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Wisconsin Republicans Try to Shrink Power of New Democratic Governor Stung by Election Losses, Republicans in the States Seek a Way to Neutralize Democrats
(about 5 hours later)
MADISON, Wis. — Facing the prospect of sharing political power for the first time in almost a decade, Republicans in Wisconsin are racing to set new limits on the authority of Democrats who will soon take over the offices of governor and attorney general. MADISON, Wis. — Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin were stung by one of the major defeats in the recent midterm elections after they saw their veteran governor ousted by a Democrat. This week, they struck back with a bold plan to slash the power of the new governor even before he takes the oath of office.
It was the latest effort by leaders of a state to try to shift authority in the face of an election loss, and it set off furious protests from Wisconsin Democrats, who said they would not stand for the moves and called on residents to raise loud objections. Democrats reacted with fury, crowding the halls of the State Capitol in Madison on Monday and accusing the Republicans of trying to undo an election they had lost. It was only the latest such Republican effort across the country to try to use legislative action to counter blows the party suffered at the polls. For Wisconsin, a state that both parties will urgently vie to win in 2020 elections, it was one more sign of the ferocious partisan split that has rippled through the state in recent years.
Republicans called lawmakers to the state capital this week to weigh a sweeping plan that could diminish the power of Tony Evers, the Democrat who beat Gov. Scott Walker last month, by restricting his ability to shift how public benefits programs are run and limiting his authority to set rules for carrying out state laws. “It’s a power grab,” said State Senator Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat, before a hearing on the package of bills that includes restrictions on the incoming governor’s ability to shift how public benefits programs are run, and on his authority to set rules for carrying out state laws. “They lost and they’re throwing a fit.”
The long list of proposals Republicans want to consider also includes wide efforts to shore up Republican strength before Mr. Evers is sworn in next month: new limits to early voting, a shift in the timing of the 2020 presidential primary in Wisconsin, and new authority for lawmakers on state litigation. The long list of proposals Republicans want to consider also includes wide efforts to shore up their strength before Tony Evers, the Democrat who beat Gov. Scott Walker last month, takes office: new limits on early voting, a shift in the timing of the 2020 presidential primary in Wisconsin, and new authority for lawmakers on state litigation. The Republican plan would also slash the power of the incoming attorney general, who is also a Democrat.
In recent years, single parties have come to dominate state legislatures, allowing lawmakers to make significant policy changes in states even as Washington wrestled with gridlock. But an imminent return to shared power following November’s elections has set off a flurry of rushed, legislative battles in places including Wisconsin and Michigan, where Democrats regained governor’s offices in capitals that Republicans fully controlled for years.In recent years, single parties have come to dominate state legislatures, allowing lawmakers to make significant policy changes in states even as Washington wrestled with gridlock. But an imminent return to shared power following November’s elections has set off a flurry of rushed, legislative battles in places including Wisconsin and Michigan, where Democrats regained governor’s offices in capitals that Republicans fully controlled for years.
It is a model pioneered in North Carolina, where Republican lawmakers in 2016 tried to restrict the power of the governor after a Democrat was narrowly elected to the post. That set off a bitter court battle that continues to this day.
In Michigan, Republican lawmakers are considering proposals that would give them more authority to intervene in legal fights and would shift oversight of campaign finance — efforts that Democrats say are aimed at shrinking the authority of their leaders, including Gretchen Whitmer, who won the governor’s race there.In Michigan, Republican lawmakers are considering proposals that would give them more authority to intervene in legal fights and would shift oversight of campaign finance — efforts that Democrats say are aimed at shrinking the authority of their leaders, including Gretchen Whitmer, who won the governor’s race there.
The moves in Wisconsin this week are similar to efforts in North Carolina in 2016, where Republicans in the General Assembly tried to restrict the power of the governor after a Democrat was narrowly elected to the post. That set off a bitter court battle that continues to this day. Some local areas are seeing glimpses of similar battles. In Arizona’s Maricopa County — with 4.3 million residents, the nation’s fourth most populous — the Republican-dominated board of supervisors said last month that it was studying a takeover of some Election Day logistics now handled by the county recorder, a newly elected Democrat. The supervisors have said they have a nonpartisan interest in improving the county’s elections.
