ms. Bondi,” including her responses to Democratic committee member questions asking her to affirmatively state that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

“Several members of this committee characterized Ms. Bondi as an election denier. This is inconsistent with her own statements because on multiple occasions during her hearing Ms. Bondi stated that Biden was the president, and that she, quote unquote, ‘accepted the results,’” Grassley said.

Grassley also slammed Democrats’ criticism that Bondi’s loyalty to Trump is “somehow disqualifying.”

“The president has the right to choose an attorney general who is loyal and will faithfully carry out the vision for America that this president ran on,” Grassley said.

The committee’s top Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Trump’s recent Justice Department firings only amplify concerns.

“As I said during Ms. Bondi’s hearing, it is absolutely critical that any nominee for the position be committed, first and foremost, to the Constitution and the American people, not the president and his political agenda. Unfortunately, I’m unconvinced that Ms. Bondi shares my belief,” Durbin said.

Jan. 6 pardons

Senators questioned Bondi for nearly five hours on Jan. 15, ahead of Trump’s inauguration and his whirlwind of executive orders that included granting clemency to all Jan. 6 defendants.

The career prosecutor faced questions about how she would advise Trump on pardoning violent offenders who attacked law enforcement while breaking into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I’m not going to speak for the president, but the president does not like people that abuse police officers either,” Bondi told Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina when he questioned her about the expected pardons.

Graham later spoke out against Trump’s clemency for violent Capitol rioters.

Trump retribution

Democrats also pressed Bondi during her hearing on whether she would refuse a request from Trump to dole out political retribution against his political enemies.

In early December the president-elect told NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” that Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and former top-ranking Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming “should go to jail.” Thompson chaired and Cheney co-chaired the U.S. House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack.

Biden granted all members of the Jan. 6 committee a preemptive pardon hours before he left the White House.

Grassley said Wednesday before voting on Bondi that “there’s no reason to think that she would not follow the law.”

Bondi was a vocal supporter of Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania. She also advised Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2019.

Bondi served as the top law enforcement officer in Florida from 2011 to 2019 and as a prosecutor in Hillsborough County for 18 years.

Bondi, an experienced law practitioner, was not Trump’s first choice to lead the Justice Department. Rather, the president initially chose Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman accused of sex with a minor. Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House hours after Trump selected him and withdrew his name from the AG running a week later.

Second federal judge seems to be prepared to block Trump spending pause

29 January 2025 at 18:54
President Donald Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A second federal judge appears ready to issue an order blocking the Trump administration from freezing funding on grant and loan programs, despite a move by the Office of Management and Budget to rescind a controversial memo Wednesday just before the hearing.

Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island opted not to issue his ruling during the virtual hearing, saying that he first wanted the Democratic attorneys general who filed the suit to suggest how such an order might be worded. He then wants to hear from the Justice Department lawyer arguing the case on behalf of the Trump administration about the scope of that possible order.

McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the state attorneys general had convinced him that the Trump administration was likely to continue with the funding halt detailed in the now-revoked OMB memo in some way, based on a social media post from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“That hasn’t changed based on comments by the president’s press secretary,” McConnell said. “And so I’m inclined to grant the restraining order, though I’m struggling with how it would be worded and what effect it would have.”

A ruling from McConnell would be the second order blocking the Trump administration from implementing a spending pause on certain grant and loan programs.

District Judge Loren L. AliKhan on Tuesday issued a short-term administrative stay preventing President Donald Trump’s administration from starting the spending freeze. She then set a hearing in that case, brought by organizations that receive federal funding, for Feb. 3.

The original memo, released Monday evening by the Office of Management and Budget, led to widespread confusion and frustration among organizations like Meals on Wheels and grantees that rely on funding from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, as well as members of Congress from both political parties.

Memo rescinded

The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget rescinded that memo Wednesday, though comments from Leavitt just afterward led to even more confusion just before the hearing began. 

Leavitt wrote in a social media post that OMB rescinding the memo was “NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.”

