Following the April state Supreme Court loss, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming launched an effort to examine what went wrong led by state Treasurer John Leiber. Schimming, Brad Schimel, Milwaukee pastor Marty Calderon and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney pictured answer questions from the press in February 2025. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

Kelly Ruh resigned from her position as treasurer of the Republican Party of Wisconsin over the weekend, saying that she can “no longer meaningfully contribute” to the party’s leadership given current circumstances.

Ruh, who worked for the party for about a decade, said there is an “absence of a strategic plan, defined objectives, measurable outcomes” alongside budgetary issues. 

“As the saying goes ‘what gets measured gets done.’ Unfortunately, without metrics or accountability, it is unclear what we are working toward or what our capacity is to achieve our objective,” Ruh wrote. “Moreover, the internal dynamics of RPW, particularly the dysfunctional leadership, have made attempts at collaboration increasingly difficult, unproductive and discouraging. The lack of transparency, direction and respect for differing opinions — or even basic board oversight — has fostered a culture that is not only ineffective but also absurd.”

Ruh’s departure comes in a year when the state party has faced calls for changes after tough statewide losses, including in the race for state superintendent and the spring state Supreme Court race where the party’s endorsed candidate lost by 10 percentage points — a result that locked in a liberal majority at least through 2028.

Following the April losses, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming launched an effort to examine what went wrong led by state Treasurer John Leiber, who is the only Republican to hold a statewide office in Wisconsin. 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the results of the effort included recommended  goals for the party including expanding the out-of-state donor network, encouraging direct donations to candidates and the party, ensuring that third-party groups reinforce candidate and party messaging, hiring an in-house opposition researcher and supplying county parties with talking points. 

“It pains me that the Republican Party of Wisconsin continues to repeat the same mistakes time and again,” Ruh wrote in her resignation letter dated Oct. 19. “Recent election results in Wisconsin are clear — if RPW does not drastically change its approach to everything (leadership, fundraising, messaging, organizing, addressing issues that Wisconsinites care about) then it will play no role in deciding our future.” 

Wisconsin has another slate of crucial elections on deck for 2026 including an open race for governor and lieutenant governor, another state Supreme Court race and elections for the state Senate and Assembly where control will be up for grabs.  

“My sincere hope is that those who remain in positions of authority will institute the critical changes that must be made to our party,” Ruh said. 

Schimming, who was first elected to serve as the state party’s chair in 2022 and won another term in December, thanked Ruh for her service in a statement to WisPolitics without addressing the charges in her letter. He said the party wishes her “the best of luck in her future endeavors.” 

Ruh’s letter was posted to social media Monday by Brett Galaszewski, who serves as fifth Congressional district vice chairman for the state party as well as the vice chair for the Republican Party of Milwaukee County and the national enterprise director for Turning Point Action. He called for the party to heed Ruh’s warnings. 

“Ideologically, Kelly and I didn’t always align. I’m further to the right and we both knew it. But we had real conversations about reforming the movement,” Galaszewski said. “When even voices from the old guard start saying the quiet part out loud, it should be a wake up call for everyone.”

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A bipartisan group of legislators has proposed a bill to require the state Department of Natural Resources to warn county and tribal health departments when an exceedance of state groundwater standards is discovered. 

The proposed bill, which was circulated for co-sponsorship Monday by Rep. Jill Billings (D-La Crosse), Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp), would include warnings about the presence of PFAS — even though the state has been unable to finalize a PFAS limit for groundwater. 

That provision would allow private well owners to be warned about the presence of PFAS despite the yearslong political quicksand that has mired the effort to enact a contaminant limit for the class of chemicals. The lack of a PFAS standard has been a regular sticking point in negotiations over legislation to spend $125 million already set aside for PFAS clean up. 

While the state doesn’t have a PFAS groundwater standard, it does have standards for nearly 150 other chemicals such as aluminum, nitrates and lead. 

About one-third of Wisconsinites get their drinking water from private wells, which don’t come with the same warnings that are often required of municipal water systems. 

“The public should be able to know if there is any threat to the safety of the water they and their children drink every day,” the co-sponsorship memo states. “This bill would provide Wisconsinites with more knowledge so they can protect themselves and their children from pollutants and allow them to take advantage of local and county-level testing initiatives and state-level assistance opportunities like the Well Compensation Grant Program.” 

After the legislation’s announcement, environmental groups celebrated it as a potential win for clean water. 

“Wisconsinites have a right to know about pollution that may be impacting the health of their families,” said Peter Burress, government affairs manager for Wisconsin Conservation Voters. “This legislation is a common sense solution that will protect Wisconsin families. It’s unacceptable that so many Wisconsin families could be drinking water contaminated with PFAS, lead, and nitrates — chemicals tied to cancer and birth defects  — without ever being told.”

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U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, listens during a committee hearing May 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A group of Democrats on the U.S. House education panel urged the Education Department to withdraw its proposed supplemental priority on “promoting patriotic education” in a letter obtained Monday by States Newsroom. 

House Committee on Education and Workforce ranking member Bobby Scott led a handful of his colleagues in writing to Education Secretary Linda McMahon opposing the proposed priority for discretionary grant funding. 

The Democrats wrote that while civics education “is a vital component of a well-functioning democracy,” the proposal’s details “raise serious concerns.” The letter was sent Oct. 17 — the last day to submit a comment on the proposed priority. It has not been previously reported.

Joining Scott, of Virginia, were Reps. Frederica Wilson of Florida, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Mark Takano and Mark DeSaulnier of California, Lucy McBath of Georgia, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona.  

Dems reject Trump hand in curriculum

The Democrats said the agency’s proposal would insert President Donald Trump’s administration’s “preferences of a particular understanding of American history in curriculum, professional development, and educational programs.” 

Civics is a branch of social studies that focuses on rights and obligations of citizenship. Though it’s long enjoyed bipartisan support, the subject has found itself engulfed in the education culture wars regarding how and what is taught as America reckons with its complicated history. 

The department announced last month it would be prioritizing “patriotic education” when it comes to discretionary grants.  

The department’s proposed definition of “patriotic education” calls for a presentation of America’s history that is grounded in an “accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of the American founding and foundational principles” and “the concept that commitment to America’s aspirations is beneficial and justified.” 

But the Democrats found this definition to be “concerning,” saying this framing “creates the potential for schools that teach accurate and complex histories of slavery, Indigenous displacement, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement to be limited in their ability to access certain discretionary grants.” 

Coalition to promote patriotism

The department’s September announcement came the same day it unveiled a civics education coalition that includes a slew of prominent conservative advocacy organizations, such as the Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA. 

Left out of that initiative are some of the more traditional civics and education groups. Instead, many of the coalition’s groups have promoted Trump’s political agenda and promote a vision of U.S. identity that downplays historical wrongs associated with race and gender and projects the country as an exceptional force for good.

“Some of these groups have expressed contempt for the teaching of history that does not align with the version of history they believe students should learn, and these same groups would prefer to limit children’s access to materials that depict the realities of slavery in America or the Civil Rights Movement,” the Democrats wrote. 

The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. 

A closed sign is seen on the Washington Monument on Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C., the first day of the 2025 government shutdown. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department announced Monday it will pause efforts to lay off 2,050 employees throughout the country, after a federal judge expanded a temporary restraining order late last week.

The new filing provides more information about how the Trump administration plans to reduce the size and scope of a department that oversees much of the country’s public lands. 

Rachel Borra, chief human capital officer at Interior, wrote in a 35-page document the layoffs would affect employees at the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey, among others. 

The National Park Service layoffs would target several areas of the country, including 63 of 224 workers at the Northeast regional office, 69 of 223 at the Southeast regional office and 57 of 198 at the Pacific West regional office. 

The Northeast region holds 83 sites throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Southeast region “has 73 parks across 4 million acres in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

The Pacific West region encompasses more than “60 national park sites across California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, parts of Arizona and Montana, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.”

The layoffs cannot take place under the temporary restraining order that U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston clarified and expanded Friday during an emergency hearing. 

The layoffs would be further blocked if Illston, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, issues a preliminary injunction during a hearing scheduled for later this month. 

Advocates and current and former Interior staff members have told States Newsroom that bare-bones staffing during the government shutdown across the department and the U.S. Forest Service already is leaving America’s treasured natural assets vulnerable to lasting damage.

Hundreds proposed for layoffs at Commerce, HHS

The other briefs filed Monday were from the departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services, which said in earlier court documents officials planned to lay off hundreds of federal workers. 

Commerce’s latest numbers say it would like to lay off 102 workers, while the Health and Human Services Department told the judge officials plan to get rid of 954 people. Both confirmed those efforts are on hold under the temporary restraining order. 

The numbers were different from those included in earlier filings to the court in the lawsuit, which was brought by labor unions representing federal workers. 

Those declarations in the earlier filings detailed the below layoff plans:

• Commerce: Approximately 600 employees
• Education: Remained at 466 employees
• Health and Human Services: 982 employees
• Housing and Urban Development: 442 employees
• Homeland Security: 54 employees
• Treasury: 1,377 employees

Federal attorneys wrote in Monday’s court documents that all other departments “have determined, to the best of their knowledge and based on their investigation to date, that they have no additional information to provide in response to the Court’s October 17, 2025, modified TRO, that was not already provided in their October 17, 2025, declarations.”

Energy Department layoffs protested by Dems

The Energy Department wrote in a filing that it didn’t need to declare any planned layoffs to the court since the Reduction in Force notices it had issued didn’t have an effective date. An earlier court filing said the department sent those notices to 179 employees.

Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Energy-Water Appropriations subcommittee ranking member Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, wrote in a letter that the Energy Department’s planned layoffs were “a clear act of political retribution that will hurt communities across the country.”

“These actions, which reportedly affect 179 employees, appear to be part of a broader effort to implement the administration’s budget request without congressional approval—circumventing the appropriations process and undermining congressional intent,” Murray and Kaptur wrote. “The Department’s actions will raise energy prices for American families by disrupting the implementation of key programs that increase supply and reduce costs for hard-working Americans.”

The layoffs are one of the many ways the Trump administration is approaching the government shutdown differently than it did during the last prolonged funding lapse, which took place from December 2018 through January 2019. 

White House officials have canceled funding approved by Congress for projects in regions of the country that tend to vote for Democrats. And signaled they may not provide back pay for federal workers placed on furlough, which is authorized by a 2019 law that President Donald Trump signed during his first term.

Johnson ties shutdown to No Kings rallies

Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said during a morning press conference he hopes Senate Democrats vote to advance a stopgap spending bill soon, allowing the government to reopen. 

The conclusion of the No Kings protests, he said, could help reduce pressure on Democrats to keep the government shut down. 

“Now that Chuck Schumer has had his spectacle, he’s had his big protest against America, this is our plea: We’re asking, and I think everybody in this room and everybody watching, listening to our voices this morning should be hoping that he is finally now ready to go to work and end this shutdown and stop inflicting pain on the American people,” Johnson said. 

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters outside the White House he believes moderate Democrats, specifically Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are ready to end the shutdown.

Shaheen told the New Hampshire Bulletin on Friday that no official negotiations to end the shutdown are happening. She also criticized the administration’s multibillion dollar bailout for Argentina that Trump finalized last week as federal agencies remain dark during the funding lapse and as health insurance premiums are set to increase.

But Hassett repeated the argument that Republicans won’t negotiate until Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. He told CNBC Monday morning he believes that will happen “sometime this week.”

“If they want to have policy disputes, they could do it through regular order, but just shutting down the government and making 750,000 government workers not get their paychecks, it’s just not acceptable,” the White House economic adviser said.

The Senate failed for an 11th time later in the day to advance the House-passed stopgap spending bill that would keep the government up and running through Nov. 21. 

The 50-43 vote followed a familiar pattern, with Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Maine independent Sen. Angus King voting with Republicans to advance the bill. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has been voting to advance the bill, didn’t vote. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted no.

Ashley Murray and Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report. 

UW-Platteville (UW Platteville)

The Universities of Wisconsin branch campus in West Baraboo will close at the end of the school year, officials announced Friday. 

The UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County is set to close after a steep decline in enrollment. The two-year campus hit an enrollment peak in 2000 with 758 students. Enrollment on the campus hit an all time low this semester with 116 students. 

