Canceled flights are displayed on an arrivals board at San Francisco International Airport on Nov. 7, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The first flights affected by a new Federal Aviation Administration directive led to widespread delays and cancellations Friday.
The FAA will ramp up to a 10% reduction in flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports by Nov. 14, starting with a 4% reduction Friday.
More than 1,000 flights had been canceled by 5 p.m. Eastern Friday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com, compared with just more than 200 on Thursday.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced the plan Wednesday. The reductions would help ease the strain on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Duffy said controllers were taking second jobs to make ends meet and were experiencing fatigue and stress, leading to safety concerns.
Shutdown delays in D.C., Chicago, Atlanta and more
Seven airports on the list of 40 had ground delays Friday, with staffing shortages at 18 air traffic control towers triggering delays at others, according to an FAA advisory.
Departures at Washington Reagan National Airport, just outside the nation’s capital in Northern Virginia, were averaging a four-hour delay Friday afternoon, according to FAA data.
The airport led the nation with 73 cancellations Friday, according to FlightAware. Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Denver International and Dallas/Fort Worth airports were also in the top five for cancellations.
Duffy visited Washington Reagan National earlier in the day to check in with travelers and brief reporters. He said he couldn’t give an exact figure on the number of affected flights, but said he hoped the reduction in flights would help controllers miss less work.
“I don’t want to see the disruption,” he said. “I don’t want to see the delays. Now, there could be a benefit if I can get the controllers to come back to work.”
Duffy recommended Friday that travelers continue to book flights now, rather than waiting for the shutdown to end. He said in an ABC News interview that waiting to book a flight could put fliers in the position of paying higher prices.
Regional carriers
Nate Vallier, a partner at Alaska Travel Desk, a travel agency, said in a Friday press release the cancellations appeared to mostly hit smaller regional carriers.
“We’re seeing a lot of randomness in the cancellations, as a way to spread the pain per se,” Vallier said. “But the majority of canceled flights so far are with regional jets, such as those flown by SkyWest, Horizon, and American Eagle’s Envoy Divisions.”
Alaska Beacon reporter James Brooks contributed to this report.
Furloughed federal workers stand in line for hours ahead of a special food distribution by the Capital Area Food Bank and No Limits Outreach Ministries on Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Senators on Friday said they plan to remain in town for the weekend, a sign negotiations may be picking up to approve a stopgap spending measure and end the government shutdown, now at day 38.
A vote on a package of spending bills could come either Saturday or Sunday that would partially fund the government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters.
“Our members are going to be advised to be available if there’s a need to vote,” Thune said. “We will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats can find a way to reengage again.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a proposal from Democrats to agree to reopen the government if health care tax subsidies are continued for a year.
As open enrollment begins, people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace are seeing a drastic increase in premium costs.
“We’d like to offer a simple proposal,” the New York Democrat said. “To reopen the government and extend the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits simultaneously.”
Republicans have maintained that any discussion on extending the health care tax credits set to expire at the end of the year will only happen after government funding resumes. House Speaker Mike Johnson this week said he would not promise a vote on the GOP-controlled House floor regarding the issue.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in September found that if lawmakers permanently extend the enhanced tax credits for certain people who buy their health insurance through the ACA Marketplace, it would cost the government $350 billion over 10 years and increase the number of those with health insurance by 3.8 million.
But it was unclear how much traction Schumer would get. Several Republicans called the proposal a “non-starter,” such as Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota.
Rounds also questioned if the stopgap spending bill that Democrats agreed to support is the House-passed version that would extend government funding only to Nov. 21 or another that would run longer.
“It’s good that they’re recognizing that we have to open up the government,” Rounds said of Democrats.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin called the proposal from Democrats “absurd,” and said there was no way senators could negotiate a deal on health care quickly.
He added that Trump also wants to be part of the negotiations on health care.
“Whatever we do as Republicans, we’ve got to really work close with the president,” Mullin said. “The President wants to be involved in this negotiation.”
Separately, senators failed Friday in a 53-43 vote to move forward on a bill from Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson to pay federal workers who Friday missed their second paycheck. Georgia’s Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock voted with Republicans. Sixty votes were needed.
President Donald Trump on social media said, “The United States Senate should not leave town until they have a Deal to end the Democrat Shutdown. If they can’t reach a Deal, the Republicans should terminate the Filibuster, IMMEDIATELY, and take care of our Great American Workers!”
