Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly.

Quotes of the week

How out of touch are the billionaires Trump has put in his administration? So out of touch with America they think people can go a month without a social security check. No wonder they are after our Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. The Republicans don’t get us.
– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, criticizing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for saying his mother-in-law wouldn’t call to complain if she didn’t receive her Social Security check, but that “a fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining.”  

The Left’s legacy of loot, burn, and destroy continues. They burned and looted American businesses in 2020. Now, they’re firebombing Teslas with Molotov cocktails. Chaos and destruction is their ONLY agenda.
– U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, tying attacks on Tesla cars to those on the left of the political spectrum. Teslas have been targeted with vandalism amid criticism of Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk. 

This week’s news

— Democrats are calling President Donald Trump’s administration “incompetent” and “unfit” after officials shared classified information over an unsecured platform and accidentally added a journalist to their group chat. 

“This is blatant incompetence, and accountability is needed,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said in a statement to WisPolitics. “The Trump administration is putting American troops in harm’s way and Americans’ safety on the line, and it is totally unacceptable.”

Atlantic Editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top White House officials to discuss plans for Houthi airstrikes in Yemen. 

The group chat included National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among other officials. The officials discussed planned bomb attacks on Houthis, sharing detailed plans two hours ahead of the actual attack. 

Some congressional Democrats are also calling for an investigation into the officials. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, said this is more than just incompetence. 

“Let’s be clear: the war plan group chat wasn’t just a bit of incompetence,” Pocan said on X. “It was one of the most shocking and outrageous national security f*ckups in decades.” 

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, also condemned the actions of Trump administration officials. 

“Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident with Trump,” Moore said in a statement to WisPolitics. “He’s stored sensitive national security information at Mar-a-Lago. He discussed nuclear submarine secrets with his billionaire buddy. He’s unfit and shouldn’t be President.” 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration on X. She said “no war plans were discussed” and “no classified material was sent to the thread.” The chat included information about when upcoming airstrikes would occur. Leavitt added the White House is still investigating how Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added to the chat. 

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, suggested there should be consequences. 

“If it was an administrative error, there should be administrative consequences,” Van Orden said in a statement to WisPolitics. “If this was done in a criminal manner, then there needs to be criminal consequences.” 

Van Orden is a Navy SEAL veteran and current member of the House Armed Services Committee. 

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, told WisPolitics he was confident in the administration’s ability to handle the situation. 

“While the administration acknowledges they made a mistake, I have full confidence in the President’s cabinet and immensely qualified national security team,” Wied said in a statement. “With that, we must always continue to work to ensure that our U.S. intelligence remains as secure as possible in order to protect our national security.”

— Baldwin, member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter along with her colleagues to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding answers about federal education cuts to teacher training. 

In February, the U.S. Department of Education had cut over $600 million for teacher training grants, saying the grants were used to train teachers on “divisive ideologies” like critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion. 

A federal judge blocked the cuts last week and ordered the department to reinstate the grants. 

In the letter, Baldwin, D-Madison, along with 20 other senators, called for the department to reinstate funding “intended to help strengthen our educator workforce in at least 34 states and improve teaching and learning for our nation’s students.” 

Baldwin specifically pointed to a teacher training program in partnership between UW-Madison and Milwaukee Public Schools intended to bring more special education teachers into Milwaukee schools. 

The $3 million grant supported a partnership between UW-Madison and MPS to help students get a master’s degree in special education, along with training through a residency program in schools. Students with the grant signed on to teach at MPS for three years after school, part of the effort to address the need for special education teachers in Wisconsin schools. 

The letter asked the department to justify canceling education grants. 

— Baldwin attacked Trump and Elon Musk at a forum with senators and researchers for cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the impacts on cancer and Alzheimer’s research. 

Baldwin yesterday said cuts “mean potential treatments and cures are delayed if they are discovered at all,” and said research can’t just be paused. She expressed concerns about halting disease research and the consequences on American people. 

“This administration is seeking to dismantle the NIH and destroy the hopes of millions of Americans who are counting on life-saving treatments and cures,” Baldwin said. 

This comes as the Trump administration has announced sweeping cuts to National Institutes of Health funding for research, especially targeting “indirect costs” for research last month. NIH has also halted grant applications. A federal judge had temporarily blocked the cuts last month, and issued an injunction that would further delay the cuts from taking effect. 

Baldwin condemned these cuts, saying indirect costs “literally keep the lights on.” She said cutting these costs would cut $65 million from Wisconsin research funding. 

Sterling Johnson, UW-Madison professor and associate director of the university’s Alzheimer’s disease research center, detailed the work UW labs are able to do on Alzheimer’s because of NIH funding. 

Johnson said NIH funding was key to funding tools for Alzheimer’s study, and proposed cuts threaten ongoing studies, and “set our patients back.” He also expressed concerns the uncertainty will prevent prospective scientists from 

“If these cuts go into effect, studies will be delayed and slowed, we will lose ground on hard won progress, every setback costs lives and quality of life,” Johnson said. He argued that the federal government needs to invest in research and treatment. 

The office of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, pointed WisPolitics to the senator’s past statements on NIH. The office said he believes all funding should be scrutinized and has praised Musk’s efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.  

— A liberal advocacy group organized a protest outside of U.S. Rep. Tony Wied’s office as the latest protest targeting Republicans on Trump’s administration and actions. 

“Tony Wied won’t come to us, so we’re going to him!” organizers with Indivisible posted in announcing the event outside the congressman’s office in De Pere. 

The De Pere member of Congress responded to the protest organizers ahead of yesterday’s event. He told WisPolitics that Indivisible is a “dark money, far-left, activist organization,” arguing the group does not represent constituent interests. Wied pointed to the tele-town hall he hosted recently, adding his office has been responding to constituent calls. 

“I am committed to working every day with the best interests of Wisconsin’s 8th District in mind, and I will always encourage the people of Northeast Wisconsin to contact my office and voice their opinions so I am able to best represent them,” Wied said in a statement to WisPolitics. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee had told members of Congress not to hold in person town halls earlier this month, after Republicans across the nation faced protestors of Trump, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency at their town halls. 

Wisconsin Republicans have taken to holding virtual town halls, which have been flooded with questions and guests. 

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, held a virtual town hall on Monday, which drew over 5,700 attendees, according to his office. He fielded questions about DOGE and how funding cuts would affect Medicaid and Medicare. 

Indivisible also organized a protest outside U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s office last week, saying they wanted a town hall with the Minocqua Republican.

— The abortion rights group EMILY’s List has placed U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, and Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, among its top targets for the 2026 elections.

The group also this week endorsed Eau Claire Rebecca Cooke’s bid against Van Orden. It is Cooke’s third run for the seat.

Posts of the week

ICYMI

WPR: Ron Johnson says ‘we have to thank Elon’ if Brad Schimel wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race

WKOW: Rep. Mark Pocan rallies with federal employees

WSAW: ‘We want a town hall with Tom Tiffany,’ as people picket outside office

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hakeem Jeffries says a Crawford victory might give Dems more favorable maps

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