Baraboo Sauk County is the eighth branch campus to be closed or dramatically downsized since 2023. It is also the second branch campus under the management of UW-Platteville to be shut down after the campus in Richland County was shuttered in July 2023. 

“This decision was not made lightly,” UW-Platteville Chancellor Tammy Evetovich said in the announcement Friday. “Enrollment continues to decline on that campus, and we are committed to being good partners with the city and county by ensuring the campus can be used in ways that best serve the region.”

Enrollment on UW’s branch campuses has steadily declined in recent years, however campus faculty and staff, as well as residents of affected communities, have blamed UW administration officials for decades of decision making that deprioritized maintaining the two-year campuses. 

State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) blamed the closures on Republican budget decisions.

“Campus closures and the march towards consolidation is a result of Republican politicians viewing higher education as a luxury good that only those who can afford it deserve,” she said in a statement. “In their view, UW is just another cost preventing them from giving more public money to their billionaire campaign backers. The ‘budget shortfalls’ that led to this closure were manufactured over the last 15 years by right-wing politicians who systematically divested from public higher education while strangling UW’s ability to manage its own financial affairs.”

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Will Martin called himself a “common-sense conservative” in his launch ad, saying there is a “quiet crisis” of young people leaving the state. (Screenshot of campaign ad)

Businessman Will Martin launched his campaign for lieutenant governor Monday, joining a growing field for the second-highest executive office in Wisconsin.

Martin called himself a “common-sense conservative” in his launch ad, saying there is a “quiet crisis” of young people leaving the state. This is Martin’s second campaign for the office. He came in fifth in the 2022 primary when former U.S. Rep. Roger Roth was the Republican nominee.

“Wisconsin jobs are being lost. AI and automation are disrupting entire industries, and for far too many, homeownership has become a distant, if not impossible dream,” Martin said. “As lieutenant governor, I’ll work to cut the size and cost of state government and restore the promise of the American Dream together. Let’s ignite a new era of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity from Kenosha to Cornucopia.”

Martin worked in the administrations of former Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker. Under the Walker administration, he worked in the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority and the Department of Workforce Development.

Martin joins Former Lancaster Mayor David Varnam, who launched his campaign in September, in the race. Varnam also ran for lieutenant governor in 2022, coming seventh in the primary.

“I am concerned about my family’s future and the path Democrats are taking Wisconsin down,” Varnam said in his announcement. “We need to lower taxes to keep retirees, young people, and businesses in Wisconsin. Our schools need to focus on raising standards, test scores, and expectations for our students. As a father of two daughters, I will fight to keep men out of women’s sports and protect their locker rooms.”

Wisconsinites will cast their votes separately for governor and lieutenant governor during the partisan primary next year. The winners of the primaries will run on the same ticket in November and voters choose them as a pair.

The partisan primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026.

Republican candidates for governor include U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Washington Co. Executive Josh Schoemann.

Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, a Democrat, launched her campaign for lieutenant governor in August.

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Community Medical Services (CMS) on Milwaukee's South Side. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

When patients struggling with opioid addiction walk into the newly opened Community Medical Services (CMS) clinic on Milwaukee’s South Side, “we want them to feel that this is a space for healing and growth,” said Amanda Maria De Leon, regional community impact manager for CMS. The clinic provides therapy and medication-assisted treatment for people working to stabilize their lives after addiction.

Medication-assisted treatment involves medications like Methadone to control opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Together with therapy, medication-assisted treatment allows patients to begin to stabilize and repair their lives. Although studies have associated medication-assisted treatment with reductions in overdoses and other improved recovery outcomes, its use also carries stigma. Confronting that social disapproval, while also providing a comfortable environment for patients, is part of the mission of CMS. 

Walking into the clinic, patients are met with an open waiting room and ample seating. There is a small area with toys for young children in one corner, and across the room nurses sit at a desk waiting to check in patients. Hanging over the small play area is a plaque dedicated to a young girl who spoke at one of the city zoning hearings in favor of the clinic opening. De Leon explained that the girl, who was 8 years old at the time, had befriended a local unhoused man to whom she’d given food. “She knew he needed treatment,” De Leon told the Wisconsin Examiner, saying the girl told the zoning board, “I want them to open this clinic for my friend.” 

Around a corner from the lobby, behind a set of protective glass windows, nurses dispense liquid methadone into small cups for patients on a daily basis. Walls and therapy rooms throughout the facility are painted calming  blues and  greens, and feature art or motivational messages. Small, decorative coffee tables sit between two small couches large enough for one or two people to sit facing each other. 

“We create a space like this intentionally, because we don’t want a patient to feel like it’s a transaction,” De Leon told the Examiner. She said that the facility is designed to be therapeutic both to the patients and the staff, to mitigate burnout. 

Dr. Dan Lemieux, one of the medical doctors at CMS, said that he’s “used to the hustle and bustle” of a clinic. His background began in family medicine, where Lemieux was used to seeing 20-25 patients each day. Over time he also began working in Suboxone treatment programs. “I think about eight years ago I kind of pulled back on family medicine a little bit and did a little more time in addiction,” Lemieux told the Wisconsin Examiner. “I found it more gratifying, enjoyed helping people a little bit more.” Lemieux began working at methadone clinics after the COVID-19 pandemic and found his way to CMS, where he has worked for about two years. 

Lemieux has worked as the medical director of CMS clinics in West Allis, Madison, Fond du Lac, and now the Southside Milwaukee Clinic. Recalling the workload at West Allis, Lemieux told the the Examiner, “I think the counselors are really good at just keeping the flow going, and the front desk staff. So it never seemed overwhelming or busy, and the clients are always very appreciative.” Lemieux said he likes the highly focused sessions in recovery work, because “you can really spend your time kind of helping the client with those particular issues.” 

Overdose deaths driven by the synthetic opioid fentanyl began skyrocketing in Milwaukee County around 2016, claiming hundreds of lives annually. New records for overdose deaths were set and broken every year from 2018 to 2022, when the death toll peaked at 674 lives lost. Nearly 5,800 non-fatal overdoses occurred that same year, according to the county’s overdose dashboard. 

Recently, as new programs and services were established to stem the tide, overdoses began to decline. Last year there were 450 overdose deaths in Milwaukee, so far there have been fewer than half that number this year. CMS is  one of the many organizations on the frontlines of the crisis, both as a treatment clinic and as a harm-reduction advocacy organization. 

De Leon showcased a storage room full of boxes of hygiene kits, testing strips for both fentanyl and the tranquilizer xylazine (a more recent trend in the drug market), and Narcan (used to reverse an overdose), all of which are either used or distributed by the CMS outreach team. Sometimes staff visit homeless encampments and food pantries, other times they hold pop-up events in areas with high overdose rates. The team even organized a sober tailgate at American Family Field at a Milwaukee Brewers game and distributed over 1,200 tickets. 

“We just deliver a little hope,” said De Leon. “Hopefully when you’re feeling a little better you’ll walk into a door of a treatment center. We don’t care where you walk into.” CMS also works with numerous partner organizations including the Milwaukee Overdose Response Initiative (MORI), various fire departments, the West Allis overdose response team and other nodes along an evolving network. 

De Leon said the network has become bigger and more collaborative. At an open house CMS held at  the new clinic, dozens of people showed up, she said, including community members, firefighters and police officers from multiple departments, probation and parole representatives and treatment providers. “I was speechless,” said De Leon. “We had over 70 people show up to our open house…That would have never happened in a methadone treatment world 20 years ago.” 

“We’re breaking down silos, we’re educating people,” she added. Today, people have easier access to methadone treatment programs. In Milwaukee County, both the jail and the Community Reintegration Center (formerly known as the House of Corrections) have medication-assisted treatment programs. De Leon stressed that when people are taken to correctional facilities they should tell staff whether they need medication-assisted treatment in order to access those programs. 

The West Allis Fire Department became the first to carry Buprenorphine, which is given to people after reviving them from an overdose to stop sudden withdrawal symptoms. Bipartisan legislation at the state level legalized both fentanyl and xylazine testing strips.

Nevertheless, stigma associated with both addiction and medication-assisted treatment creates barriers to progress. Although CMS has clinics in the cities of West Allis and South Milwaukee, its new clinic is the first it has been able to open in the city of Milwaukee itself. The opening marked an end to years of contentious meetings with the city’s zoning board and local residents. Now, patients living near the South Side won’t need to travel far, and the new clinic could also lighten patient loads at other clinics. 

Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, who represents the district where the new CMS clinic is located, said she supports the treatment center opening. “I strongly supported this facility opening in our community,” Dimitrijevic told the  Examiner. “Providing residents with nearby access to needed health care and harm reduction tools makes us all safer and healthier. I am proud to have led by example on this issue by welcoming CMS to our community and am grateful for their work serving our residents.” 

Another clinic is expected to open up on Milwaukee’s North Side in early 2026. But many people are not sold on medication-assisted treatment, fentanyl testing strips and overdose-reversing medications. In 2023, when the city of Milwaukee’s zoning board approved the North Side clinic, reactions from the community were split. Leadership from the fire departments of Milwaukee and West Allis spoke in favor of CMS opening a clinic, stressing the dire need for relief and treatment access across Milwaukee County. 

Others called treatment centers “predatory” and expressed concerns about the clinic’s   for-profit business model. 

At least one 2014 study, which analyzed self-reported services from disease testing to psychiatric care, found that for-profit providers “were significantly less likely than nonprofit and public programs to offer comprehensive services”. The study said that “interventions to increase the offering of comprehensive services are needed, particularly among for-profit programs.” 

Other objections to the new clinic came from neighbors who  argued that opening the clinic would hurt their property values and quality of life. A corporate representative and a real estate attorney from the Vin Baker Treatment Center, a facility named for a Milwaukee Bucks player that is located on N. 76th Street in Milwaukee, said that CMS would disrupt its business, jeopardizing a $3 million investment into the Vin Baker center. Ald. Lamont Westmoreland, who represents a North Side district, also opposed CMS,  referring to city planning documents which recommended against opening social service businesses in the area. “I support treatment facilities, just not at this particular location,” Westmoreland said before the center opened. 

John Koch, national director of community and public relations at CMS, explained that CMS is a for-profit entity with private equity backing. Koch said that the private equity investment, coupled with grants, has allowed the clinic to scale up to address the overdose crisis. opening new treatment centers, providing grants to extend clinic hours and embedding staff with local fire departments and homeless outreach programs for harm reduction. CMS bills Medicaid and other patient insurance to cover  patient care, “and 90% of our people are on Medicaid”, Koch told the Examiner. “We work very heavily with Medicaid. And then outside of that we receive grants to open new projects.” 

The private equity backing allows for “continuous investment back into the company to address the opioid epidemic as it’s needed,” said Koch. “If we were Ma and Popping it and just growing non-profit style, it’s so much slower and we would never be able to match the need.” CMS has opened seven clinics across Wisconsin, with over 70 clinics operating nationwide. “What we’ve been able to do is be innovative with our money, and meet people where they’re at,” said Koch. “So that’s our secret sauce, is using funds to just continue to provide more access to treatment. If we did not have private equity backing, we would never have been able to be this big, or be treating 30,000 people…That’s what’s allowed us to beat the opioid epidemic.”

Koch knows firsthand how treatment access can be the feather on the scale deciding life or death. In 2013, he was living on the streets of Chicago struggling with a heroin addiction. One night, not long after completing his second adult prison sentence, Koch encountered a police officer who saw that he needed help and gave him the number to a treatment center. Koch went the next day to begin recovery, which also included medication-assisted treatment. Today Koch is raising a family  and works to give people the second chance he got years ago. 

Despite such success stories, there is still public skepticism about medication-assisted treatment. De Leon recalled a conversation she had after making a presentation on harm reduction at a national conference. “This guy came up to me and said, ‘You know, you really changed my thinking,’” she said. He mentioned that in some cases people on probation or parole are expected to get off methadone in order to be fully released from supervision, despite the fact that he’s seen it significantly improve people’s lives. 

De Leon asked why people were being forced to get off methadone and the man replied, “Well, nobody should be on these medications for the rest of their life.” She countered that if someone is finally stable after decades of addiction then, “Why not?…Would you tell me to get off of my insulin?” The man said no. “Then why would you tell somebody to get off of lifesaving medication that has him the most stable he’s ever been?” People are free to work on tapering off if they choose, but the priority should be stabilizing and saving a life, she argued. 