“It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo,” Leavitt wrote. “Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction.”

“The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” she added.

Separately, Leavitt issued a written statement to reporters that seemed to suggest rescinding the OMB funding freeze memo was meant to get around AliKhan’s order.

“In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,” Leavitt wrote in a statement. “The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments. This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending. In the coming weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the egregious waste of federal funding.”

Appropriators praise withdrawal of memo

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, welcomed OMB’s action before Leavitt’s post and the hearing.

“I am pleased that OMB is rescinding the memo imposing sweeping pauses in federal programs,” Collins wrote in a statement. “While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation.”

Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., released a statement that the Trump administration reversal was the right decision. That was also before Leavitt weighed in.

“This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country — real people made a difference by speaking out,” Murray wrote. “Still, the Trump administration — through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard of the law — caused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the last 48 hours which is still ongoing.”

White House assurances

OMB’s decision to rescind the memo Wednesday followed the White House making public assurances Tuesday that the spending freeze wouldn’t impact Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and direct food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Two separate lawsuits seeking to block the OMB memo from taking effect on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. were filed in federal district court.

The lawsuit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits, American Public Health Association and Main Street Alliance led to federal District Court Judge AliKhan placing a temporary hold on the planned spending freeze until Feb. 3 at 5 p.m.

The second lawsuit, heard Wednesday, was filed by Democratic attorneys general from New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

7th District residents tell Tiffany they rely on programs affected by Trump spending freeze

29 January 2025 at 11:45

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks to voters on Jan. 27 at a listening session on the campus of UW-Eau Claire Barron County. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

RICE LAKE — On Monday, as a barrage of executive orders and policy changes from the new Donald Trump administration made headlines, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany criss-crossed his district holding listening sessions with constituents. Despite the sea change in Washington, many residents were focused on local issues outside the frenzy of attention, even as the White House took aim at programs the voters in this deep red part of the state said they rely on. 

At Tiffany’s event in Rice Lake, held on UW-Eau Claire’s Barron County campus, the discussion touched on energy, government health care, COVID-19 interventions and Division III college hockey. 

Dale Seidlitz complained to Tiffany that he and his brother-in-law were struggling with the disability compensation programs offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and how payment amounts are calculated. 

Seidlitz said he was a helicopter pilot for the Marines and did stints flying Marine One for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He said that he has a lingering hand injury, hearing loss and issues related to exposure to toxic chemicals at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, but the VA won’t provide the full amount of compensation he’s qualified for. 

“It’s this wonky math that they do for compensation that really needs to be overhauled,” Seidlitz said. “It’s not just about me, it’s about all veterans at the VA.” 

Tiffany directed Seidlitz to his staff, saying, “it’s always a priority with veterans.”

Shortly after  Tiffany promised to help his constituent navigate  the VA bureaucracy, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a memo announcing the freezing of all federal financial assistance, including the VA’s disability compensation program. 

The memo immediately drew legal challenges including from Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, on the grounds that the president has no authority to prevent money appropriated by Congress from being spent. A federal district judge ruled Tuesday the Trump administration must wait until at least next week before it can move forward with pausing federal spending on trillions in grants and loans, though she emphasized the short-term administrative stay might not continue after a Feb. 3 hearing.

During Tiffany’s listening session in Rice Lake, Jennifer Jako, director of Barron County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center, told Tiffany that she was concerned about cuts that Republicans and Trump have proposed to Medicaid in order to pay for an extension of the tax cuts signed into law by Trump during his first term. Jako added that she’s heard Congress is considering $2 trillion in cuts. 

Jako said that Medicaid funding makes up about half of her office’s budget and helps the county — where 40% of the population is older than 60 — provide important services to people of every income level. 

“I just want to make sure you are aware that if we’re talking that large of Medicaid cuts, it will probably have some pretty big effects on a lot of those kinds of long-term care services and supports,” she said. 

Tiffany said that the $2 trillion proposal is over a 10-year period, so as part of the annual Medicaid budget would only be $200 billion per year, before pivoting to saying the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, shouldn’t be available to people who are capable of working. 