In Wisconsin, Democrats and liberal groups were already voicing outrage — calling the Republicans’ proposals for slashing Mr. Evers’s authority a blatant power grab and a rejection of the election outcome. Some said they were considering legal action against any legislation the Republicans may try to push through this week. In Wisconsin on Monday, Democrats and liberal groups called the Republicans’ proposals for curbing Mr. Evers’s authority in advance of his swearing in next month a blatant power grab and a rejection of the election outcome. Some said they were considering legal action against any legislation the Republicans may try to push through this week.
Republicans, who will retain their legislative majorities under the Democratic governor, have defended the hastily introduced package of bills as a necessary check on executive power.Republicans, who will retain their legislative majorities under the Democratic governor, have defended the hastily introduced package of bills as a necessary check on executive power.
“Wisconsin law, written by the Legislature and signed into law by a governor, should not be erased by the potential political maneuvering of the executive branch,” said Robin Vos, the speaker of the State Assembly, and Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican leader in the State Senate, in a joint statement last week.“Wisconsin law, written by the Legislature and signed into law by a governor, should not be erased by the potential political maneuvering of the executive branch,” said Robin Vos, the speaker of the State Assembly, and Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican leader in the State Senate, in a joint statement last week.
Mr. Evers condemned the proposals and urged Wisconsin residents to speak up against them. He said Republicans were trying “to take us back to Nov. 6” and change the election results. But as hundreds of angry residents gathered at the Capitol, the Republican leaders spoke bluntly of the ideological clash between their caucus and the incoming governor.
“We’re not going backwards in time to revote this election,” Mr. Evers said. “I won.” Mr. Evers said he hoped to persuade the legislative chambers — both of which are controlled by Republicans — to vote down the bills. If that fails, Mr. Evers said, a “Plan B” could include litigation. “I think that Governor-elect Evers is going to bring a liberal agenda to Wisconsin,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “There’s going to be a divide between the legislative branch and the executive branch.”
A hearing and protest rally were scheduled for Monday at the Capitol, a place where protests by Democrats have been frequent over the past eight years under Republican dominance. In 2010, Democrats had controlled the state — the governor’s office and both its legislative chambers — before Mr. Walker and Republican lawmakers flipped control and began pushing through a set of policies that moved the state sharply to the right. “We want to ensure that the new administration doesn’t try to work around the Legislature,” Mr. Vos said, explaining the package of bills that Republicans say they hope will be taken up by the full Legislature on Tuesday. “We want both branches to have an equal seat at the table.”
Wisconsin’s capital city has regularly been the scene of political upheaval over the last decade.
The 2010 election flipped Democratic control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers, and Governor Walker built a national reputation by swiftly moving to limit public sector unions’ power, a push that sent thousands of union supporters and Democrats to Madison to protest for weeks and set off a series of recall elections against Republicans and Democrats.
The state has long been purple; it voted for Barack Obama for president and also for Donald J. Trump. But a longstanding tone of congenial relations between Democrats and Republicans vanished after the Republicans took over eight years ago.
Mr. Evers, who has been Wisconsin’s state schools superintendent, condemned the proposals and urged Wisconsin residents to speak up against them. He said Republicans were trying “to take us back to Nov. 6” and change the election results.
“We’re not going backwards in time to revote this election,” Mr. Evers said. “I won.”
Mr. Evers said he hoped to persuade the legislative chambers — both of which are controlled by Republicans — to vote down the bills. If that fails, Mr. Evers said, a “Plan B” could include litigation.
From a hearing room where the legislation was being weighed on Monday afternoon, protesters outside could be heard chanting “Respect our vote” and “Shame.” Hundreds gathered in protest in the cold on the steps of the Capitol, a place where demonstrations by Democrats have been tense and frequent over the past eight years under Republican dominance.
Among the package of measures being considered in Madison, Democrats were especially angered about one that would allow Republican leaders in the Legislature to hire their own lawyers to replace the Democratic attorney general on certain lawsuits, including on issues such as voter identification and legislative redistricting. Josh Kaul, the incoming attorney general, defeated Brad Schimel, the Republican incumbent, in November.
“This bill is really the biggest aversion of the will of the people in this whole package,” said State Representative Chris Taylor, a Democrat. “It totally guts the power of the attorney general.”
“It is an embarrassment,” Mr. Evers said. “Wisconsin has been known for several years now as a state that can’t get along.”“It is an embarrassment,” Mr. Evers said. “Wisconsin has been known for several years now as a state that can’t get along.”