Dr. Lemieux said that he’s also seen medication-assisted treatment make a difference. “It’s always a tough conversation to try and change minds,” Lemieux told the Examiner. “Just the data that comes out shows that people in recovery are getting jobs, they’re reuniting with family, they’re working more, crime goes down, and it’s just a win. They’re getting their lives back, and just being a part of that is very rewarding and amazing. I just hope that more people see this, realize this, and reducing deaths is just another huge point, too.”

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South Central Federation of Labor President Kevin Gundlach addresses a rally in support of Group Health workers seeking union representation on Monday, Oct. 13. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

On Oct. 13, Group Health Cooperative held what appeared to be its largest membership meeting in at least a decade. Scores of GHC patients filed into the Alliant Energy Center’s Exhibition Hall, packing the meeting room until there were no seats left. They voted unanimously to direct their cooperative to change course and voluntarily recognize GHC workers’ chosen union. 

This win was a long time coming for GHC workers like me. We are unionizing for many reasons. Personally, I started working as a family medicine physician at GHC 22 years ago, and was excited about working for a primary care-based, member-owned cooperative that valued clinical staff voices. But GHC has changed. Through my union involvement I’ve come to see that many of my coworkers also face struggles with high turnover and understaffing, unfair pay and discipline and racial inequities. These struggles collectively hurt our ability to provide excellent patient care.

By supporting each other and working together through a union, we can better advocate for ourselves and improve our ability to provide the best patient care. Our input as employees is not only useful, but critical, to making GHC the best it can be.

But since we announced our intention to unionize in December, GHC has waged a relentless union-busting campaign. Following the legal counsel of antiunion law firm Husch Blackwell, administrators have engaged in surveillance and other intimidation tactics, and even used union activity as a factor in discipline. Their actions are under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board. GHC has also consistently parroted legal arguments straight from the Trump administration’s attacks on workers’ rights. 

GHC’s most fundamental attack, however, has been on our ability to choose for ourselves what our union looks like. We are creating a union of providers and nursing staff in primary and urgent care and closely related units – basically, the generalists you first see when you get care – since we all share issues in common and would benefit from bargaining together.

But GHC administrators are seeking to forcibly add on workers in specialty care units like optometry and radiology who haven’t even sought collective bargaining. Why? They hope to dilute our Yes votes and make it impossible for us to win a union election. They like to claim that the National Labor Relations Board sides with them, and that these specialty care workers must join with us – but don’t believe it. While the NLRB has said that the employer’s version of our union was feasible, they also said they weren’t offering an opinion on the appropriateness of a primary and urgent care union. GHC is still free to recognize the union we chose. 

GHC has also been confused, or is misleading, about what it is we’re asking for. Speaking with Wisconsin Examiner’s Erik Gunn, GHC representative Marty Anderson said “voluntary recognition” wasn’t likely, because they’d want “an NLRB sanctioned and overseen vote.” But voluntary recognition is an NLRB-sanctioned process: all GHC needs to do is tell the NLRB that they recognize our chosen union, either with or without an NLRB-sanctioned card check or secret-ballot demonstration of majority support. That’s voluntary recognition. It would save everyone further time and expense, not to mention cultivate a positive relationship between both parties going forward. We look forward to a collaborative relationship with GHC as we move forward as a union. 

Attending the meeting on Oct. 13 and seeing the support from our patients and community was truly heartwarming. It reinforced my decision to become active in our union movement – both for ourselves and for the care that we provide to our dedicated patients. Excellent patient care is at the heart of our union movement.

And GHC patients have made it clear, with a unanimous vote, that they stand shoulder to shoulder with their caregivers. As a cooperative where members stand “at the top of the leadership chart,” GHC’s Board should respect membership’s vote by voluntarily recognizing our union, effective immediately. To do anything else is unthinkable in any cooperative that claims to be democratically run.

To show your support, please send an email to the GHC Board telling them to respect the will of the membership and recognize our union: https://act.seiu.org/a/ghc-board-1.

Nisha Rajagopalan, MD is a family medicine physician at GHC’s Hatchery Hill Clinic.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2025, with a sign advising the Capitol Visitors Center is closed due to the government shutdown.  (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday clarified and broadened a temporary restraining order she issued earlier this week that blocks the Trump administration from laying off federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown. 

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston said during an emergency hearing the restraining order affects any agency that has employees who are members of the unions that brought the lawsuit or are in collective bargaining units.

The Trump administration choosing not to recognize those union activities based on an earlier executive order doesn’t mean an agency can issue layoff notices, she said. 

Illston, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, specifically said the departments of Interior and Health and Human Services must comply with the TRO and cannot issue Reductions in Force, or RIFs. 

“It is not complicated,” Illston said. “During this time these agencies should not be doing RIFs of the protected folks that we’re talking about.” 

She also added the National Federation of Federal Employees, Service Employees International Union and National Association of Government Employees, Inc. to the lawsuit and the temporary restraining order. 

Meanwhile, as the shutdown that began Oct. 1 extends with no end in sight, administration officials said they will freeze $11 billion in Army Corps of Engineers projects and furlough Energy Department employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Unions argue administration ignoring part of judge’s order

The California case was originally brought by the American Federation of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Danielle Leonard, an attorney representing those unions, said during the hearing the Trump administration had been “overly narrowly interpreting the scope of the TRO and ignoring some of the language in the TRO.”

Leonard pointed to a brief filed by the Department of Health and Human Services that said the agency hadn’t issued any layoff notices to workers covered by the TRO, even though an earlier filing to the court said HHS had sent notices to 982 employees.

That department, Leonard said, appeared to take the position that an earlier executive order ended all union representation at HHS. 

“The government is well aware that is a disputed issue,” Leonard said. 

Elizabeth Hedges, counsel for the Trump administration, said after considerable back and forth that she didn’t agree with Leonard and the judge’s interpretation of the temporary restraining order’s impact. 

“I would submit that’s not what the TRO says,” Hedges said, though she later told the judge she would make sure the administration complied with the updated explanation of the restraining order.  

Hedges also told the judge the Interior Department didn’t previously disclose it was contemplating layoffs because officials began considering those RIFs before the shutdown and were only going to implement them during the shutdown because it’s gone on so long. 

The judge ordered the Trump administration to tell the court by 9 a.m. Pacific on Monday about any actual or imminent layoff notices under the full scope of the restraining order. 

Army Corps to pause billions in big-city projects 

White House budget director Russ Vought announced hours before the emergency court hearing the administration plans to freeze and may unilaterally cancel billions more in funding approved by Congress. 

“The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects,” Vought wrote in a social media post. “The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. More information to come from the Army Corps of Engineers.”

The Trump administration has been cited several times by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office for not spending money approved by Congress as lawmakers intended. 

Generally, after Congress approves a spending bill and it becomes law, the president is supposed to faithfully implement its provisions. 

Any president that wants to cancel funding lawmakers already approved is supposed to send Congress a rescissions request, which starts a 45-day clock for members to approve, modify, or ignore the request. 

The Trump administration followed that legal pathway earlier this year when it asked Congress to cancel billions in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and foreign aid. 

The House and Senate, both controlled by Republicans, approved the request after senators preserved full funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.

The White House budget office sent up another rescissions request in late August, asking lawmakers to cancel billions of additional spending on foreign aid programs. 

Neither chamber has taken action to approve that request, but Vought believes that since it was sent up within the last 45 days of the fiscal year, he is allowed to cancel that funding without congressional action. 

The GAO and Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, have both called the maneuver, known as a pocket rescission, unlawful. 

Nuclear security workers to be furloughed

The Trump administration also announced Friday that it would have more than 1,000 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration stop working for the remainder of the shutdown, joining hundreds of thousands of others on furlough. According to its website, the NNSA’s job “is to ensure the United States maintains a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear stockpile through the application of unparalleled science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing.”

An Energy Department spokesperson wrote in an email to States Newsroom that “approximately 1,400 NNSA federal employees will be furloughed as of Monday, October 20th and nearly 400 NNSA federal employees will continue to work to support the protection of property and the safety of human life. NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation remains funded through October 27, 2025.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the spokesperson said, “will be in Las Vegas, Nevada and at the National Nuclear Security Site Monday to further discuss the impacts of the shutdown on America’s nuclear deterrent.”

During past shutdowns federal employees that must keep working as well as those placed on furlough have received back pay. But Trump and administration officials have signaled they may try to reinterpret a 2019 law that authorized back pay for all federal workers once Congress passes a funding bill and the government reopens. 

A Bucky Badger who marched in the No Kings protest in Madison said he didn't mind missing the football game for such and important event. | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner

Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites participated in No Kings marches and rallies Saturday, with turnout exceeding the June No Kings rallies in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay and even in smaller towns including Hayward. 

An estimated 20,000 marchers descend on the Capitol in Madison

Protesters, many wearing inflatable animal costumes and carrying signs, gathered in McPike Park in downtown Madison and marched one mile up East Washington Avenue to the Capitol, shutting down intersections and blocking the major thoroughfare for blocks, following the Forward Marching Band.

Marchers chanted “Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” and “We are unstoppable! A better world is possible!”

The march started a little before the UW-Madison football team was scheduled to kick off against Ohio State. A Bucky the Badger who came to the march said he wasn’t upset about missing the game for the protest. “The People’s Bucky believes in democracy… Without democracy, there would be no games,” he said.

Candy Neumeier, a former teacher who drove down from outside of Oshkosh for the rally, said she was attending to “stand up for our rights,” which are “being trampled on by this wannabe dictator and his crew.” She wore a trash bag with Jeffrey Epstein’s face and President Donald Trump’s hand drawn on it. “I really believe that we need to release the Epstein files.”

From a stage set up on the Capitol steps, Ali Muldrow, a Madison school board member and activist who emceed the rally, said there are about 20,000 people at the protest in Wisconsin’s capital city.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell told the crowd,“Yes, judges are out here, too. I might get in trouble on Monday, but I’m here right now.” 

“You’re living in the redefinition of our democracy right now. Our legal systems are being retooled, reconfigured, and realigned to incentivize ultimate power… The war for civil rights is being waged all over again,” Mitchell added.

Ben Wikler, former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, tied the protests and pushback against Trump to the crucial state level elections that will take place in Wisconsin in 2026, including the spring state Supreme Court election, the race for an open gubernatorial seat and races that will determine control of the state Senate and Assembly in the fall.

“The only way to break democracy in America is to break it in the states,” Wikler said. “If Trump wants to be king, he’s going to need people in offices like the governorship who certified elections in the state of Wisconsin and offices, like our state Supreme Court, who will be in his back pocket. Wisconsin, are we going to be in Trump’s back pocket next year?”

The crowd shouted, “No!”  

“Are we gonna be on the streets instead and talk to people who maybe never voted before, but are ready to vote now because they understand what is at stake?” Wikler asked to the sound of cheers. “Are we gonna get out of the boat, and are we gonna win elections and are we going to defend democracy?” 

“Let’s fight! No kings! Forward!” Wikler shouted. 

— Baylor Spears

Milwaukee tops 18,000

More than 18,000 protesters filled downtown Milwaukee as part of the No Kings day events taking place across Wisconsin and the country Saturday to protest the administration of President Donald Trump.

A large number of people at the protest said they were motivated to come Saturday as a direct response to what they see as heavy handed actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In recent weeks, ICE has increased its presence in Wisconsin, conducting raids of migrant workers in communities including Madison and Manitowoc.

The protest attendance topped the 16,000 that attended the No Kings protest in the city in June — despite sister events taking place in the Milwaukee County suburbs of Cudahy, Greenfield and Shorewood, and additional events in nearby Waukesha County.

The crowd gathered at Cathedral Square Park, just blocks from city hall, before marching on a 1.8 mile course through downtown.

Mirroring protesters that have gained attention for wearing inflatable costumes during confrontations with federal agents in cities such as Chicago and Portland, Ore., attendees in Milwaukee were dressed as dinosaurs, aliens and unicorns.

At the park, Jim Baran, a Brown Deer resident, sported a banana costume and flew an upside down U.S. flag — a maritime code for distress. Baran said he wanted to attend the protest to show he’s “not going to stand for shenanigans” from the Trump administration.

“He’s selling America, he doesn’t care about Americans,” Baran said.

Stephanie Jacks, a New Berlin resident, said she came to the Milwaukee protest so residents of the city know people in the surrounding communities support it.

