News
January 15, 2025 | By Benjamin Yount
Policy Issues
Accountable Government

Wisconsin Republicans Not Entirely on Same Page Heading into 2025 Session

There is a rift between GOP leaders over abortion and a move to count absentee ballots in the state before Election Day.

The disagreements at the Wisconsin Capitol will not be limited to just Republicans and Democrats.

There is a growing split between what Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly and Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate have on their to-do list.

Republicans in both chambers say they want to pass a tax cut, and limit Gov. Evers’ spending in the next state budget, There’s also unanimous agreement in returning the state’s $4 billion surplus back to the taxpayers.

But there is a rift between GOP leaders over abortion and a move to count absentee ballots in the state before Elections Day.

Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, said the Assembly plans to take-up the early count legislation as soon as possible.

“The bill is in drafting. We’re going to get it out in front of folks fairly soon, Krug explained on Tuesday. “It’s similar to what we passed in the Assembly last session. [We need] to have conversations with all of the new members who came into the Assembly, and all of the new members -- and returning members -- of the Senate. It’s going to take some time to build some coalitions, some efforts, and to make sure the governor is still on board.”

Gov. Tony Evers said he’d sign the early count legislation that passed the Assembly, but the Senate killed it.

Some senators saw an early count law as a pathway to cheat on Election Day.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said on UpFront last weekend that he’s still not sure about early count.

LeMahieu did talk about a Senate vote on a new abortion law.

“If [the Wisconsin Supreme Court] makes abortion legal full term or if they keep it at the 20 weeks, we could try and do 14 weeks,” LeMahieu said. “At that point, we’ll try and build consensus. See where our caucus is at, see where the Assembly is at.”

The Assembly appears to be nowhere near where LeMahieu is.

“If the Senate wanted to take up a bill, and put it before the voters to do something similar to where Europe is, which is [a 14 week abortion ban, I am certainly open to looking at that,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos explained. “But I feel like the Assembly already took that position last time, and we had opposition from the governor…and the Senate never took it up. So I feel that we’re the last place to take action.”

The Assembly and the Senate have worked together well in past sessions, though there is always some disagreement.

The new session got off to a lockstep start, however, as both chambers quickly passed a constitutional amendment to protect voter ID in the state.

That amendment is now headed for the April ballot.

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