“Now, if you’re able bodied and you can work, you should not be on a program that’s paid for by you, the taxpayers of the United States,” he said. “We’re all willing to give a hand up, help someone out for a little while, but that shouldn’t be a way of life, and we’re also trying to get at that, because the estimates that I’ve seen is there’s five to 10 million people in America that are able bodied, that should be working and are collecting benefits, including sometimes Medicaid benefits, that really shouldn’t be getting those. And so that’s really what we’re trying to get at, is that those who legitimately deserve the help that we make sure that they get them.” 

Tiffany also said that many of the proposed cuts to Medicaid should be focused on rooting out fraud and abuse in the program, saying that “hundreds of billions of dollars” of taxpayer funds meant to be used for Medicaid are going to “foreign actors that have figured out how to break into the American system. They’re hacking into the system.” 

Among the programs for which the White House has attempted to freeze funding is the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

Energy production

On Monday evening, Tiffany held a town hall event in New Richmond to discuss a proposed solar farm in the area and promote his bill which would prevent energy companies from receiving tax subsidies for building a solar installation if it is constructed on working agricultural land. During the Rice Lake event, he also emphasized efforts to increase energy production in Wisconsin and around the country. 

Tiffany, who has taken a personal interest in local land use debates in his district, complained about the Bad River Tribe’s efforts to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 natural gas pipeline, which runs through northern Wisconsin. He also said that he supports easing permitting requirements for all sorts of energy sources, including natural gas and nuclear power plants, because the country needs to produce more energy — although domestic oil and gas production is already at its highest ever levels. 

“If you think climate change is real, nuclear is one of the ways in which we can have that base load power that will fill in the gaps,” he said. “If we’re going to continue to move with the wind and solar and the intermittent sources of power, you’ve got to have something that’s base load, and nothing’s more base load than nuclear.”

Wisconsin Democrats seek to prohibit state and local cooperation with ICE and deportation efforts 

29 January 2025 at 11:30

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference that everyone in Wisconsin and the U.S. is protected from unreasonable searches and seizures regardless of immigration status. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin Democrats announced legislation Tuesday that would block state and local government officials from cooperating with federal deportation efforts — getting ahead of an expected bill from Republican lawmakers this week that would instruct the opposite. 

The legislation comes as President Donald Trump has launched highly publicized immigration raids across the country yielding close to 1,000 arrests. Last week, the new administration threw out guidelines limiting enforcement in or near “sensitive” areas, including places of worship, schools, health care facilities, relief centers and social services centers.

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference that everyone in Wisconsin and the U.S. is protected from unreasonable searches and seizures regardless of immigration status. 

“We want people in Wisconsin’s kids to feel safe in Wisconsin schools, places of worship, places where child care services are provided, in places where medical or other health care services are provided,” Ortiz-Velez said. “Kids deserve to feel safe in school. People deserve to seek medical care without fear of separation or detainment.”

The bill would prohibit state agency and local government officials, employees and agents, including law enforcement officers, from aiding in the detention of a person if they are being detained on the “sole basis that the individual is or is alleged to be not lawfully present in the United States” unless there is a judicial warrant. It would only apply to detentions in a public building or facility, school, place of worship, place where child care services are provided, or place where medical or other health care services are provided. Under the bill, civilians also wouldn’t be required to aid unless there is a judicial warrant.

The bill would also prohibit the state from using its money to aid in detention efforts. 

Ortiz-Velez said that Wisconsin should protect the law-abiding residents of the state regardless of immigration status and emphasized that Wisconsin doesn’t have to comply with the federal government in its deportation efforts. 

“While as a state we may not stop the federal government from exercising its legitimate power within the state’s borders, a state is not required to help the federal government in the exercise of its powers,” Ortiz-Velez. 

“Good, hard-working people deserve to be treated with dignity — a pathway to citizenship, fair wages. We need real and meaningful immigration reform from Washington DC,” Ortiz-Velez continued. “And I’m urging Congress and the president to move forward with solutions that secure the border but also work to reform our broken immigration system.”