“There’s no due process,” she said. “There’s no checks and balances.”

A Milwaukee resident who only gave their name as J. and said they were a first generation Mexican-American, was dressed in an inflatable alien costume in an effort to make Trump claims of violent protesters seem silly and “take the wind out of their sails.”

“This alien is anti-ICE,” they said.

Kelly, a Milwaukee resident who declined to give a last name, said she’s a former deputy sheriff who is “appalled” by the actions of ICE agents. “I can’t believe what they’re doing,” she said. “The level of incompetence, no training, no supervision, no rules. It’s just insane.”

— Henry Redman

Green Bay rebuffs ICE

On Green Bay protestors’ march downtown, one of their chants was “No KKK, no fascist USA, no ICE.”

By the Brown County Courthouse in downtown Green Bay, protestors sang advice for interacting with law enforcement, including “Ask if you’re free to go, ask for a lawyer, protect yourself and neighbors and record, record, record.”

A speaker called for the crowd to go to their sheriffs about sheriffs’ partnerships with ICE, report possible ICE activity to the advocacy group Voces de la Frontera “so we can protect the immigrants who are amongst us,” tell legislators to pass a bill allowing drivers’ licenses for immigrants without legal status and support families they know who have been separated. 

Other speeches included concerns related to public education, trans rights, Israel and Palestine and free speech. 

Rick Crosson, candidate for northeast Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, came to the protest. He told the Examiner that “for us, it’s about getting back what the Constitution had intended. And that is, have the people run the show. No kings, no dictators, no autocrats.”

Green Bay’s Neville Public Museum is looking for donations that reflect people’s experiences with “No Kings.” In a Facebook post, the museum provided a list of items it is specifically looking for, which includes protest or counter-protest signs, photographs, journal entries and digital recordings. 

“It is our responsibility to collect the stories of today to help create understanding in the future,” the museum explained in a statement. 

— Andrew Kennard

Hayward sees record crowd

 

A protest in Hayward, Wisconsin, hometown of Sean Duffy,  Secretary of Transportation topped 1,200 participants, the largest protest ever in the small northern Wisconsin city with a population of about 2,500. 

Joan Ackerman of Hayward said the protesters are not “un-American,” as some Republican politicians have claimed, but just want to exercise their freedom of speech about things happening in the country that concern them.

Kay, a woman  from Barnes, Wisconsin, who carried a sign that said “fight truth decay,” said she came to the protest in Hayward “because of the current political environment.” She added, “We have become so divisive because of misleading and alternative facts. We need objective news that is non-partisan.”

Natalie of Hayward, who carried a sign that said, “Health care is a right,” said she was at the protest because she doesn’t  like the direction the country is headed. “We need to make it safe for our kids,” she said.

Steve, another Hayward resident who is an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, explained that he feels the country is moving away from the core principles of democracy he fought to defend.

 

Gary Quaderer, Sr., a Vietnam Army vet and spiritual leader of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe said this is the first protest he has ever participated in. “I thought it was very important,” he said. “I don’t like where the country is headed. … I just wanted to come out with all these other good people here just to protest what was going on.”

Paul DeMain, editor of the national News from Indian Country newspaper based in Hayward said the gathering was historic, the largest protest Hayward had ever seen.

 

— Frank Zufall

‘Love of country’ in Janesville

In a downtown park in Janesville, Wisconsin, organizers estimated 1,000 or more people turned out on a warm, sunny Saturday morning. 

In addition to packing the sidewalks at the intersection of Court and Main streets at the corner of Courthouse Park, rally goers milled through the park space. Many sat in the well surrounding the stage, where a handful of speakers made brief remarks.

“There are 93 rallies in Wisconsin,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth). Pocan recalled the words of the Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson a few days ago.

“They’re trying to falsely call this a Hate America rally,” Pocan said. “People who are here today are the ones who love their country. This rally is really showing that love of country over everything else.”

Another speaker was state Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), whose district includes Janesville. 

“We are here to peacefully demonstrate — as the First Amendment gives us the right to do — and to call on our government to do better, to respect our rights, to respect the Constitution, and to do right by the American people,” Spreitzer told the crowd. 

“We’re also here to say that we are a welcoming community, that immigrants make our community stronger, that LGBT people make our community stronger, that people of color make our community stronger, that people with disabilities make our community stronger.,” Spreitzer said. “We are here to stand up for everybody’s right to coexist as part of our community and to get ahead in life.”

Spreitzer acknowledged that for opponents of the president, Saturday’s rally was but one step in a much longer struggle.  

“This is not going to be the last time we’re going to have to keep getting together and doing this,” he said. “I know it is going to be a long fight, but we’re going to win that fight. We’re going to take our country back.”

Virtually every speaker made a point of emphasizing the peaceful intentions and means of participants in the protest. 

State Rep. Ann Roe (D-Janesville), offered her mother’s advice for people who may be confronted by supporters of the president. 

“You know what my mom used to say? Kill them with kindness,” Roe said. “Nothing makes them madder.”

In a brief interview, Roe said that as she wandered through the crowd, she encountered a variety of people she has known from various aspects of her life, all taking part.

“I have seen neighbors here. I have seen people I’ve worked with and we’ve never discussed politics,” Roe said.

“It sounds corny, but that’s what gives me hope. We’re back to the old ways — one-on-one conversations. By remaining kind and open as a long-term strategy, That’s what keeps us from devolving into chaos.”

— Erik Gunn

In Kenosha, resistance through building community

Across the state in the city of Kenosha, a crowd of about 2,500 people filled the sidewalks on both sides of Sheridan Road, Downtown Kenosha’s primary north-south thoroughfare, along a four-block stretch.

Signs, the vast majority of them home-made, filled the air. So did the steady honking of passing cars as drivers sounded their horns in support of the demonstrators throughout the three-hour gathering. The sign-waving crowd cheered back in response.

Organizers had envisioned a dance party theme for their afternoon No Kings protest. A Michael Jackson impersonator lip-synched to recordings of Jackson’s biggest hits while effortlessly mimicking Jackson’s trademark dance steps on the concrete walkway of Civic Center Park. 

“We couldn’t drag people away from their chanting and cheering,” said Sheila Rawn, one of the principal organizers for Hands Off Kenosha, which put together the local version of the No Kings demonstration.

“We chose to not even try to have speakers because people don’t want to come and hear speeches,” she added. “They want to stand on the street.” 

Rawn and a co-organizer, Jennifer Weinstein, were both dressed in lion costumes. People were invited to “dress as your favorite king or queen that would do better than the wannabe king that we have in the White House,” Rawn explained. “Yeah, so, no kings — but if we did have a king, you know, like a lion king would make a better king. King Kong would make a better king. A monarch butterfly would make a better king.”

It’s part of the group’s philosophy of “tactical frivolity,” Weinstein said. 

“For the record, We were planning costumes before all the Portland stuff,” Rawn said, referring to the national attention that a Portland protester in a frog suit got recently.

Hands Off Kenosha launched in the spring, an outgrowth of the April 5 Hands Off rally. Having gone to Chicago and Milwaukee for large protest events during Trump’s first administration, “it was important to me to be like, ‘No, we’re doing it here,’” Rawn said. “Kenosha is the fourth largest city in Wisconsin. We are big enough to have our own protests.”

Memories of the unrest Kenosha experienced in 2020, when self-styled militia members clashed with protesters and teenager Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, two of them fatally, an act for which he was later acquitted, have lingered, she acknowledged. 

“I have definitely had conversations with lots of people who have said they’re nervous about coming because the community is still grappling with what happened in 2020,” Rawn said. “And so there are some people who are afraid that violence could happen, but we’ve got over a six-month track record of being peaceful and playful and joyful. And we have been really intentional.”

On a table at one end of the park, bags and bags of personal hygiene products overflowed — a collection that the organizers made part of the event. They had a school supply drive at an August protest and have conducted food drives as well. 

“It’s important to us to include mutual aid,” Rawn said. “Building community is its own form of resistance.”

— Erik Gunn

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Hundreds marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the No Kings day rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans packed streets, parks and town squares across the United States Saturday for No Kings day, according to the organizers of the massive day of demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s administration — from his deployment of troops to cities to his targeting of political opponents.

Thousands upon thousands showed up for the second organized No Kings day in America’s largest cities like Atlanta, New York City and Chicago, to smaller metro areas and towns including Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Hammond, Louisiana. More than 2,600 nonviolent demonstrations were planned.

By Saturday evening, it appeared most protests were peaceful, with a handful of isolated scuffles reported across the country.

In a separate demonstration in Portland, Oregon, federal officers on the roof of the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building shot pepper balls at protestors. No Kings organizers said they were not involved in activities at the ICE facility, which has been the center of weeks of protests.

The first No Kings day coincided with Trump’s military parade that occurred on his 79th birthday in June. 

Demonstrators decried Trump’s dispatch of National Guard troops to several U.S. cities, as well as ongoing immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, the nation’s capital, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago and where U.S. citizens have been swept up in raids.

Ben Grimes, of Northern Virginia, who said he spent two decades in the U.S. Army piloting helicopters and working as a military lawyer, held a sign bearing the message “I Served America Not Autocracy.” 

Grimes stood among tens of thousands of demonstrators who stretched down several blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue at the Washington, D.C., No Kings day event.

“We’re sliding very rapidly into autocracy and lawlessness,” said the 52-year-old veteran, whose career included a deployment to Baghdad. 

“Just about everything has worried me, but I am particularly concerned about the use of the deployment of military troops in the U.S. and the apparent lawless killing of civilians in the Caribbean,” Grimes said.

Peggy and Ken Greco donned clown costumes, and displayed a sign that read “Elect a Clown Expect a Circus.”

The couple drove from Augusta, Georgia, to attend the D.C. rally.

“We came because we feel very powerless about what’s going on, and we have to do something,” Peggy, 69, said, becoming emotional.

 In Chicago, Grant Park filled with thousands of people carrying symbols of repudiation of the Trump administration, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from anti-ICE signs to posters satirizing the president.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, also called on the crowd to be united and speak out. 

“Democracy requires your courage, and tyranny requires good people doing nothing … and it fails when ordinary people refuse to cooperate and they say, ‘no kings’ and mean it,” Pritzker said. 

Thousands of people gathered in Times Square in Manhattan for New York City’s No Kings day peaceful 1.6-mile march down 7th Avenue.

Silas Perez, 21, who lives in the Bronx, said she “wants to fight for our rights while we still have them.” 

“They want to say ‘Make America Great Again.’ It was better before,” Perez said. “This is worse.” 

Jacob Chansley, known to most as the “Q Shaman,” spoke to the Arizona Mirror about why he was at Saturday’s No Kings event at the state capitol in Phoenix.

“For me it has always been about protecting the American people,” Chansley said, dressed in the same garb and holding the spear he had at the Capitol on January 6. 

He denied the events of January 6 were an insurrection and said it was “staged by the government” and pointed to a sign he was holding when asked what brought him out to the rally. His sign made references to the Epstein files and criticisms of Israel.

In Lexington, Kentucky, protester Gracia O’Brien, 71, said, “I’m old, and I’ve never been scared for our democracy. I am now.” 

In Fargo, North Dakota, Ken Opheim showed up in a red hat but with an anti-Trump message: Quid Pro Quo Trump Must Go. “Everything he does, he gets something back for himself,” Opheim said.

Lawmakers, activists and celebrities spoke at rallies across the country — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Atlanta, actor John Cusack in Chicago, Bill Nye “the Science Guy” in Washington, D.C. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chris Murphy of Connecticut also spoke to the massive crowd in the nation’s capital.

“He has not won yet, the people still rule in this country,” Murphy, a Democrat, said. “Trump thinks that he’s a king, and he thinks he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down.”

The protesters took to the streets during the ongoing government shutdown to question Trump’s actions since he took office for his second presidential term on Jan. 20.

Trump revamped his legally questionable mass firing of federal workers on Oct. 10, this time against the backdrop of the nearly three-week government funding lapse. 

Amid the shutdown, Trump this past week authorized a $40 billion bailout for Argentina. The administration also continues to amass defense resources along the coast of Venezuela and carry out extrajudicial strikes on alleged drug running boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing dozens.

Repeatedly, Trump has threatened to use the shutdown as an opportunity to permanently cut “Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans” by canceling funding already appropriated by Congress.

