NEW: Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the Select Committee on China, will not seek reelection this November.
He tells me he will leave Congress but plans to continue work on defense policy: via
@journalsentinel
New: Democrat Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN, will run for Mike Gallagher’s open seat this year.
Her run in the 8th CD means Dems will have a candidate in each WI congressional district — a change from last cycle.
via
@journalsentinel
A mural of
@Giannis_An34
on the side of an apartment building in the
@Bucks
star’s old Sepolia, Athens, neighborhood.
It overlooks a court where I’m told the Antetokounmpo brothers used to play around 2010.
NEWS: Mike Gallagher tells me he will NOT challenge Tammy Baldwin for Senate in Wisconsin in 2024.
He plans to run for re-election in the House as he keeps a focus on China. via
@journalsentinel
NEW: A Democratic law firm this evening filed a motion asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out and replace the state’s congressional map.
They aim to have a new map in place for the 2024 election. More here:
via
@journalsentinel
NEW: Rep. Derrick Van Orden arrived in Israel this morning for what he’s described as a fact-finding mission.
He’ll miss speaker votes today and potentially in the coming days. He’s supported Jim Jordan. More here:
Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter was just attacked by a group of protesters on Fairchild Street.
Protesters said he provoked them.
“This is the first time I’ve been assaulted” he says
Protesters in Madison, Wisc. last night pulled down the statue of an abolitionist who died fighting to end slavery in the Civil War.
Here is what you should know about Col. Hans Christian Heg:
Vice President Kamala Harris is in Madison.
She announced an executive order at the construction site of a future transit facility.
Now, she’s at her childhood home on the west side.
Ron Johnson says he won't support same-sex marriage bill in its current form, indicates the 2015 Obergefell ruling was 'wrongly decided' via
@journalsentinel
Mike Gallagher after House GOP goes back to square one:
“As the Republican representative from Green Bay, it pains me to ask this question, but I’m not sure who sucks at team sports more right now: The Packers or the House Republican conference.”
Mike Gallagher before closed GOP speaker votes says he doesn’t know whether party can finally pull together and elect leader soon.
“My concern is that every day we waste with this circular firing squad, the Senate gets closer to jamming us with an omnibus and a supplemental.”
📰Some professional news📰
Next month, I’ll join the
@journalsentinel
as the Washington, D.C. correspondent covering Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.
Incredibly excited to work (again) with the Journal Sentinel’s political team. And I’m grateful for my time
@IndyStar
.
@journalsentinel
"I firmly don’t believe that the best use for the next chapter of my career is staying in Congress for another decade,” Gallagher told me.
He says his next move will be an extension of his mission of "restoring conventional deterrence in order to prevent a war with China."
Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the Capitol just now says he won’t cast a vote for speaker or any rule until the 8 Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy are dealt w/
Says they shouldn’t be removed from conference or all committees but wouldn’t say exactly what he wants to see.
New: Democrat Peter Barca will join the House race to challenge Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, he tells me.
He plans to formally announce his campaign for WI-01 today: via
@journalsentinel
Rep. Mark Pocan wrote a letter to House Admin Chair Bryan Steil asking him to release the Capitol footage of Derrick Van Orden berating Senate pages for lying under the Capitol dome last week:
Sen. Carpenter tells me he was just taking a picture of the protesters when they attacked him.
He’s heading to the Capitol, where he said he was planning to do work tonight
Van Orden wrote a lengthy statement on his trip. He said in part:
"There is no path for a new Speaker, and Congress remains rudderless and in disarray. There is no sense of urgency to elect a Speaker despite the many challenges we face at home..."
West Bend police say a 38-year-old man with a knife entered the library “demanding for staff to ‘stop the voting.’”
Man in custody. No injuries reported.
One man is in custody after a disturbance at West Bend’s library this afternoon, police tell me.
A poll worker here says he heard a man with a knife entered the building, but police and lib workers would not confirm.
“Heavy police presence. They were all over the place.”
After his speech, a Johnson aide said the speech Johnson read was not the final version he intended to deliver.
He did not include a call for unity and accidentally said Dem policies were a "clear and present danger" to the country
via
@journalsentinel
New: Ron Johnson (R) declares race is over against Mandela Barnes (D) in Wisconsin Senate race.
Race has yet to be called by major outlets. Johnson has 27,374 vote lead.
New: Rebecca Cooke tells me she is running again for Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District — making her the first Democrat to announce a challenge to freshman Rep. Derrick Van Orden via
@journalsentinel
Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman told me Trump made these comments when speaking about the election.
Grothman said Trump was “concerned about the election in MKE” and “felt we need to do better in urban centers around the country.”
Fmr WI Gov Tommy Thompson on Trump verdict:
“I think it’s going to pretty much cement Donald Trump being elected the next President of the United States. People see this trial as a political vendetta against Trump by the Biden administration...people are gonna vote accordingly.”
A couple Senate pages I spoke with said they weren’t allowed to talk about the Van Orden incident last night.
