GOP leaders delay WEC budget after Trump administration threatens to cut funding
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) – The current GOP co-chairs of the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee said they are holding off on approving funds for the Wisconsin Elections Commission after a letter from the Trump administration threatened to cut funding to the agency.
“We had intended to take that up today, out of caution. We think we’re just gonna wait and see,” said Senator Howard Markein (R-Spring Green). “We need to analyze this and see what implications there may be for the elections commission and what impact that may have on the budget.”
In a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, federal officials told the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) they were moving to have the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) bar WEC from receiving future federal aid from the agency. In the notice, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon accused WEC of failing to provide voters with any recourse if they sought to file a complaint alleging a violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Ann Jacobs, chair of the elections commission and one of three Democrats on WEC's six-member governing board, said in a text message Wednesday night that $77 million included money awarded over approximately the last 20 years.
"We have exhausted all past grants, and this upcoming budget year will be the very last of the use of past grants," Jacobs said.
Jacobs defended WEC's position it cannot handle claims made against the agency, and she pointed to a section of the 2022 ruling, in which a then-conservative majority banned drop boxes.
On Thursday, Democrats on the Join Finance Committee emphasized the importance of providing the commission with enhanced security and technology needs.
“It’s especially important as a time where election workers are under threat by really violent rhetoric that’s often pushed by some politicians,” Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said Thursday.
This letter from the DOJ came on the same day Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders announced they ended negotiations on the next two-year state budget.
“The governor was willing to work with them on their priorities,” Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said Thursday. “Republicans thought it was more important to walk away because they were unwilling to give our kids what they need.”
Evers said he was willing to give Republicans a set of tax cuts they'd been seeking, but they wouldn't back his push to increase spending on child care, K-12 education and the University of Wisconsin System.
“Spending, really, what the governor needed, was more than what we could afford,” Representative Mark Born said on Thursday.
GOP legislators on the Joint Finance Committee remained confident they could get a budget prepared for Gov. Evers' approval before the deadline. Democrats shared their fears for Wisconsin schools and municipalities if that is unable to be done.
The current budget cycle ends June 30. If a new budget isn't approved by then, spending will continue at the 2023-25 levels until a new budget for the 2025-27 cycle is enacted.