A member of his own party, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said the Government Accountability Office should sue the for his administration’s illegal impoundment of funds already written into law — something he began to do long before the shutdown.

Since January, Trump has canceled billions in foreign aid, medical research, natural disaster assistance, and funding for museums and libraries, early childhood education and energy efficiency programs for K-12 schools.

Trump’s use of power was on full display when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March and defied a federal judge’s order by sending hundreds of immigrants, many without due process, to a mega-prison in El Salvador. The mistakenly deported Kilmar Arego Garcia became the face of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Nearly 300 partner organizations signed on to the nonviolent No Kings day, from local- and state-level groups to large national liberal advocacy bodies and labor unions, including the ACLU, Common Cause, Indivisible, the League of Women Voters and SEIU.

 

Trump was not in Washington during the rally. He left the White House Friday afternoon to spend the weekend at his Florida residence and was at his golf course on Saturday, according to the White House press corps traveling with the president.

Republicans have characterized the No Kings event as anti-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana recently described the event on Fox News as a “hate America rally,” claiming “it’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people.”

Trump declared “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization” last month, despite the fact that such a group does not exist. “Antifa,” shorthand for anti-fascist, is an ideology disapproving of fascist governance.  He also issued a directive targeting progressive organizations, including Indivisible, according to a list the White House provided to Reuters.

IN THE STATES

West Virginia

Protesters turn out en masse against Trump during No Kings protest at West Virginia Capitol, West Virginia Watch reports.

Hundreds of protesters descended on the West Virginia capitol to speak out against detainments by ICE, potential federal cuts to health care programs, social safety nets and more that would largely impact already vulnerable people. 

Oklahoma

Over 1,000 gather in Oklahoma City as part of nationwide No Kings protests, the Oklahoma Voice reports.

More than 1,000 people braved the rain in Oklahoma City, donning ponchos and inflatable costumes to join a protest outside City Hall. Many signs and speakers focused on anger with Trump’s deportation campaign, failure to release evidence in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the conflict in Gaza. 

Arkansas

Hundreds gather in Little Rock for second No Kings rally, annual LGBTQ+ Pride festivities, the Arkansas Advocate reports.

In downtown Little Rock, the No Kings protest coincided with annual Pride celebrations. Hundreds of Arkansans marched down Capitol Avenue to protest Trump’s administration and to celebrate LGBTQ+ Arkansans.

New Hampshire 

Second No Kings protest draws thousands in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports.

Granite Staters who took to the streets in Concord said concerns about health care, immigration, racism, disability rights, free speech and more motivated them to join the capital’s No Kings protest.

Chicago

Alongside Pritzker in Grant Park, Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned Trump over recent immigration enforcement and compared the president’s deployment of troops to the city to the Civil War, Stateline reported.

“There are those in this country that have decided, at the behest of this president, to declare war on Chicago and American cities across this country,’’ Johnson, a Democrat, said. “They have clearly decided that they want a rematch of the Civil War.”

Johnson vowed that he would stand committed and would not bend to what he described as authoritarian moves by the administration. 

Virginia

Thousands flood Richmond streets for No Kings rally in protest of Trump administration, the Virginia Mercury reports. 

Organizers said over 10,000 people participated in the Richmond event. Families of all ages and backgrounds held signs, donned costumes, and sang pro-America songs at the Capitol before marching down Broad Street. 

The Richmond protest featured speakers highlighting federal workers’ interrupted paychecks because of the shutdown, as well as their fear of the rise of fascism.

Indiana

‘Not pawns’: Thousands of Hoosiers turn out for No Kings protests, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.

A thick sea of Hoosiers flooded the Indiana Statehouse’s lawn for hours on Saturday — raising defiant fists and signs. Among the issues the crowd focused on were deportation policy, health care cuts and the belief that Trump is an authoritarian.

New York City

As in other cities, many demonstrators wore inflatable animal and fruit costumes, Stateline reports. Many also held elaborate handmade signs with messages such as “Trump must go now!” Others banged on drums or played music to rally the crowd.

Democratic New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told Stateline that state and local lawmakers need to stand up to a government that isn’t abiding by one of its founding principles — no taxation without representation. 

“The federal government is collecting our taxes and not giving it back to us for services or infrastructure,’” Lander said. “So one thing state legislatures can be thinking about is ‘where are we pooling our money, before we give it to Washington?’”

Tennessee

Across Tennessee, No Kings protesters push back on Trump administration policies, the Tennessee Lookout reports.

Rallies occurred in 33 Tennessee towns and cities, including Memphis, where National Guard troops and agents from a federal task force have deployed. The Memphis demonstration took place one day after Shelby County officials, including Mayor Lee Harris, and state lawmakers from Memphis filed suit against Gov. Bill Lee over what they allege is unconstitutional deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops to the city.

Iowa

Iowans criticize GOP representatives, Trump at Des Moines No Kings demonstration, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. 

Democratic state lawmakers, union organizers, immigrant advocates and teachers in Des Moines decried Trump’s and Republicans’ policies. Speakers also emphasized Iowa will play a vital role in putting a check on Trump’s power in the 2026 election, and encouraged Iowans to vote and stay politically engaged. 

Maine

Thousands across Maine protest against Trump administration in second No Kings day, the Maine Morning Star reports.

Exactly 250 years to the day after the British attacked what is now Portland, Maine, during the Revolutionary War, thousands gathered in the city and across the state to declare the same thing Americans fought for then: no kings.

In Portland, participation nearly doubled Saturday from June’s protest. New attendees said they decided to show up because they feel the country has reached an untenable state, but speeches at the protests showed continued hope for change.  

Florida

Florida crowds throng to denounce Trump, ‘fascism’ on No Kings Day, the Florida Phoenix reports.

In Miami, an estimated 5,000 people clad in American flags, golden crowns, and frog and Sasquatch costumes flooded Bayfront Park to chant against Trump. The event was held in front of the Torch of Friendship, a 1960 monument built as a beacon to welcome immigrants.

One disruption hit the Miami gathering when Barry Ramey and another member of the far-right group the Proud Boys briefly showed up to counter-protest. Ramey was one of the men sentenced for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. City police quickly formed an escort to safely lead them out, as angry anti-Trump protesters screamed Spanish expletives at them.

New Mexico

Thousands protest in Santa Fe, Albuquerque for No Kings day, Source New Mexico reports.

Marchers in Santa Fe chanted a variety of messages, including: “No Kings/No ICE” and “This is what democracy looks like.” One man played the David Bowie/Queen song “Under Pressure” repeatedly from a small speaker.

Idaho

Thousands of Idahoans turn out for Boise’s anti-Trump No Kings protest at state Capitol building, the Idaho Capital Sun reports.

Thousands of people protested against Trump and government overreach at the Idaho capitol in Boise. American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho board member Sam Linnet spoke out against what he said is a government that is using fear to divide the American people. 

Rhode Island

No Kings but lots of people with something to stand for outside Rhode Island State House, the Rhode Island Current reports.

A diversity of animal costumes was among the crowd in Providence, as were a variety of people from all ages and backgrounds. 

Three teenagers perched at the feet of Nathanael Greene, a general in George Washington’s army who, in statue form, continues to look over the city from the base of the State House steps. The Democratic Socialists of America had set up an information booth underneath a tree’s shade. A woman who declined to be interviewed sported an outfit with Beanie Baby cats attached, and a sign that read “Cat ladies against Trump.”

Ohio

Thousands of No Kings protesters stage peaceful demonstration at Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.

Alabama

‘We’ve got to do something:’ Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in Alabama, the Alabama Reflector reports.

About 15 protests were scheduled around Alabama. Speakers and participants criticized the administration’s seizure of power, its arrest and detention of immigrants and its health care policies. Others said Trump administration policies were hurting members of their families. Crowd sizes varied, from about 40 people in Selma to up to 2,000 in Birmingham.

New Jersey

Thousands protest Donald Trump at New Jersey No Kings rallies, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

New Jersey residents took their rage — and ridicule — to the streets, with some wearing silly costumes to push back on critics’ claims that protesters are violent, anti-American extremists.

Minnesota

Thousands gather in downtown Minneapolis for anti-Trump rally, the Minnesota Reformer reports.

People told the Reformer they were there to fight for democracy against the threat of what they say is Trump’s overreach, including deploying the National Guard to cities, deporting immigrants without due process and cutting off federal funds to Democratic states. 

Protestors carried signs decrying authoritarianism — “No Kings, No Fascists” — and condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — “I like my democracy neat. Hold the ICE.” 

North Carolina

Thousands gather for No Kings protest in Raleigh to condemn Trump, North Carolina Newsline reports.

From noon to 3 p.m., cars and trucks in Raleigh were honking their support for a No Kings protest that lined both sides of a divided highway, drawing thousands of demonstrators frustrated with the Trump administration. The mood was light despite the serious issues raised, with many wearing colorful costumes and playing cheery tunes.

Montana

Small towns in Montana rally for ‘No Kings,’ the Daily Montanan reports.

Montanans turned out in traditionally red communities, such as Dillon, population roughly 4,000, and they gathered in tiny outposts such as Polebridge, on the edge of Glacier National Park, which almost saw more demonstrators than full-time residents. Most of the people who turned out to demonstrate appeared to be those who had already opposed Trump.

Demonstrators said they rallied to show support for democracy, for the U.S. Constitution, for civil liberties, for federal workers, for immigrants, for their own grandchildren, for health care, for the proper use of military troops, and for science and research.

Kansas

Small No Kings event puts love ahead of politics in rural Kansas town where immigrants are detained, the Kansas Reflector reports.

Kay Krause of Cottonwood Falls hosted a “love in action” rally at her house. The gathering of 13 in the rural town of about 800 people was among the smallest of the 42 No Kings events that were planned across the state as part of a nationwide uprising.

Krause’s event was different because it focused on kindness rather than the anger toward the Trump administration. Trump won about 75% of the Chase County votes in last year’s election.

Nebraska

Protesters gather around Nebraska Capitol for No Kings protest, the Nebraska Examiner reports.

Protesters held anti-Trump signs criticizing the callousness of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and cuts to federal services. Some chanted for Trump “to go.” Some protesters said they were happy with the turnout, citing frustrations over the president’s deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-led cities and attacks on transgender rights as frustrations.

Missouri

No Kings rallies draw thousands across Missouri, bolster initiative petition campaigns, the Missouri Independent reports.

Thousands gathered in cities and towns all over Missouri Saturday at No Kings demonstrations to speak up against the many ways they believe Trump’s and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s administrations are a threat to democracy. 

A St. Louis protester said he was appalled by Missouri’s new congressional map, which he called nothing but a “power grab.”

Michigan

Demonstrators amplify growing fear of Trump autocracy during Michigan-wide No Kings rallies, the Michigan Advance reports.

More than 100 communities from southeast Michigan to the westernmost part of the Upper Peninsula joined in a show of might to advocate for civil rights, democracy and the rule of law. 

In Lansing, security for the protest was pronounced, with several state police in tactical gear and road patrol uniforms on the lookout for threats. As the crowd grew, cars and trucks driving by honked in support throughout the event. Some waved flags, held up signs or played loud music, and most were met with cheers and applause from demonstrators along North Capitol Avenue.

Maryland

On Eastern Shore, in Baltimore, across the state, thousands turn out for No Kings, Maryland Matters reports.

Rallies in Baltimore and Centreville were just two of more than 60 events scheduled in Maryland, from Ocean City to LaVale and from Northeast to Lexington Park and scores of points in between.

They were in big cities like Baltimore and small towns like Centreville. They were in deep blue counties like Montgomery, which had more than a dozen events scheduled, to deep red counties like Carroll, where one event was scheduled for the County Government Building in Westminster for those willing to brave it.

South Carolina

Thousands rally at SC Statehouse during nationwide No Kings protest, South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

In Columbia, protesters’ top issues included recent waves of deportations, federal cuts to health care research and what they considered moves away from democracy. Attention turned to statewide issues as well. 

Alex Baumhardt, Jerold MacDonald-Evoy, Shalina Chatlani, Robbie Sequeira, Jeff Beach and Jamie Lucke contributed to this report.

Participants joined the No Kings rally in Fargo, North Dakota, on June 14, 2025. (Photo by Erin Hemme Froslie/North Dakota Monitor)

WASHINGTON — More than 2,600 nonviolent demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s administration are slated Saturday as part of No Kings day.

