Thursday, July 10, 2025
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Thursday, July 10, 2025

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Protasiewicz to be Sworn in Tuesday, Changing Makeup of Wisconsin Supreme Court

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There are a lot of expectations about what a new liberal-majority Supreme Court will mean for Wisconsin. But not everyone is expecting change right away.

Judge Janet Protasiewicz will take her oath of office Tuesday, and with that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flips from a 4-3 conservative court to a 4-3 liberal court.

Fellow Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, who is often the conservative-leaning swing vote, said on UPFRONT on Milwaukee TV over the weekend that Protasiewicz’s arrival will not radically change the court in the short term.

“There certainly is going to be some shift in judicial philosophy, right? I mean, I’ve advocated for textualism and originalism, this idea that we’re supposed to take the law as it is and as written and try to give effect to whatever the reasonable reading of those words are. And some of my colleagues, particularly when it comes to the constitution, you have a little bit different approach that they’ve expressed and we’ve debated that. I think those debates will continue and they might turn out a little bit differently on at least some cases,” Hagedorn said. “But that’s not necessarily what governs every single case.”

Mark Lischeron, managing editor with the Badger Institute, agreed.

“Despite the protracted victory lap by progressives and the accompanying media cheerleading, a left-leaning majority on the state Supreme Court probably won’t mean much in the short term,” Lischeron told The Center Square. “Much like the recent consequential U.S. Supreme Court decisions, cases are brought from the lower courts and make their way to the top. As polarized as our politics is, cases that have the potential for big legal and policy change will be battled over all the way up the line. Even progressive sympathizers have said any changes to abortion law or voting district maps or Act 10 could take years.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t expectations that the new Protasiewicz court will bring changes to Wisconsin’s abortion law, and more.

“We’re here to treat political cases like other cases. we shouldn’t be handling them differently,” Hagedorn said. “I get there’s a lot of political noise and a lot of people want what they want out of the court. But I think it’s incumbent upon us to show that we are going to act like a court and not just do whatever the political-chatters want on either side.”

Lischeron said the case against Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law is headed for the Supreme Court, but will take some time to get there.

“There is going to be a lot more sorting and interpreting and isn’t going to be the slam dunk progressives think,” Lischeron said. “But don’t think for a moment cases like the one filed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, looking to make abortion universally legal in the state, won’t keep coming.”

Lischeron said other cases, like school choice, Act 10, and the state’s electoral maps will also take some time to end up in front of the new majority court.

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2026 GOP Candidate Josh Schoemann Challenges Evers’ Budget Approach

(The Center Square) – Josh Schoemann, the only Republican currently in the race for governor next year, is criticizing Gov. Tony Evers’ approach to the next state budget by comparing it to his plans in Washington County.

“In Washington County our budget cycle starts right now, and it’s not due until November. We will propose our budget goals to the County Board in the next couple of months. We will share ‘This is what we’re thinking.’ It gives them months of time to think those through, give us feedback, and [have] that kind of dialogue,” Schoemann explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.

Schoemann said that is far better than the approach Evers is taking again this year.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work,” Schoemann said. “It’s not the vision of the governor. It’s not the vision of any one person.”

Evers and the Republican legislative leaders who will write the budget have been involved in on-again, off-again budget talks this month. On Thursday, the governor’s office said those talks were off once again because of gridlock in the Senate.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a post on X.

Schoemann’s criticism of Evers is nothing new. He has long been a critic of the governor and has turned that criticism up since launching his campaign for governor.

But the recent criticism was also aimed at other Republicans who may jump into the 20206 governor’s race later this year.

“Nobody else in this race on the Republican side, being rumored to this point, has the executive leadership of skills and history to be able to show ‘This is how I’ve done it before, and here’s how we’ll do it Madison,’” Schoemann said. “The results in Washington County speak for themselves.”

Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany is also rumored to be looking to get into the Republican race. Before he went to Congress, Tiffany was a Republican lawmaker in Madison.

Businessman and veteran Bill Berrien is also on the short list of likely GOP candidates for 2026.

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Wisconsin Budget Negotiations Reach Impasse Between Evers, Legislature

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin budget negotiations have reached an impasse with both sides pointing fingers at the other in Wednesday afternoon statements.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Republican Legislative leaders backed out of negotiations after he agreed to “an income tax cut targeting Wisconsin’s middle-class and working families and eliminating income taxes for certain retirees.” He said Republican leaders would not agree to “meaningful increased investments in child care, K-12 schools, and the University of Wisconsin System.”

Republican Assembly leaders said the two sides were "far apart. Senate leaders say Evers’ desires “extend beyond what taxpayers can afford.”

“The Joint Committee on Finance will continue using our long-established practices of crafting a state budget that contains meaningful tax relief and responsible spending levels with the goal of finishing on time,” said a statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Finance Co-Chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

Evers said that there were meetings between the sides every day this week before the impasse.

“I told Republicans I’d support their half of the deal and their top tax priorities – even though they’re very similar to bills I previously vetoed – because I believe that’s how compromise is supposed to work, and I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids,” Evers said.

Senate Republican leadership said that good faith negotiations have occurred since April on a budget compromise.

“Both sides of these negotiations worked to find compromise and do what is best for the state of Wisconsin,” said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate Joint Finance Co-Chairman Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

In early May, the Joint Committee on Finance took 612 items out of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, including Medicaid expansion in the state, department creations and tax exemptions.

Born previously estimated that Evers’ budget proposal would lead to $3 billion in tax increases over the two-year span.

Wisconsin Policy Forum estimated that the proposal would spend down more than $4 billion of the state’s expected $4.3 billion surplus if it is enacted.

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