Flight cutbacks, food aid disruption
The Senate has failed 14 times to move forward on approving a stopgap spending measure to fund the government until Nov. 21.
As the government shutdown has dragged on for nearly seven weeks, major airports have been hit as they struggle to maintain flight schedules, with air traffic controllers now more than a month without pay.
Meanwhile, federal courts have forced the Trump administration to release billions in emergency funds to provide critical food assistance to 42 million people. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would issue full November benefits for food assistance in compliance with a court order.
As the debate in Congress goes on, Democrats have refused to back the House-passed version of the GOP stopgap measure over their concerns about the expiration of health care subsidies.
Democrats also want to see federal workers laid off by the Trump administration amid the shutdown rehired. Major wins across the country for Democrats in Tuesday elections in the states bolstered their resolve to reject efforts to end the government shutdown that do not include certain policy wins.
Historically, lawmakers who have forced shutdowns over policy preferences have not been successful.
In 2013, the GOP tried to repeal or delay the Affordable Care Act, which did not happen, and in the 2018-2019 shutdown, Trump, in his first term, insisted on additional funding for a border wall. But that shutdown — which set a record exceeded only by the ongoing shutdown — concluded 35 days later with the same amount of money included in the original appropriations bill.
Thune lament
Thune told reporters Friday that he thought progress was being made on striking a deal to resume government funding, but he said after Democrats’ Thursday caucus meeting, their tune changed.
“Right now, we’ve got to get the Democrats kind of back engaged,” Thune said.
Following Thursday’s meeting, Democrats remained tight-lipped and did not seem any closer to an internal agreement on how to move forward with resolving the government shutdown.
“I thought we were on a track,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican said. “We’d give them everything they wanted or had asked for.”
Senate Republicans have agreed to allow a floor vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies and have opened the door to rehiring federal workers, but have not gone further.
“At some point … they have to take yes for an answer, and they were trending in that direction,” Thune said. “And then yesterday, everything kind of, the wheels came off, so to speak, but it’s up to them.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters Thursday that voters this week made a strong showing in rebuking the Trump administration and that Democrats need to continue their fight amid the government shutdown.
“On Tuesday, all of us in the caucus heard that loud and clear,” Murphy said. “We want to stay together and unified. I think everybody understands the importance of what happened on Tuesday, and wants us to move forward in a way that honors that.”
Bill to pay federal workers
Federal workers going without salaries for more than a month now remains a concern, and Johnson tried to pass his bill through unanimous consent that would send them paychecks. Employees are paid after the end of a shutdown, under the law.
Michigan’s Gary Peters objected to Johnson’s bill over concerns that the Trump administration would not use the funds to pay federal workers, and the measure would not prevent the firing of federal workers.
Peters pointed to how the Trump administration initially appealed a federal court order that compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay $9 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.
Peters offered his own bill to set “guardrails” on the president’s authority to ensure that the funds are used to pay federal workers and not moved around. The Trump administration has moved around billions in multi-year research funds within the Defense Department to ensure that troops are paid.
“He walks over Congress all the time,” Peters said of the president while on the Senate floor.
Johnson objected to Peters’ bill. He argued that his bill does not expand presidential powers.
“We were very careful that it wouldn’t do that,” Johnson told reporters of his bill.
The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 800,000 federal workers, urged Democrats Friday to support Johnson’s bill.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a letter to senators Friday that with Thanksgiving in less than three weeks, Congress needs to come to an agreement on funding the government.
“Every missed paycheck deepens the financial hole in which federal workers and their families find themselves,” Kelley said. “By the time Congress reaches a compromise, the damage will have been done to their bank accounts, their credit ratings, their health, and their dignity.”
A sign in a convenience store in Hyattsville, Maryland, advertises that it accepts SNAP benefits. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
According to Gov. Tony Evers’ administration, over 330,000 Wisconsin households were paid their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by Friday morning.
The release of the funds comes as the federal government shutdown entered day 38 on Friday; it’s the longest shutdown in American history.
The lapse in federal funding for SNAP, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, took effect on Nov. 1 — leaving nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids, without access to food assistance. Two court orders last week directed the Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits by a Wednesday deadline.
Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., a federal judge in Rhode Island, ordered the Trump administration Thursday to pay the full month of food assistance benefits for November. McConnell said the Trump administration missed its chance to make partial payments after it failed to release funds by the deadline.