The second No Kings day, following another in June, is in response to what a broad coalition of liberal advocacy and labor organizations say is “the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration, which they have doubled down on since June.”  

Organizers expect millions of Americans to join in peaceful events in Washington, D.C., across the country and internationally. Locations are pinpointed on a map on the organization’s website.

“No Kings is back,” said Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, a national spokesperson, at a press conference Thursday. “And over the past few months, thousands of people have organized once again in their communities, on the ground locally, volunteering to bring their neighbors, families and friends together to say, unequivocally, we have no kings. Together, they’re the ones making this Saturday’s mobilization the largest single-day protest in modern history.”

Among the states:

• In Utah, Salt Lake City’s No Kings protest organizers canceled the march portion of the event and are instead holding a longer demonstration at the state Capitol, according to the Utah News Dispatch.
• In Maine, at least 30 No Kings events are set to be held, per the Maine Morning Star.
• In Nevada, demonstrators in downtown Las Vegas will again be confined to sidewalks, the Nevada Current reports, citing high permit costs.
• In Kentucky, nearly 30 No Kings protests are popping up in the Bluegrass State, according to the Kentucky Lantern.
• Ten No Kings protests are planned in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Monitor.
• In Arkansas, the Arkansas Advocate reports that the protests in more than a dozen cities come as the potential for severe weather ratchets up at the same time the events are scheduled.

Shutdown, Trump crackdown since June protests

The demonstrations build off the No Kings protests in June, which coincided with Trump’s massive military parade on his 79th birthday.

Four months later, the federal government is mired in an ongoing shutdown that began Oct. 1 with no clear end in sight. The administration has also cracked down on U.S. cities, deploying National Guard troops and partaking in sweeping immigration raids. 

Leading voices from labor and advocacy groups that are part of the broad No Kings coalition amplified their message ahead of the planned protests during the Thursday press conference, underscoring a peaceful day of action on Saturday. 

“We’re going to vigorously exercise our democratic rights peacefully and nonviolently, and against this tyrannical threat of Donald Trump and his administration, we are going to protect American democracy,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen.

House speaker criticizes No Kings day 

National leaders from the coalition also pushed back against U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s depiction of the demonstrations as the “hate America rally.”

The Louisiana Republican claimed on Fox News Oct. 10 that “it’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people — they’re all coming out,” adding: “Some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event, and it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base.”

Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, said “there is nothing more American than saying that we don’t have kings and exercising our right to peaceful protest,” adding: “America doesn’t have kings. That’s our entire point.” 

Greenberg said: “I also want to be clear: it is ridiculous, it’s also sinister, because it is part of a broader effort to create a permission structure to crack down on organized opposition and peaceful dissent in this country. 

“They are sending the National Guard into American cities, they are terrorizing our immigrant friends and neighbors with their secret police, they are prosecuting political opponents, and now they are trying to smear millions of Americans who are coming out to protest so that they can justify a crackdown on peaceful dissent.” 

Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, said “let’s be crystal clear about who is peacefully taking the streets on Saturday — it’s teachers, federal workers, nurses, families, our neighbors and our friends. 

“All of our leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, should listen to what these patriotic Americans have to say,” Bethell said. 

“The millions of people protesting are centered around a fierce love of our country, a country that we believe is worth fighting for,” she said. “This is the reality across cities and towns, large and small, rural and suburban, in red areas, blue areas — millions of us are peacefully coming together on Saturday to send a clear and unmistakable message: The power belongs to the people.”

In other states: 

• The Ohio Capital Journal noted dozens of No Kings protests set to take place in the Buckeye State.
• About 40 No Kings protests are planned in Indiana, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
• Rhode Island is expected to see at least 10 No Kings protests, according to the Rhode Island Current.
• More than 100 communities across Michigan plan to hold No Kings rallies, the Michigan Advance reports.
• In Arizona — where more than 60 No Kings protests are anticipated — high turnout is expected even in the state’s rural Republican strongholds, according to the Arizona Mirror. 

A shopper who receives SNAP benefits slides an EBT card at a checkout counter in a Washington, D.C., grocery store in December 2024. (Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture)

WASHINGTON — As the federal government shutdown extends to day 17, and with congressional leaders nowhere near negotiating, state officials are beginning to raise concerns of potential cuts to nutrition assistance benefits that feed millions if the government isn’t reopened. 

Minnesota has already halted new enrollments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. And officials in Kansas, New Hampshire and New Mexico have warned their residents could miss their food assistance payments for November. 

More than 42 million Americans rely on the program, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers. The federal government funds nearly all the program benefits, with states administering the program.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned Thursday that SNAP will run out of funds in two weeks if Congress fails to strike a deal and end the government shutdown.

“You’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families of hungry families that are not going to have access to these programs because of this shutdown,” she said outside the White House Thursday. 

USDA could not be reached for comment Friday. 

USDA has directed regional SNAP directors to stop working on benefits for November, according to an Oct. 10 letter obtained by Politico, written by the program’s acting associate administrator, Ronald Ward. 

“Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum flexibility, we are forced to direct States to hold their November issuance files and delay transmission to State EBT vendors until further notice,” Ward wrote. “This includes on-going SNAP benefits and daily files.” 

USDA has already shuffled more than $300 million in tariff revenue into the agency’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, through the rest of the month. 

The shutdown started Oct. 1 after Congress failed to find a bipartisan path forward on a stopgap spending bill. 

Senate Democrats have pushed for negotiations to extend the enhanced tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year for people who buy their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

Republicans have insisted on passing the House’s version of the stopgap funding bill that does not address insurance premiums.

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton leaves federal court after pleading not guilty to charges of mishandling classified material on Oct. 17, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton pleaded not guilty in Maryland federal court Friday to eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.

He was released from custody on personal recognizance bond, meaning he did not have to post bail but did have to surrender his passport and pledge not to leave the country. 

The next hearing was scheduled for Nov. 21.

In a statement shortly after an indictment against him was returned Thursday, Bolton said the prosecution was engineered by President Donald Trump in retaliation for criticism the longtime national security official had leveled against his one-time boss.

Bolton said the material he used for his 2020 book on his time as Trump’s national security advisor had been cleared for publication, and that he made the FBI aware of a 2021 hack of his private email.

During President Joe Biden’s four years in office, reviews of his case did not result in indictment, he continued. But federal law enforcement during Trump’s second presidency has sought to prosecute individuals opposed to the president, he said.

“These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct,” the statement said. “Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power.”

Bolton was formally charged Friday with the 18-count indictment that accused him of transcribing handwritten notes containing classified information onto a word processor and sharing the material in the form of “diary” entries with two family members who were not cleared to receive classified information.

Bolton’s is the third indictment federal officials have secured in recent weeks against high-profile Trump critics. 

Former FBI Director James Comey was charged with lying to Congress following a major fallout in a Virginia federal prosecutor’s office that was widely reported to be over career staff refusing to proceed in the case against Comey.

New York Attorney General Leticia James was also indicted for charges related to a mortgage application.

Like Bolton, both Comey and James have proclaimed their innocence and said they were being persecuted as Trump critics.

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's secretary designee, Amy Pechacek, right, with Gov. Tony Evers at a 2023 DWD event held at the Plumbers Local 75 training center in Madison. Pechacek held a news conference online Thursday where she spoke about the impact of the federal government shutdown on DWD and the state. (Photo courtesy of DWD)

As the federal shutdown drags on, Wisconsin is likely to feel the impact — in employment, in agriculture and in the safety net for workers, according to the state’s labor secretary.

“Right now, we have the ability to continue to operate and our goal is to not disrupt our current workforce programs or state workforce,” said Amy Pechacek, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, during an online news conference Thursday.

Governments in some other states have started to reduce their workforces, Pechacek said. Wisconsin is holding off on filling vacancies and taking other steps “to try and preserve all of the funding we can so that we don’t have programmatic or employment disruptions,” Pechacek said.

Nevertheless, 75% of the DWD’s $500 million annual budget — three out of every four dollars — comes from the federal government, she said.

The remaining 25% that comes from the state isn’t “just one big pot,” Pechacek added, but funds specific programs. For example, the state workers compensation program, which covers treatment costs and lost income for people injured on the job, is entirely state funded. That includes the cost of administering the program.

But job support services — local job centers, career counseling, unemployment insurance administration, state apprenticeship programs, and the division of vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities — are “all tied to federally funded programs,” Pechacek said.

“We need the federal government to come together, come up with a funding mechanism and continue to support their obligations to all the states and to all the people to ensure that we can move forward with the economic health and prosperity that we have enjoyed without this chaotic massive interruption,” she said. “The longer this goes, the continued adverse and exponentially worse impacts to our workforce will compound.”

Pechacek’s virtual news conference Thursday took the place of DWD’s monthly report on Wisconsin employment data. The usual reports draw on the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys that poll employers on the number of jobs they have and poll households to calculate the unemployment rate.

The data BLS compiles and analyzes is one of the casualties of the shutdown, Pechacek said, hampering employers, job seekers, nonprofits, economic development agencies and governments.

All of them rely on BLS data “to guide fiscal decision making, determine whether to open or expand their businesses, determine if they’re going to hire or lay off, figure out how to allocate resources, and understand really how best to train their current workforce,” Pechacek said. Without that information, “employers are putting off important decisions, essentially fumbling around in the dark until Congress can get around to turning back the lights on.”

Unemployment claims can serve as one indicator, and Scott Hodek, section chief in the DWD Office of Economic Advisors, said the department is looking at other data sources to fill in some of the missing information. Those sources include various private sector organizations as well as the regional federal reserve banks.

“But really it’s pretty difficult to get an accurate picture of what’s happening,” Hodek said. “It will get more difficult as time goes on.”

Another federal report on inflation is expected to be released soon, even with the shutdown, because the findings are used to calculate annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients, Hodek said.

That report will also figure into the deliberations of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee when it meets at the end of October to decide whether to cut interest rates. The Fed’s dual mission includes keeping inflation as close to 2% as possible while encouraging maximum employment.

“That becomes very difficult to do if you don’t have any of that data to make those decisions,” Hodek said.

Looking at the coming months, Pechacek said, the process of applying for H-2A agriculture visas is on hold. The visas enable about 3,000 migrant workers to come in annually to work in specific seasonal agricultural operations, including planting, harvesting and food processing, she said.

DWD is required to verify that there is a worker shortage in the occupations to be covered, and the U.S. Department of Labor must certify the state’s verification report before the federal government issues the visas, she said, but the federal certification of the state’s report is on hold because of the shutdown.

December and January are the months when the most requests come in for H-2A visas, Pechacek said, so if the shutdown continues for too long, the agricultural employers depending on those workers would be unable to get the needed certification.

Pechacek said the department is also watching to see how many federal employees file for unemployment insurance.

There are about 18,000 federal employees in Wisconsin, and DWD has estimated that 8,000 might be affected by the shutdown. By comparison, she said, one of the largest layoffs in Wisconsin took place in 2018 when a larger retailer shut down, laying off 2,200 employees.

So far, however, there have been just 30 initial claims from federal workers, Pechacek said.

If federal workers who file unemployment claims get back pay when they return to work, however, they’ll have to repay the unemployment insurance fund.

Pechacek noted that President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently fire federal workers in the shutdown as well as to withhold back pay for furloughed federal workers who return to work. Between uncertainty about those threats and court rulings that have blocked some mass federal layoffs, however, “it is really an ongoing situation,” she added.

Pechacek several times criticized Trump and the Republican leaders in Congress for the shutdown.

“The president and congressional Republicans have shut down our nation’s government trying to force massive health care cuts and cost increases to the nation’s working and middle class families and we are in a stalemate,” she said.

“We really need our federal government to return to work so they can restore some predictability and reliability to our economy and continue to be the partner that we need to ensure the economic health and prosperity of Wisconsin workers.”

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The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., home of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)

This report has been updated.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court and the rest of the federal judiciary are set to run out of funding in the next few days, a new development in the ongoing government shutdown that will likely reverberate throughout much of the country. 

The Supreme Court, which is in the middle of its fall term and slated to hear oral arguments for the next several months, will run out of funding Saturday, according to a statement from public information officer Patricia McCabe.

“At that point, if new appropriated funds do not become available, the Court will make changes in its operations to comply with the Anti Deficiency Act,” McCabe wrote. “The Supreme Court will continue to conduct essential work such as hearing oral arguments, issuing orders and opinions, processing case filings, and providing police and building support needed for those operations.”