It’s unlikely the bill will become law given that Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in the Assembly and Senate, plan to introduce legislation soon that would do the opposite. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said last week at the State of the State address the Republicans plan to propose a bill this week that would require local law enforcement to cooperate with the deportation efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

GOP lawmakers have argued that Wisconsinites, in voting for President Donald Trump in November, signaled support for his immigration policies. Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 30,000 votes — or 0.9% of the vote. 

Forward Latino National President Darryl Morrin sought to address some misconceptions about undocumented immigrants. He cited research showing that undocumented workers pay taxes in the U.S. without benefiting from the social services they help to pay for, and most are not  criminals and are in the U.S. solely to work. One report found that in 2022 undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.

“The overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants are guilty of one thing: wanting to provide for their families and do so in a safe and nurturing environment,” Morrin said. “Being undocumented in the United States is not a crime, despite what is being repeated on the airwaves nightly, it’s a civil violation. It’s the same thing as if I had a parking ticket.” 

Lawmakers and advocates said the bill was necessary as a way to protect people from inhumane treatment. 

“What is happening at the federal level is not a safety plan. It is fear weaponized, targeting the most vulnerable among us, and we know that this approach silences victims of violence who are afraid to speak out,” Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) said. “It fosters exploitation and fractures trust. Chaos is not a safety solution. Hate is not a policy, and fear is not safety. The only path to a freer, fairer future is through humane constitutional policies. It’s through investments in communities, not draconian crackdowns.” 

Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) said the actions of the federal government, under the guidance of Trump, have caused “significant anxiety and chaos across America.” He quoted the Bible, Leviticus 19:33: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner resides among you and must be treated as your native-born.”

Christian and religious teachings were a repeated theme throughout the press conference as multiple advocates and faith leaders spoke in support of the bill.

Executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches Rev. Kerri Parker speaking at the press conference Tuesday. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches Rev. Kerri Parker said it’s necessary for religious and human services workers to be allowed to do their jobs  without fear of disruption by “state violence.” She said she was delivering the message with the backing of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Council of Churches.

“We live in an age of fear and separation, but Wisconsin, we can do better,” Parker said. “A practice of care and accommodation, feeding and clothing, healing and safety has been in place among people of faith for millennia. Hospitality is a central piece of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. How then are we to allow simple human need to be treated as a trespass? We can’t.” 

The pleas from Wisconsin faith leaders come as others across the country have been calling for the Trump administration to treat immigrants with dignity. Last week, Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, directly pleaded with Trump during a service to “have mercy” on vulnerable people in the U.S. including those who “pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants.”

“We have many messages from churches, supporting those who live in fear because of the color of their skin, their national origin, their immigration status. Our neighbors are seeking help, solidarity and peace,” Parker said. “We desperately need reconciliation, something that will not be achieved by making us more fearful and suspicious of one another or by adding more violence to an already violent world.”

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Former U.S. Capitol officer criticizes Schimel comments on Jan. 6 defendants

By: Erik Gunn
29 January 2025 at 11:15

Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer, speaks Tuesday at a press conference about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. With him are, from left, Sam Liebert of All Voting is Local and Nick Ramos of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

A former U.S. Capitol Police officer who survived the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack said Tuesday the insurrection must not be forgotten four years later — and candidates running for election now should face up to what happened then.

“This attempt to whitewash, downplay, normalize what happened on Jan. 6 is ongoing and shows no signs of letting up,” said Harry Dunn during a meeting with reporters in Madison.

Criticizing Republicans who have urged Democrats and the public “to move on from Jan. 6,” Dunn said the attack met the definition of an insurrection — “a violent uprising against the government. Full stop.”

“That’s what Jan. 6 was,” he added. “The police officers just happened to be in the way. But anybody that fails to accept that, acknowledge that for what that was, deserves to be called out, condemned.”