Shortly after the court decision was released, the Evers administration announced it was taking steps to get the funds out the door as soon as possible.
“My administration worked quickly to ensure these benefits could be released as soon as possible so that our kids, families, and seniors have access to basic food and groceries without one more day of delay,” Evers said in a statement Thursday evening. “But let’s be clear — it never should’ve come to this. Wisconsinites should’ve never been without food assistance, period, and they wouldn’t have been if President Trump and the Trump Administration had listened to me and so many who urged them to use all legal funds and levers to prevent millions of Americans from losing access to food and groceries.”
The Evers administration said Friday morning that it used the same process it typically uses to process benefits, submitting information to its SNAP payment vendor, which processes payments to QUEST cards, a few hours after the court decision to ensure payments would go out as soon as possible.
The funds became available to households at midnight. According to the administration, a total of about $104.4 million was issued for 337,137 households. It said the payments went out before the Trump administration requestedthat a federal appeals court block the order from McConnell on Friday morning. The emergency stay has not been granted as of Friday afternoon.
The administration received notification from the federal Food and Nutrition Service on Friday morning that it was working to implement November benefits in accordance with the Thursday court order.
The Evers administration said it is still monitoring the situation for any issues that may arise related to processing last night’s payments.
Evers said the actions of the Trump administration are “contemptible” and called on federal Republicans to work with Democrats to end the government shutdown. Last week, Evers had also declared a state of emergency due to the lapse in funding for food assistance, directing state agencies to do everything they could to support Wisconsinites.
“Wisconsinites simply cannot afford another month of Republican dysfunction in Washington,” Evers said. “It’s time for Republicans to get back to work and do the right thing by working across the aisle to end the federal government shutdown to ensure Wisconsinites continue to have access to basic needs, including affordable healthcare and food assistance, moving forward.”
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As appropriations for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s funding remain uncertain because of the government shutdown, Native American tribes across the U.S. have been forced to step in with emergency funds to support families who rely on the federal aid.
It’s a demographic that relies heavily on SNAP, which provides food assistance for approximately 42 million Americans.According to the Economic Policy Institute, 23% of American Indian and Alaska Native households used SNAP benefits in 2023 — nearly double the national average.
And tribal advocates and representatives have warned lawmakers of the risk the government shutdown poses to their communities, including the lapses in funding to SNAP, Head Start and WIC, the Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
“Most tribes are taking care of their tribal members. It’s just that they’re taking on a lot of expense at this point,” Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin told NOTUS.
In Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation officials announced on Monday they would use $6.5 million to provide direct checks to citizens on the reservation or in nearby counties. Another $1.25 million will fund nonprofit food programs and local food banks to help support the Cherokee Nation, which is the largest tribe in the country.
In other states, the percentage of people affected by SNAP cuts also disproportionately hits tribal nations. Wisconsin, for example, has 11 federally recognized tribes, and the Menominee tribe is its largest with approximately 8,700 members, according to Wisconsin First Nations. Wisconsin Watch reported that in Menominee County, which is 80% populated by the Menominee Tribe, 46% of residents receive SNAP benefits. Officials for the tribe did not respond to an inquiry from NOTUS.
When asked if he’d been speaking with tribal nations in his state about how they are affected by SNAP cuts, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said, “Well they would be affected like everyone else.”
“I’m opposed to this government shutdown,” Johnson said. “The simple solution is: Vote for the House CR,” referring to the continuing resolution that would end the government shutdown.
Sen. Mike Rounds told NOTUS he has been in contact with the tribal nations in South Dakota.
“The vast majority of the members on most of my reservations, one of their primary sources of money for food is SNAP,” Rounds said. “Our Democrat colleagues, I think, are starting to understand it. But they are wedging because they want something that we can’t deliver, which is an outcome on their proposal to simply continue on with a failed plan on Obamacare.”
A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump on Thursday to issue full SNAP benefits within a day, a decision that comes after a long back and forth over the use of USDA contingency funds. On Friday, the administration filed an appeal to stop that order.
But even ahead of the shutdown, SNAP was already facing cuts. Trump’s reconciliation bill slashed $186 million in SNAP funding through 2034, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The bill, which was signed into law in July, included a $500 million cut in funding to the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program, which allowed states and tribes to procure fresh, locally sourced food.