The building, she added, will be closed to the public but remain open for official business.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court told States Newsroom in late September that it planned to “rely on permanent funds not subject to annual approval, as it has in the past, to maintain operations through the duration of short-term lapses of annual appropriations.”

U.S. federal courts will run out of funding “to sustain full, paid operations” Monday due to the ongoing government shutdown, though they “will maintain limited operations necessary to perform the Judiciary’s constitutional functions,” according to an announcement released Friday.

“Federal judges will continue to serve, in accordance with the Constitution, but court staff may only perform certain excepted activities permitted under the Anti-Deficiency Act,” the U.S. Courts statement said.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Congress was unable to find a bipartisan path forward on a stopgap spending bill. The U.S. Courts said at the time they would be able to use “court fee balances and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation” to keep up and running through Friday.

The new announcement from the courts said that several activities are excepted and can legally continue during the funding lapse. Those include anything necessary “for the safety of human life and protection of property, and activities otherwise authorized by federal law. 

“Excepted work will be performed without pay during the funding lapse. Staff members not performing excepted work will be placed on furlough.”

The statement said that each individual court throughout the federal system will make its own decision about how active cases will proceed during the shutdown. 

“Anyone with Judiciary business should direct questions to the appropriate clerk of court’s office, probation and pretrial supervision office, or federal defender organization, or consult their websites,” the announcement read. 

People summoned for federal jury duty will still need to report as instructed, since that program “is funded by money not affected by the appropriations lapse and will continue to operate.”

The online case management and electronic filing system, known as PACER, will keep operating despite the shutdown’s impact on the courts. 

An empty high school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images)

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released its 2025-26 general school aid data this week, showing that 71% of public school districts will receive less general school aid this year, while over $350 million in general aid will be diverted to voucher schools.

Each year DPI is required by state law to release the certified aid figures by Oct. 15. The data for the 2025-26 school year shows that of 421 districts, 111 — or 26% — will receive more aid, while 301 districts — or 71% — will receive less. The numbers replace those from the estimate released in July, which had shown a projected 65% of schools would receive less aid. 

DPI noted in a release that the state’s total general aid remained flat this year at $5.58 billion. The Republican-led Legislature decided during the recent state budget process not to provide additional general aid to public school districts.

The distribution of general aid funds is determined by a formula that considers property valuation, student enrollment and shared costs. When school districts lose state aid, they do not lose school revenue authority, meaning many school districts will be left to decide whether to increase local property taxes to make up the difference or make more budget cuts. 

Democratic lawmakers, who have repeatedly called for increasing general school aid, blamed their Republican colleagues for the numbers during a virtual press conference Thursday morning.

Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) said that data “provided a harsh reality check for school districts that their state Legislature, specifically the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which they have controlled for 30 out of the last 32 years, does not view them as a priority.” 

“When Democrats win a majority in the state Senate, our schools will not have to fear this Oct.15 date,” Smith said, adding that Democrats are “committed to investing in the future of Wisconsin children and re-establishing our state as one of the leaders in K-12 education as it once was.”

“This system that our state has been forced to adopt is not sustainable,” Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D- Whitefish Bay) said. In lieu of state funding, school districts in Wisconsin have turned to raising property taxes through referendum, which must be approved by voters, in order to meet their financial obligations, including paying staff salaries, purchasing educational materials and building costs.

After the state budget was signed, some school leaders warned that the trend of relying on property taxes would continue without a state general aid increase. 

“Due to the Legislature’s failure to fund our schools, Wisconsin already has one of the highest property tax rates in the country, and if our communities continue to be forced to referendum, those tax rates will continue to rise, making our state even more expensive than it already is. Wisconsin residents are depending on their elected officials to rein in the skyrocketing costs of living in our state,” Habush-Sinykin said. “Yet, the Republican-controlled Legislature has no problem forcing their constituents to suffer under continuously rising property taxes.”

Viroqua School Board President Angie Lawrence said during the press conference that the system is bolstering inequity in Wisconsin schools. 

“The school districts and areas of high poverty are generally failing when trying to pass a referendum and the wealthy districts generally are passing their referendum when going to their communities… Is this who we really want to be?” Lawrence asked. “Don’t you think that our tax dollars should be supporting every student equally so that each student has a path to academic excellence, and we shouldn’t have to go to referendum in order to provide a high quality education for our students?”

School voucher programs grow

Alongside funding for public schools, the DPI also released data on the costs of the state’s school voucher programs, which use taxpayer dollars to cover the cost of tuition for students who attend private and charter schools.

The estimated annual cost for the state’s voucher programs in the 2025-26 school year overall is about $700.7 million.

According to the DPI data, $357.5 million will be reduced from general school aid to go towards private voucher schools in 2025-26. This includes $260.9 million for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, $44.4 million for the Racine Parental Choice Program and $52.2 million for the Special Needs Scholarship Program. 

The rest of the $700.7 million going toward voucher schools will come from the state’s general purpose revenue to fund students in the Milwaukee voucher program as well as for students in the Racine voucher program who enrolled before the 2015-16 school year. The Milwaukee program is estimated to cost $336 million.

Enrollment in all four of the state’s school choice programs rose by 2,349 students in the 2025-26 school year, reaching a high of 60,972 students. 

The Milwaukee program grew by 235 students, the Racine program shrank by 14 students, the statewide program grew by 1,814 students and the special needs program grew by 419 students. 

Organizations that support school voucher programs had mixed reactions — celebrating the growth, but also cautioning that it was modest compared to previous years.

“Lawmakers in Madison should continue to prioritize protecting these private-school options for all students,” said Carol Shires, vice president of operations for School Choice Wisconsin. “This milestone validates the strong support from Wisconsin’s political leaders for strengthening the financial foundation of parental choice programs.”

School Choice Wisconsin, the largest school choice lobbying group in the state, also noted in its press release that the growth comes as an enrollment cap on the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program is set to expire in the 2026-27 school year. 

“[The caps coming off] will allow more families – including those now on waiting lists – to benefit from the nation’s longest-standing program committed to educational freedom,” School Choice Wisconsin said.

Caps on school voucher program participation, which limits the percentage of students in a district who can participate, have been increasing by 1% per year since 2017 and reached 10% of a school district’s enrollment in the 2025-26 school year. When the nation’s first school voucher program launched in Milwaukee in 1990, enrollment was limited to no more than 1% of the Milwaukee Public Schools student population. When the statewide program launched in 2013, enrollment was limited to just 500 students and no more than 1% of a district’s enrollment. 

According to the Institute for Reforming Government, a conservative think tank, this year’s numbers represent stable growth for the Milwaukee, special needs and independent charter school programs, but the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program had its lowest growth since 2017-2018.

Quinton Klabon, the organization’s senior research director, urged supporters of school choice to not be complacent. 

“Informing parents, expanding high-quality schools, and protecting schools from hostile red tape are high priorities. Otherwise, the baby bust will close choice schools,” Klabon said in a statement.

The total number of schools participating in the statewide program has risen from 403 schools in 2024-25 to 415 schools in 2025-26.

Republicans have introduced some legislation this year to support enrollment in voucher programs. AB 460 from Rep. Cindi Duchow (R-Delafield) would change state law to ensure that siblings of a student who participated in a voucher program would be eligible for enrollment. AB 415, coauthored by Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) would prohibit DPI from requiring documents to verify a student’s residence unless their residence has changed from a previous verification. 

Democratic lawmakers and public education stakeholders expressed concerns about what the school voucher enrollment numbers will mean for the state’s public schools.

Lawrence of Viroqua called attention to the amount of money going to the Academy of Excellence, a Milwaukee virtual private school that has been criticized for misusing public funds and for blurring the line between homeschooling and voucher schools. Students who are homeschooled in Wisconsin aren’t supposed to receive public funding under state law.

“The Academy of Excellence is not excellent,” Lawrence said. “It is not meeting the requirements of high standards of public education, and yet it received over $40 million in tax dollars from the state of Wisconsin [in the 2024-25 school year]… They are funding families that choose to homeschool without the cost of bricks and mortar, or the transparency of how they’re spending the tax dollars they receive. If our state wants to make improvements in education for our students, let’s put our money where our mouth is and spend our tax dollars to improve public education so we can provide the highest academic outcomes for each child.” 

The Academy of Excellence is estimated to receive over $50 million in 2025-26 from the state with over 4,000 students enrolled. Those enrollment numbers include students in various voucher programs throughout the state — 808 students from the Milwaukee program, 200 from the Racine program, 3,340 from the statewide program and 63 who are enrolled in the special needs program.

Democratic lawmakers in recent months have introduced an array of bills aimed at limiting voucher school programs and increasing transparency surrounding the costs. 

This week Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) is circulating draft legislation that would bar virtual schools from being able to participate in the voucher program. 

Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) has introduced AB 307, which would eliminate the sunset on the voucher program caps, leaving them at 10% into the future, and AB 496, which would require an annual verification of the income of voucher students’ families. (Currently, there is an income cap to enroll in the programs of 220% for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and 300% for the Milwaukee and Racine programs. If a student is continuing in a program or was on a waiting list, they are not required to meet income limits.) Lawmakers have also proposed legislation to disclose voucher costs on property tax bills across the state.

Habush-Sinykin said on the call that the voucher program caps coming off is a “crisis” facing the state’s education system. However, she said advancing bills that would change the state’s trajectory will likely take new leadership in the Senate and Assembly. 

“It’s really up to all of us to explain how important it is to have a change in the legislative leadership so that we can have bills… like keeping caps on vouchers, etc., be heard and voted on,” Habush Sinykin said.

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South Central Federation of Labor President Kevin Gundlach addresses a rally in support of Group Health workers seeking union representation on Monday, Oct. 13. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

A stalemate between Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin and employees who have been seeking union representation for the last 10 months shows little sign of breaking soon.

At a mass meeting Monday at the Alliant Center in Madison, members of Group Health, sometimes called GHC for short, passed a motion directing the co-op to voluntarily recognize the union as the employees originally petitioned in December — covering three departments and a series of health care professionals.

The motion set a deadline of Friday, Oct. 17. Marty Anderson, Group Health’s chief strategy and business development officer, said Thursday that action on all the motions would likely be deferred, probably until November.

“We communicated clearly ahead of the meeting that all motions are advisory in nature,” Anderson said. “Any deadlines that would be in any of the motions would also be advisory in nature.”

Monday’s mass meeting was the first of its kind for Group Health members to ask questions of the co-op administration and express their opinions about the union drive. About 172 people attended, according to a Group Health spokesperson. Group Health has more than 50,000 Class A and Founding members — the two groups that were considered eligible to attend, according to the co-op.

In the spring, a volunteer committee met with the board to argue in favor of recognizing the union. 

People attending the Monday meeting described the crowd as strongly supportive of the union, and the voice votes in favor of recognizing the union and other motions favored by union supporters were unanimous, according to Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin. 

Growing dissatisfaction 

At a rally outside the Alliant Center before the meeting, South Central Labor Federation President Kevin Gundlach, a Group Health member, charged that the co-op “has lost its way” in its response to the union organizing drive.

“We want GHC to listen to the workers,” Gundlach said. “And these workers know, and it says on my shirt here” — he pointed to his chest — “it’s better in a union.”

Group Health has rejected charges that it’s trying to thwart the union drive, contending that it simply wants health care employees in all departments to take part in the union representation vote — not just those from departments and job classifications that were included in the original union petition.

Union supporters say that claim is disingenuous and a ploy to “dilute the vote,” in the words of several workers interviewed — racking up votes against the union from employees in departments that don’t have the same concerns.

Anderson denied the charge. “We don’t know” what the votes will be, he said.

According to workers involved in the union drive, the Group Health union campaign grew out of increasing dissatisfaction in specific co-op departments with working conditions and what they contend was a lack of input into the co-op’s practices.

“I feel like we can improve the patient care that we provide through unionization and through increased involvement in decision-making,” Dr. Nisha Rajagopalan, a family physician who has worked at Group Health for 22 years, said Thursday.

Pay practices, employee turnover and a voice at the table are all reasons employees have cited for supporting the union.

“GHC leadership stopped collaborating with us and despite our many patient care concerns and our many meeting requests,” said Julie Vander Werff, a physician assistant, the lead speaker at the Monday rally.