Pro-democracy advocates arranged for Dunn to speak to the press in the state Capitol building and deliberately chose one particular meeting room on the third floor — 300 South, the same room used by Republican fake electors in December 2020 who filled out false electoral votes choosing Donald Trump as the Wisconsin winner of an election that he lost.

The fake elector scheme “was hatched in Wisconsin and launched from here to the rest of the United States,” said Scott Thompson, a staff attorney for Law Forward, at Tuesday’s press conference.

The nonprofit law firm sued Wisconsin’s fake electors and won a settlement in which they acknowledged in writing they had tried “to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential elections results.” The scheme culminated in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, Thompson said.  

“The events of Jan. 6, 2021, were not just an attack on a building or a single moment in time, but they were an attack on our collective voice as voters,” said Sam Liebert, Wisconsin director of the voting rights group All Voting is Local Action. “The insurrection was a brazen and egregious attempt to silence millions of Americans nationwide to overturn the results of a free and fair election through violence and intimidation.”

Four years later in 2024 Trump won the U.S. popular vote, including a 30,000-vote majority in Wisconsin, returning him to the White House effective Jan. 20. There one of his first acts was to pardon more than 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6 attack.

Dunn’s visit to Wisconsin focused on Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel’s comments about the Jan. 6 defendants, including during a recent radio interview. Schimel is a Waukesha County circuit court judge and former Wisconsin attorney general.

In a Jan. 2 appearance on the Vicki McKenna show, Schimel said that Jan. 6 defendants didn’t have “a fair shot” when they were tried and blamed “lawfare manipulation” for the conviction of defendants in the attack.

Schimel suggested they would have been acquitted had they not been put on trial in “overwhelmingly liberal” Washington, D.C., and that the prosecutors appointed under the Democratic administration “would never take their prosecution in a district where you had a fair shot as a defendant.”

The federal government prosecuted the rioters in Washington because the city is where the U.S. Capitol is located.

Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, mentioned Schimel’s radio interview before introducing Dunn.

“Four years ago, far-right mobs swarmed the Capitol, assaulted officers and tried to overturn the will of voters,” said Ramos. “It’s pretty straightforward, and yet Schimel, our former attorney general, still thinks these people weren’t given a fair shot and their trials were political gamesmanship.”

Dunn said he’s taken an interest in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race because of Schimel’s comments.

“I’ve been fighting for accountability from day one,” Dunn said. He holds Donald Trump primarily responsible for the riot.

“That accountability won’t happen,” he said. But he added that he also wants to hold accountable “public officials who believe that Donald Trump’s pardoning of these individuals was OK” — including Schimel.

“I don’t know Brad Schimel’s positions on policy on anything else, except for that he is OK with supporting the rioters who attacked me and my coworkers, period,” Dunn said. “And that is not OK — and that’s what’s bringing me here.”

During a news conference Monday featuring his endorsement by Wisconsin Republican members of Congress, Schimel accused prosecutors of overcharging some Jan. 6 defendants until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law under which they were charged didn’t apply to them.

He also said that “anyone who engaged in violence and Jan. 6, assaulted a police officer, resisted arrest, those people should have been prosecuted … and judges should impose sentences that are just under the circumstances.”

Schimel also defended the president’s power to issue pardons: “It’s a power they have. I don’t object to them utilizing that.”

Dunn was asked Tuesday about Schimel’s comments.

“If you believe that the individuals who attacked police officers should serve their sentence, then the only response to Donald Trump’s pardons should be that they’re wrong,” Dunn replied. “He should not pardon them — and those words did not come out of [Schimel’s] mouth. So he’s attempting to play both sides.”

In an interview, Dunn said he’s kept going despite disappointment at Trump’s 2024 victory because “I believe in doing what’s right.”

That’s what led him to become a police officer, he said, and after the Capitol attack, to mount an unsuccessful campaign for Congress. He also has a political action committee, raising funds to support political candidates who are pro-democracy, he said.

Dunn acknowledged that some who opposed the president have given up in despair while others have become embittered toward Trump voters.