“I’ve been speaking to tribal leaders and those that are responsible for food programs within sovereign nations, and there’s concern across the board,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján.
Luján’s state of New Mexico has the third-highest percentage of Native Americans in the country. In his previous attempt to pass legislation that would temporarily fund SNAP, Luján included reimbursing the states and tribes that are currently using emergency funding.
When asked if tribes or states would receive these reimbursements, a spokesperson for the USDA blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
“This compromises not only SNAP, but farm programs, food inspection, animal and plant disease protection, rural development, and protecting federal lands,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown ‘leverage’ points.”
Historically, tribal reservations are geographically isolated and more likely to be in a food desert.
The only program that remains somewhat untouched by the government shutdown and the reconciliation bill is the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. FDPIR provides monthly boxes of USDA foods that Natives refer to as “commodities” based on their lower nutritional value. Prior to Nov. 1, when SNAP ran out of federal funding because of the shutdown, some nations suggested their members switch from SNAP to FDPIR because households cannot participate in both programs in the same month.
The consensus among lawmakers, however, is to end the shutdown.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, told NOTUS on Wednesday the effect on Native American communities is simple to describe: “It’s quite bad, disproportionately bad.”
“People deserve to eat,” he added.
NOTUS reporter Manuela Silva contributed to this report.
Milwaukee residents still facing recovery challenges from the August flood have until Wednesday, Nov. 12, to apply for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration physical disaster loans.
To begin the process, you must apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362.
Ald. DiAndre Jackson sent an email on Thursday informing residents that they need to apply for FEMA assistance separately even if damage was previously reported to 211, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District or a damage assessment team in late August. Disaster Survivor Assistance teams will also be present at pop-up locations in Milwaukee’s affected communities to help survivors with the FEMA process and provide updates.
Residents can visit any location, and no appointments are required. Click here to view the Milwaukee County Disaster Survivor Assistance location calendar.
Submitting documentation to FEMA
While applying, you must provide the following:
Contact information
Social Security number
A general list of damage and losses
Annual household income
Insurance information
Bank account information for direct deposit
Your address at the time of disaster and where you’re currently residing.
Important reminders
Before applying for FEMA, you must file an insurance claim.
According to the Milwaukee County executive, FEMA will not pay for things that your insurance already covers. However, if your insurance doesn’t cover all your essential needs or is delayed, you can ask FEMA for extra help.
The City of Milwaukee Office of Emergency Management also reminds residents that FEMA provides funds for mold removal as part of disaster aid.
Through FEMA’s Clean and Sanitize program, residents can make a one-time payment of $300 for mold removal, too.
Mold will keep growing until steps are taken to eliminate the source of moisture.
Click here for more information and guides to mold remediation.
Applying for the Small Business Administration loans
Homeowners can get up to $500,000 to fix or rebuild their primary home, and renters can borrow up to $100,000 to repair or replace personal property.
This loan is not for second homes or vacation houses, but if you are a rental property owner you may qualify.
Businesses and nonprofits can apply for a physical disaster loan to borrow up to $2 million for repairs to property or real estate. The deadline to apply is also Nov. 12.
For help on the application process, you can walk in or schedule an appointment at the Business Recovery Center-Summit Place, 6737 W. Washington St., Milwaukee.
Hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Gov. Tony Evers said Wisconsin is restoring benefits for nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites who receive federal food aid.
The move means the Wisconsinites who rely on food assistance “will not have to wake up tomorrow worried about when or whether they are going to eat next,” Evers said in a Thursday evening statement.
Evers’ announcement came hours after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin.
The federal government had halted November payments for the program amid the government shutdown. More recently, the administration opted to make partial payments under previous court orders last week. A Wednesday statement from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said the partial payments could add delays because states had to calculate what reduced payments would look like for individuals and get that information to a vendor that distributes the funds.
On Friday morning, the Trump administration filed a motion with a federal appeals court asking for an emergency stay of the Thursday night court order.
Evers’ statement said the state Department of Health Services anticipates benefits would be available Friday morning to FoodShare recipients.
“My administration worked quickly to ensure these benefits could be released as soon as possible so that our kids, families, and seniors have access to basic food and groceries without one more day of delay,” Evers said in a statement. “But let’s be clear — it never should’ve come to this.”
Evers, a Democrat, said the Republican Trump administration should have “listened to (Evers) and so many who urged them to use all legal funds and levers to prevent millions of Americans from losing access to food and groceries.”
Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback told WPR that the state is working to access “readily available federal funding, pursuant to the court’s order.” She said, as of Thursday night, the administration had submitted the necessary information to ensure residents can get their FoodShare benefits “as early as after midnight.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement last month that benefits would be paused was a break from past precedent for the USDA, which had used emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits in previous government shutdowns. Wisconsin was part of a multistate lawsuit seeking to compel the USDA to continue funding the program.
The lapse in benefits put pressure on Wisconsin recipients of the benefit, as well as food pantries and other service providers. On Thursday prior to the judge’s ruling and Evers’ announcement, the Milwaukee County Board approved $150,000 in assistance for the 234,000 people in that county who receive the benefits.
On Nov. 1, Evers declared a state of emergency and a period of “abnormal economic disruption” in response to the ongoing shutdown and potential lapse in federal food assistance. The executive order directed state agencies to take all necessary measures to prepare for a potential delay in FoodShare payments. It also directed the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to enforce prohibitions against price gouging.
Senate Republicans and Democrats have been deadlocked over a short-term federal funding bill since Oct. 1. Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, are demanding the bill include an extension of COVID-19 era Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits. Without them, Democrats and Evers estimate ACA insurance premiums would spike significantly. Republicans in the Senate are demanding that Democrats vote on a “clean” funding bill.
On Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johson called on his GOP colleagues to kill the Senate’s fillibuster rule, which requires 60 votes in order to pass certain legislation. With a 53-seat majority, Republicans can’t pass their funding bill without Democratic support. Johnson’s comments represent a flip from 2022 when he accused Democrats trying to kill the filibuster of wanting “absolute power.”
Wisconsin is among a coalition of states suing the federal government over new restrictions on disaster relief grants, increasing pressure on the Trump administration from battleground states.
Eleven states and the governor of Kentucky have filed a lawsuit this week against the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The lawsuit takes issue with two grants: the Emergency Management Performance Grant and the Homeland Security Grant Program. FEMA placed a hold on EMPG funding until states provide their population as of Sept. 30, 2025, and the plaintiffs argue that states do not keep such up-to-date census information. The federal agency also reduced the number of years that states must complete their grant activities to be reimbursed from three years to one.
“These grants go towards efforts and equipment that help protect Wisconsinites’ safety,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. “The federal government shouldn’t be imposing new, unlawful conditions that hinder the use of these funds.”
In a statement to NOTUS, FEMA said it “implemented additional requirements on its grant programs” at the direction of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“This is yet another example of a lawsuit trying to obstruct President Trump’s agenda and the will of the American people,” the statement said. “They are part of a methodical, reasonable effort to ensure that federal dollars are used effectively and in line with the Administration’s priorities and today’s homeland security threats.”
The lawsuit alleges that the administration did not properly follow legally mandated procedures to put these additional burdens of information on the state. Much of the funds are already accounted for in states’ budgets, the lawsuit said. For example, in Wisconsin, the funds go toward the state incident management team and statewide communications and warnings and maintain the state emergency operations center, the lawsuit said.
“Our emergency management and first responder teams worked around the clock in the weeks following Hurricane Helene, and these funds were critical to their work,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a statement. “We’re in hurricane season right now, and without these funds, we’ll be left with fewer resources to help people during the next storm that hits North Carolina.”
The lawsuit is led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon are also participating in the suit. Several of the Trump administration’s moves around FEMA have ended up in court. In September, another coalition of blue states successfully sued over the administration’s decision to withhold homeland security funds from blue states.
“The Trump Administration should be working with states to keep our residents safe,” Nessel said in a statement about the litigation. “Instead, the White House continues again and again to pull the rug out from under us, putting the safety of our communities in jeopardy.”
North Carolina lawmakers have expressed frustration in recent months with FEMA. Sen. Ted Budd placed a hold on all DHS nominees because of FEMA delays. Budd announced that he would lift at least one hold on the nominee for DHS general counsel, James Percival, once western North Carolina received the approved funds.
This story was produced andoriginally published by NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and The Assembly.
No airports in Wisconsin are among those directly hit by flight reductions, but the decision will likely have ripple effects on air travel around the country.
Wisconsin’s weekly in-depth news and public affairs program where civic and political leaders provide context to the issues at the forefront of life in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County’s Board of Supervisors adopted a $1.4 billion budget for next year. It restores some funding to the Milwaukee County Transit System, but the future of major routes — including route 28 — and paratransit services is uncertain.