Who should be in the union?

Complicating the organizing campaign is the conflict over exactly who among Group Health’s workers should be included in the union.

Union supporters involved in the organizing drive originally proposed that the union represent a bargaining unit of about 220 people. They were doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nursing staff in three departments: primary care, urgent care and dermatology. Their petition also included physical therapists, occupational therapists and health educators.

The petition was filed Dec. 12, 2024. Group Health filed a brief asserting that the unit the employees sought “was an inappropriate unit,” said Anderson, the Group Health executive.

To resolve the differences, a National Labor Relations Board staffer held a meeting on Dec. 30 in Madison, where he moved between separate rooms, one housing Group Health executives and the co-op’s lawyer, the other housing SEIU Wisconsin staff and Group Health employees leading the union drive.

The NLRB staffer suggested to the union group that they narrow their petition to a single clinic, Group Health employees wrote in a letter to the Group Health board of directors Feb. 10, 2025. Hoping to get an agreement, they took the suggestion.

Group Health opposed the single-clinic unit, however. In subsequent hearings the co-op management’s lawyer argued the vote should include all direct care employees, including in departments that weren’t part of the union’s original petition.

After reviewing briefs from both sides, the NLRB regional director in Minneapolis who heard the case ruled that the single clinic unit that the union had proposed would not be an appropriate bargaining unit. The decision issued by Regional Director Jennifer Hadsall stated that the unit proposed by the employer, Group Health, was appropriate and set an election among all the co-op’s health care employees.

SEIU Wisconsin, however, moved to block the election. A raft of pending unfair labor practice charges against the employer could scare employees from voting for the union, SEIU charged. Hadsall agreed to block the vote until the charges are resolved.  

As a result, the vote is on hold. The NLRB investigation of the charges is on hold as well, because of the federal government shutdown.

Shared concerns, conflicting concerns

In her order, Hadsall also included a footnote that states she did not address the unit that the employees had originally asked for because it had not been formally litigated.

“We had always argued that we are a clinically integrated organization,” Anderson said. “Our staff floats between various parts of the organization and different clinics. And the bargaining unit was established [consisting of] all of our clinical sites and all of our direct care employees.”

But pro-union employees say there are concrete differences between employees who are in the groups that they had originally included in the union petition and the rest of the Group Health staff — including direct care providers.

“Initially our bargaining unit included employees who were in primary care and urgent care,” said Rajagopalan, the family doctor. “We practice similarly and we share the same concerns. There are other departments within GHC that don’t share the same concerns [and] practice very differently than we do. That’s why our initial bargaining unit is an appropriate unit.”

Pat Raes, president of SEIU Wisconsin and a nurse at UnityPoint-Meriter hospital in Madison, said that throughout her health care career she’s seen many workplaces where only some groups of workers are unionized.

“At the bedside or at the side of the patient, it doesn’t make a difference because the priority is patient care,” Raes said. “It’s not whether you’re unionized or not.”

Addressing the rally before Monday night’s meeting, Steve Rankin said it was “entirely normal” for workers in a single workplace to be represented by different unions or no union depending on their department or position.

“There is no reason that everyone at Group Health has to be in the same union,” said Rankin, who joined Group Health when it was founded in 1976 and has been active in marshalling Group Health patients to support the union effort. “We call on GHC to recognize the bargaining unit chosen by the workers themselves and to commit to bargaining in good faith toward the contract.”

While the board has yet to consider the motion that was passed at Monday night’s meeting, Anderson said Thursday that voluntary recognition was unlikely. 

“We want an NLRB sanctioned and overseen vote,” he said. “That’s always going to be our criteria.”

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Democrats and pro-democracy organizations held a rally Thursday to call for the creation of an independent redistricting commission. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

A group of pro-democracy organizations held a rally, attended by Democratic legislators, Thursday afternoon outside the state Capitol to push for the creation of an independent commission tasked with drawing the state’s legislative maps. 

The renewed push for permanently taking the construction of Wisconsin’s political maps out of the hands of politicians comes amid a national debate about gerrymandering and as the state’s Democrats are outlining what state government will look like if they hold power in all three branches after next year’s midterm elections. 

Across the country, Democrats — who have for years been the party calling for a nonpartisan process for drawing political maps — are weighing the merits of “unilaterally disarming” by putting the drawing of maps in the hands of independent bodies in blue states while Republicans are redrawing maps in red states such as Texas in an explicit effort to hold on to their slim congressional majority. 

Next month, voters in California will weigh in on a referendum asking if the Democrats in control of the state’s government can temporarily bypass the independent map-drawing commission and redraw maps to benefit Democrats as a counter to the Republican effort in Texas. 

State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor, told the Wisconsin Examiner after the Thursday rally that Wisconsin Democrats should push for a permanent resolution to the state’s map debate because a more effective counter to increasing authoritarianism than tit-for-tat congressional gerrymanders is creating systems that allow government to be more responsive to voters’ wishes. 

“Here in Wisconsin, what the people want are permanent fair maps, and that means keeping the decision of redistricting out of politicians’ hands and within a group of nonpartisan folks,” she said. “If we’re going to have representative democracy, that’s what we need. But we also have to remember to be proactive, and that’s why the permanent fair maps matter. And if we’re going to be responsive to an eroding democracy, that’s also how we should be empowering the people …” 

After Thursday’s rally, the advocates — including members of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Fair Maps Wisconsin Coalition — were going into the Capitol to deliver the draft of their plan to legislators. 

Under the plan, the state Department of Administration would be responsible for managing the selection of 18 independent redistricting commission members (15 acting members and three reserve members). 

The membership would be divided evenly between representatives of the two major political parties and unaffiliated. Members would not be allowed to hold other public offices and could not be a family member of a public office holder. Lobbyists and anyone who has donated more than $2,000 to a candidate for office in a year over the previous five years wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the commission. 

After the DOA selects a pool of 240 applicants, the majority and minority leaders of both legislative chambers would be allowed to strike down a certain number of candidates. 

The IRC would be required to hold public hearings while it deliberates on the maps. Approval of final maps would have to come through a two-thirds majority vote that includes votes from members representing the interests of both major parties and the independents. 

The plan includes a provision for members to rank proposed maps if such a “multi-partisan agreement” can’t be reached. 

Any proposed maps from the commission would need to still be approved by the Legislature and governor within 30 days. If maps aren’t approved, the Legislature or governor must provide a written explanation to the commission and the commission would have 15 days to respond or provide new maps. 

The Legislature and governor would have three attempts to approve maps before Aug. 15 of a redistricting year. If maps can’t be codified by then, anyone in the state would have the authority to file a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to adopt a commission-proposed map. 

Democrats said at the rally that they want to make sure the commission is crafted in a way that prevents meddling after the fact from politicians. Redistricting commissions in states such as Iowa and Ohio have been undermined once their proposals were subjected to the political process. 

Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) said Republican legislators like the Iowa-style commission because if they vote down the commission’s proposals three times, the map-drawing authority returns to the Legislature. 

“They figured out the flaw in that model,” he said. “That is why we need a Wisconsin model, a Wisconsin model that works for all of us.”

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Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler speaks at a climate rally outside of Sen. Ron Johnson’s Madison office in 2021. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

There is no clear frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin. Attorney General Josh Kaul, with his name recognition and two statewide wins under his belt, might have been the favorite, except that he decided not to get in. Now former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler has announced he won’t be using his star power and prodigious fundraising skills to take a run at the governor’s mansion.

I caught up with Wikler Thursday by phone while he was at home with his kids, working on a book about Wisconsin and national politics and fielding phone calls from reporters about his decision to stay out of the race. Despite his decision, Wikler is still involved in politics behind the scenes, raising money and helping create an infrastructure to support his party’s eventual nominee for governor as well as Democrats who are trying to win seats in the Legislature and in Congress.

Wikler deserves a lot of credit for the recent hopeful direction of politics in Wisconsin — culminating in the election of a liberal state Supreme Court majority that forced an end to gerrymandered voting maps which previously locked in hugely disproportionate Republican legislative majorities in our 50/50 state. His vision for a progressive political revival in Wisconsin and across the nation delighted a lot of grassroots Democrats as well as Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show”, who urged him to run for president after listening to Wikler describe what Democrats need to do to reconnect with working class voters and turn the political tide.

As Wisconsin Republicans coalesce around U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a yes-man for President Donald Trump, the stakes in the Wisconsin governor’s race could not be higher. But Wikler says he’s not worried.

“I think there are multiple candidates who can absolutely win and could do a perfect job on our side,” he said on the phone. “I don’t see the same on the Republican side. I think Tom Tiffany is a real political misfire for the GOP in a moment like this.”  

“I have a real conviction that we have a very clear path to be able to win. Not without a fight — this is Wisconsin — but I would rather be Team Democrats and democracy and an economy that works for working people than Team MAGA and tariffs and authoritarian masked men grabbing people off the street.”

Still, on a recent weekend drive through the Driftless Area, I saw huge Trump banners flying over fields of soybeans farmers can’t sell because of Trump’s trade war with China. It might be hard for some voters, even those who are hurt by Trump administration policies, to switch teams as people’s core sense of identity is so tied to polarized political team loyalties.

“I think it’s true for all of us that it’s hard to come to the conclusion that it’s time to change after you’ve been going one way for a good while,” Wikler said. “But it’s also the case that in Wisconsin things don’t have to change very much to get a dramatically different result.”

Elections in this swing state will continue to be close. “But there’s every possibility of being able to energize and turn out several percentage points more people in a way that could generate a Democratic trifecta and help flip the U.S. House and shift power in local offices across the state,” he added.

In his unsuccessful bid for national Democratic Party chair, Wikler talked about how Democrats had lost working class votes and needed to reclaim their lost status as champions of working people. They needed to “show the receipts” for their work winning better health care, affordable housing, more opportunity and a better quality of life for the people that used to be their natural constituency, he said.

On “The Daily Show” he held up Gov. Tony Evers as an example, saying he ran on the promise to “fix the damn roads” and beat former Gov. Scott Walker. Then he fixed the roads and won a second time.

But a lot of progressives, especially public school advocates, were disappointed with the budget deals Evers struck with Republicans. This week DPI released final numbers showing that 71% of public schools across the state will get less money from the state under the current budget. Where are the receipts Wisconsin Democrats can show to make the case they will make things better?

Evers blocked a lot of bad things, Wikler noted. And in many ways things are better in Wisconsin, even as the national scene gets darker and darker under the current administration, he said. “The things that are going well are the kind of locally driven and state-level things that are not falling apart,” he said. He contrasted that with the Walker years when “there was a sense that core aspects of people’s personal lives were falling apart. People were leaving their careers in education and changing their whole life plans, because it felt like the pillars that supported their vision for how their lives were going to work were falling apart.”

There’s a “profound sense of threat” from Washington today, he added. But he believes that Democrats can stave off disaster in Wisconsin if they win a “trifecta” in state government, which he thinks is possible.

He draws on examples from the state’s history as a progressive leader, from the  famous 1911 legislative session that laid the groundwork for the New Deal to the first law protecting victims of domestic violence in the 1970s.

“There’s these moments when Wisconsin really leaps forward. And we have a chance for the first one in more than half a century in 2027,” he said. “And that’s the  moment where you have to deliver for people really meaningfully.”

He compares the chance of that happening in Wisconsin to the “Minnesota miracle,” when Tim Walz was re-elected governor and Democrats swept state government in our neighboring state. 

Trying to bring about a miraculous transformation in Wisconsin doesn’t mean Wikler is unrealistic. You don’t have to look any farther than Wisconsin’s southern neighbor, Illinois, to see the dystopian possibilities of our current politics. “I don’t think the way [Illinois] Gov. JB Pritzker is talking is alarmist at all,” Wikler says. “If you talk to people who fought for democracy in countries where it disappeared, the early days of the downfall look like what we’re seeing right now.”

To resist, we have to do multiple things, he said — fight in the courts, fight in downballot races, protect election administration “but also keep in mind that ultimately, the people whose votes you have to win are the people who already feel like democracy is not working for them. They think that all politicians are already corrupt, and warnings about the threats to democracy feels like just more partisan blather. And you have to connect with their lived experience and the things that they think about when they’re not thinking about politics. That’s where fixing the roads becomes the only way to get off the road to authoritarianism.”

Sounds like a good plan to me. 

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