“I’ve seen people say, ‘You know what? This is what you all voted for. You get what you deserve,’” he said. “There are a lot of people who did not vote for this, that are going to be impacted by the things that Donald Trump and this administration are going to do, and I believe they deserve somebody that’s going to fight for them.”

There will be elections this year, in 2026 and 2028, all opportunities for change, “so I encourage people,” Dunn said. “And I think part of my work is to make sure people are educated before Election Day and not outraged after Election Day.”

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Before yesterdayWisconsin Examiner

U.S. Senate GOP blocks resolution condemning Trump pardons of Jan. 6 attackers

29 January 2025 at 02:25
U.S. Senate Republicans on Jan. 28, 2025, blocked a resolution condemning pardons for supporters of President Donald Trump who violently attacked and injured police officers when they broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  Shown are some Trump supporters that day. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate Republicans on Jan. 28, 2025, blocked a resolution condemning pardons for supporters of President Donald Trump who violently attacked and injured police officers when they broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  Shown are some Trump supporters that day. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans Tuesday blocked a resolution condemning pardons for supporters of President Donald Trump who violently attacked and injured police officers when they broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray requested unanimous consent for the resolution on the floor but was met with opposition from Majority Whip John Barrasso.

Unanimous consent is a common route senators take for simple resolutions, military nominations and other actions, but adoption can be blocked by just one senator.

Hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump commuted the prison sentences for 14 of the most serious offenders on Jan. 6, including leaders of the paramilitary groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Simultaneously he granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to the rest of the approximately 1,560 defendants.

Murray, who represents Washington state, said Trump’s decision to pardon the violent defendants is “truly an unthinkable attempt to erase the facts of that day.”

“It is a betrayal of the law enforcement that protected all of us that day and a dangerous endorsement of political violence, telling criminals that you can beat cops within an inch of their lives as long as it’s in service to Donald Trump,” Murray said.

All 47 Democratic and independent senators co-sponsored the 19-word resolution that “disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.”

Biden also issued pardons

Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, blocked the measure. He argued that “Democrats do not want a serious debate here about the use of presidential pardon power” because former President Joe Biden had granted thousands of pardons and commutations before leaving office.

“If they did want a serious conversation, they would talk about Joe Biden’s pardons, over 8,000 of them,” Barrasso said. “The previous president used his final days in office to grant clemency to 37 of 40 of the worst killers on death row.”

Biden set the record for the most pardons and commutations, granting clemency to thousands of nonviolent drug offenders. The former president, whose opposition to capital punishment is well documented, commuted the death sentences for 37 federal inmates, who will now serve life sentences instead. He left three inmates on death row.

Just before leaving the White House, Biden granted preemptive pardons to all members who sat on the congressional committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, as well as the four police officers who testified before the panel.

He also preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci and retired Gen. Mark Milley, both of whom have been the target of Trump’s threats for retribution and threats from the general public.

Biden drew criticism in early December for pardoning his son, Hunter, who was convicted on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to tax violations. In his final moments in office, Biden granted preemptive pardons to five members of his family.

Assaults on police

Over 140 U.S. Capitol Police and Washington Metropolitan Police officers were injured that day, according to the Department of Justice.

Several other Democratic senators spoke on the floor about specific assaults on law enforcement on Jan. 6, and the four officers who died by suicide in the days following the attack.

“How does this line up with backing the blue? I don’t get it,” said Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

States Newsroom approached nearly two dozen Republican senators the day after Trump issued the pardons for comment about clemency for the violent offenders.

With just a few exceptions, nearly all either refused to talk, deflected to criticize Biden’s pardons or said they hadn’t read Trump’s 334-word order to free the defendants from their punishments.

Of all the defendants, 608 were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement, including 174 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Nearly a third pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, and 69 pleaded guilty to doing so with a blatant or improvised weapon, including pieces of furniture the rioters destroyed inside the Capitol and police officers’ own riot shields.

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