A Wisconsin native shares experience in the great outdoors biking, camping, canoing and hiking. He explains where locals can visit to enjoy the weather and fall colors.
Democratic and Republican candidates for governor are working to build their name recognition and campaign throughout the state and had their first opportunity to appear on the same platform at a forum Thursday. Shown are, from left, Matt Smith of WISN-12, Francesca Hong, Sara Rodriguez, Kelda Roys, David Crowley and Missy Hughes, all Democrats, and Josh Schoemann, a Republican. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
The primaries for Wisconsin’s open gubernatorial election are about nine months away and the 2026 general election is still a year out, but Democratic and Republican candidates had their first opportunity to speak at a group forum Thursday.
The forum, moderated by WISN-12 News Political Director Matt Smith, was hosted at the Wisconsin Technology Council’s annual symposium and focused mostly on the economy, especially the technology sector.
Democratic candidates at the forum included Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Rep. Francesca Hong and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) CEO Missy Hughes.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann was the lone Republican candidate at the forum. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is seen as the frontrunner on the GOP side, was not present.
All are competing to replace Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who won’t seek reelection, in the first open Wisconsin governor’s race in 15 years.
Threats to the economy
Smith asked the candidates what they see as the greatest threat to Wisconsin’s economy. In her answer, Roys elicited the first — and biggest — round of applause from the audience.
“Wisconsin needs three key things to survive and thrive economically. We need higher wages for our workers — we lag behind our midwestern peers — we need lower costs on everything from housing to health care, and we need more freedom,” Roys said. “The biggest threat to all three of these things is the Trump regime.”
Roys said Trump’s tariffs are driving up prices for many products including appliances, building materials and groceries. She also said cuts to health care are going to have a disproportionate impact on rural parts of the state and that targeting immigrants is hurting the state’s agriculture industry. Entrepreneurship and capitalism, she added, also rely on the rule of law.
“We need to have a free society that obeys democratic norms, and right now, Trump and his regime are our biggest threat,” Roys said.
Hong said “authoritarianism” is the biggest threat to the economy, adding that disparities are growing in part because of actions being taken at the federal level, such as cutting food assistance.
“When you have essentially a federal government that is taking away rights of states and our communities, that is going to threaten the economy,” Hong said. “It is workers that power the economy.”
Schoemann said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere. He said the state should work to deregulate industry and lower utility rates and cut taxes to address the threat.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. He said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
“The average price of a home in Wisconsin right now is almost $350,000… A brand new teacher and a brand new cop who are married with a dual income can’t afford to qualify for the mortgage for that one. If they have a child, they’re trying to pay for child care, and they have utility bills that are going through the roof, and Verizon just had another increase in prices, and not to mention Netflix,” Schoemann said to some chuckles from the audience. “I know we laugh, but it’s a problem. It’s a massive problem.”
Rodriguez agreed that affordability is a big concern, saying that she wants her 19-year-old son to be able to build a life in Wisconsin but she is concerned that he won’t be able to afford to live here.
“He’s not going to be able to do that if he can’t afford a home. He’s not going to be able to do that if, you know, he’s not going to be able to afford child care, so I think affordability is our biggest threat,” Rodriguez said. She added that the state needs to figure out how to ensure that its workforce can grow.
Crowley said “complacency” is the biggest threat.
“We can’t continue to do the same work that we’ve been doing. We should no longer be defending the status quo because we have to figure out how do we build new institutions … ” Crowley said. “We see that public trust has been destroyed in government.”
Hughes said the state isn’t investing enough in K-12 and higher education.
“When we start from a place of thinking, ‘No, we don’t want to take a risk. No, we don’t want to have investment in something,’ we end up just staying in the same place and often spiraling downward,” Hughes said.
Working with the Trump administration
Democratic candidates were asked how they would work with the Trump administration, while Schoemann was asked whether there is anything he would push back on.
Rodriguez said that she would use the “bully pulpit” of the governor’s office to put pressure on the Trump administration to be more consistent. She noted her background as a health care executive, saying that being able to plan is essential.
“You’re trying to figure out what you’re going to be doing in the next several years. Small businesses do the same thing. With this back and forth on tariffs… it is almost impossible to, so, that’s why it feels like we’re stuck,” Rodriguez said.
Roys called Trump a “bully and an authoritarian” and said Wisconsin needs a governor who will stand up to the administration. She noted governors in other states, including California Gov. Gavin Newsome, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as examples of governors across the country who are pushing back.
State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. “We need to have a free society that obeys democratic norms, and right now, Trump and his regime are our biggest threat,” she said. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Crowley said that he has worked with the federal government under Trump and President Joe Biden to secure grant funding for Milwaukee County. He also noted that he worked with Republicans at the state level to help pass legislation that overhauled local government funding in Wisconsin.
“When we go into a restaurant, you’re not having a conversation with a waiter about their relationship with the cook. You want to make sure that your food is coming out hot and ready and delicious,” Crowley said. “We need our government to work the exact same way. Doesn’t matter if we agree on anything or not. We need to be delivering for the people that we represent every single day because it’s about moving our state forward.”
Hughes noted that Trump pushed for a plan operated by FoxConn during his first term, which had promised would create 13,000 jobs, and the state of Wisconsin invested $1.5 billion in infrastructure to make that happen. The original plan was mostly abandoned by the company.
“I had to come in and clean up that mess,” Hughes said. She was involved in brokering a deal with Microsoft, which launched plans in 2024 for a $3.3 billion data center on the land that was once going to be the site of the FoxConn development.
“You have to work at every level of the economy from a small business on Main Street all the way to our biggest businesses and supporting them and everywhere in between,” Hughes said. “Donald Trump thinks you can do these big things, and it’s all going to be better, and we’re all ending up paying the price for that.” Instead of taking Trump’s “silver bullet” approach, Hughes said, Wisconsin’s governor must understand the complexity of the state economy and ”keep working hard to create the quality of life that keeps people here here.”
Hong said it would be hard to work with the administration. She added that the lack of funding for SNAP is “disrupting an entire ecosystem,” and said public officials need to fight for the most vulnerable.
“We have to make sure that people have food, and so, I think working with an administration that has no interest in your constituents is going to be incredibly difficult to be able to ensure that there is an economy that works for everyone,” Hong said.
Schoemann didn’t say whether he would push back on anything the Trump administration is doing. He said tariffs have been difficult, but he also said the issues are global.
“I hear from manufacturers and agriculture alike it’s the constant give and take, but let’s face it,… the changes that the world is going through right now — it’s a global thing,” he said.
Data centers and artificial intelligence regulations
The growing presence of data centers in Wisconsin and the concerns they raise about increased electricity costs and water consumption, as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI), was a significant focus of the forum.
According to datacentermap.com, there are currently 47 data centers in Wisconsin. Proposals for more centers in the state are popping up as well, including one for a campus operated by OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers in Port Washington.
A recent Marquette Law School poll asked Wisconsinites about data centers and found that 55% say the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide, while 44% say the benefits outweigh the costs.
Schoemann, noting his close proximity to Port Washington, said that he thinks there is an “abundance of opportunity” created by data centers, but the state needs to be “very, very strategic and smart about where” data centers are placed. He said he also has concerns that there isn’t enough power in Wisconsin, and expressed hope that there will be a nuclear power “renaissance” in the state.
Crowley said he doesn’t think the government should be picking “winners and losers” when it comes to data centers, but instead should “make sure that this is fertile ground for entrepreneurs and businesses to either stay or move right here to the state of Wisconsin.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. “There’s an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe,” Crowley said. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
“There’s an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe and really sets us apart in making sure that we continue to invest in businesses and companies here,” Crowley said.
Hughes said that Wisconsin has a diverse economy and that she doesn’t see the state becoming a data center-based economy in the near future, but that data centers do offer an opportunity for communities.
“To have some of these data centers land here in Wisconsin, provide incredible property tax and revenue for the communities that are really determining how to pay their bills, how to build new schools, how to build new fire departments, it’s an opportunity for those communities to access some of that investment and to benefit from it,” she said.
Hughes also said the state is already involved in conversations with companies seeking to build data centers in Wisconsin and that should continue. She said a project needs to be right for individual communities, noting the example of Microsoft scrapping its plans last month for a data center in Caledonia after major pushback from the local community. The company is now looking for an alternative site.
“We talked to them about their environmental needs, about where they’re building and how to make that happen in a way that has the least impact to the communities and the best benefit for Wisconsin,” Hughes said. “Working directly with the companies and getting to know those companies, acting with them as partners, is critically important for these to be good investments and ultimately beneficial for Wisconsin.”
Hong raised concerns about the environmental impact of data centers and the prospect that they could drive up utility bills.
“One of the big considerations here is that for the workers and jobs that are created from these AI data centers, let’s make sure that the housing that’s being built, the workers are going to stay in Wisconsin, that we have to make sure that the companies are being held accountable,” Hong said.
Roys said that “data centers are coming whether people like it or not” and the question for policymakers is whether they can implement “an approach that respects the values that I think all of us share — of democracy and shared decision making that’s transparent, that’s accountable, of fair play… and of protecting all of our resources.” She added that she has been concerned seeing “the biggest and wealthiest” companies seek to force their ways into communities.
Asked about the role that the state should play in regulating artificial intelligence, most of the candidates appeared open to some regulation of AI but expressed concerns about stifling growth.
Roys said she wants to see consumer protections and said she has authored legislation to crack down on crypto kiosk scams as well as to regulate on the use of AI to ensure landlords don’t use it to help hike rents.
Hughes compared AI to a hammer, saying it could be used to hurt someone or to build structures.
“Trying to regulate it at this moment could potentially hold back some of the benefits that we might see from it. I think that we need to continue to watch it,” Hughes said. “ … I want to make sure that we preserve the right to use that tool in a way that can really advance our society forward.”
Crowley said he thinks there should be laws in place, but there is no “one-size-fits-all solution for technology.”
“How do you make sure that those who are directly involved in this particular industry are at the table, making sure that there is some predictability when it comes down to starting your company and also making sure they can continue to grow?… But make sure that we’re also protecting our environment, protecting the consumer at the exact same time.” Crowley said.
Schoemann, meanwhile, said he was concerned about how AI could be a threat to the state’s workforce. He noted that Washington County has studied the potential impacts of AI, finding that many jobs could be automated using AI in the next 15 years or so.
He said he wanted to see more study of AI’s impact, to answer the question, “How do we prepare the workforce?”
Broadband and marijuana
A question about how to increase broadband access in Wisconsin led the an unexpected answer from Hong: “Legalize weed.”
Wisconsin is one of 11 states that hasn’t legalized recreational or medical marijuana. By some estimates the state is losing out on millions in tax revenue each year due to cannabis prohibition.
“The revenue that comes in will be able to invest in fiber optic and high-speed internet in many different companies across the state,” Hong said.
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) speaks at a candidate forum hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
The push to legalize marijuana for either recreational and medicinal purposes in Wisconsin has been a fruitless pursuit under split government. Republican lawmakers are working to advance a medical marijuana proposal in the Legislature right now, though it is unclear whether it can garner enough support to become law.
Rodriguez said she didn’t disagree with Hong, noting that Wisconsin’s midwestern neighbors are able to bring in significant revenue by taxing marijuana.
“Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker thanks us all the time for the amount of tax Wisconsin [consumers pay],” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also added that she wants to build off the Evers administration’s successes expanding broadband.
“It is a requirement for modern day working, for schools. We saw that during COVID,” Rodriguez said. “Making sure that we are able to get that type of connection to every part of Wisconsin is going to be important.”
Hughes agreed both with marijuana legalization and with Rodriguez on broadband, saying there have been “incredible strides” in installing broadband in rural areas under the Evers administration.
“I’m all for legalizing weed, and abortion for that matter,” Roys said.
Roys noted that the state’s progressive tax structure has flattened over the last 16 years and that reversing that trend — taxing higher income residents — could help pay for investments in broadband.
Schoemann started his answer focused on broadband, rather than staking out his position on marijuana legalization, saying broadband it is a massive issue, especially in the Northwoods. He said Washington County was able to make progress using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, though he didn’t necessarily support the funding.
“I took [U.S] Rep. Glenn Grothman’s advice: ‘If they’re dumb enough to give you the money, you should be dumb enough to spend it,’” Schoemann said. “Some of that we did in broadband… I think we have to finish the job on broadband.”
(The Center Square) – In the midst of the ongoing government shutdown, a number of Democrat governors, mayors and other officials are flying to Brazil climate change convenings.
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s high school sports association doesn’t want to be subject to open meetings and public records laws, the subject of a legislative effort that has reached the governor’s desk and been vetoed multiple times.
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