But they said today is their last day on the job.
Another Democrat says he is running for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District held by Republican Derrick Van Orden.
This time, a 25-year-old law student from the Milwaukee area…
Mandela Barnes issues a statement following his defeat:
"We didn’t get over the finish line this time. But I know this movement that has meant so much to all of us will keep going. I still believe that better is possible, and I am in this for Wisconsin."
Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Milwaukee tomorrow, the White House confirms to me.
She's coming to Wisconsin just two days after announcing her presidential campaign.
Still no changes to Kamala Harris' travel plans to Milwaukee as of now.
"We're still moving forward," an aide tells me... "No updates to share yet in terms of any changes."
This deck looking over Lake Mendota wasn’t here prior, Harris tells the homeowner.
“It’s very serene and tranquil. It’s just beautiful,” she said.
“I don’t remember the house as much as I remember the path down to the lake,” she tells us. “Welcome to my Madison roots.”
Just asked Van Orden about this. He told me the Capitol rotunda was used as a field hospital during the Civil War, saying:
“I would think that I’d be terribly disrespectful to lay on the grave of a soldier that died fighting for freedom.”
NEW: Wisconsin GOP Rep.
@derrickvanorden
cursed out a group of high-school aged pages Wed. night in the Capitol.
He called them lazy shits bc they were in the Rotunda taking pictures on the floor. He told them to get the fuck up.
It's the pages' last week
📰Some professional news📰
Next month, I’ll join the
@journalsentinel
as the Washington, D.C. correspondent covering Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.
Incredibly excited to work (again) with the Journal Sentinel’s political team. And I’m grateful for my time
@IndyStar
.
NEW: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson tells Wisconsin conservative radio host Vicki McKenna that the WI/MI fake elector information his chief of staff tried to give to VP Mike Pence came from PA congressman Mike Kelly.
.
@realDonaldTrump
in town hall notes Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter is gay and claims, without evidence, that Carpenter was likely rooting protesters before he was assaulted.
@journalsentinel
The motion is anchored by the state Supreme Court's ruling last month ordering the Leg to draw new legislative boundaries
The court rejected the "least change" approach in which district lines need to resemble previously drawn maps.
The House just passed the Presidential Election Reform Act, which seeks to prevent future attempts to overturn election, on a 229-203 vote.
Wisconsin’s delegation split, with Ds voting YES and Rs voting NO.
@journalsentinel
The current maps were drawn under the guidance of that now-nullified least change theory. And Democrats are now asking the court to consider new congressional map proposals.
News: Eric Hovde will challenge Democrat Tammy Baldwin for Senate in Wisconsin in 2024, NRSC Chair Steve Daines told me.
The NRSC will back Hovde, Daines said, even if Scott Mayer also jumps in race.
via
@journalsentinel
A campaign aide tells me Nytes plans to move to the 3rd CD after he graduates from Harvard.
He currently lives in Boston as he finishes law school. As some have pointed out, neither Milwaukee nor Hartford (where Nytes grew up) are in the 3rd CD.
Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, tells me “we’re going to be introducing our own version” of the Respect for Marriage Act.
“I believe we will have Republican support,” she said.
@journalsentinel
Wisconsin Dems respond:
"Mike Gallagher, Mitch McConnell's handpicked Senate recruit, passed on running because he knew he couldn't beat Tammy Baldwin. The Wisconsin GOP is staring down another chaotic, messy intra-party primary with Sheriff David Clarke leading the pack."
In Greece, I met a group of migrants who learned photography/filmmaking in one of the world's most notorious refugee camps.
They're now using those skills to empower & tell the stories of other migrants. My first for
@NatGeo
:
Dem congressional candidate Brad Pfaff today called for 3 town hall-style debates after Derrick Van Orden refused a formal debate and said he wanted voters to ask the questions
Here's a rundown of the incident last night in which Van Orden reportedly called Senate pages "lazy shits" and told them to "get the fuck up" off the Capitol Rotunda ground.
It includes a little Capitol Rotunda-sleeping history:
VP Harris lived at the house from age 3 to 5 (1968-1970), WH official says.
Her father was an associate professor of econ at UW-Madison, and her mother worked as a breast cancer researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research.
The House just passed the Respect for Marriage Act, seeking to codify same-sex marriage protections, on a 258-169 vote.
Wisconsin Rs Mike Gallagher and Bryan Steil voted YES w/ Dems. Tiffany, Grothman & Fitzgerald voted NO.
The Juneteenth flag will be raised over the Wisconsin State Capitol for the first time in state history beginning at sunrise on Friday.
It will replace for a day the rainbow Pride Flag recognizing Pride Month.
@GovEvers
announced today
No WI Republican has announced a 2024 Senate challenge to Tammy Baldwin.
I caught up with one potential candidate, Scott Mayer, who had this to say: “I don’t want to do it because I’m the only one left and I have to, but that’s certainly a possibility..."
Developments as Wisconsin Republicans consider who could replace Mike Gallagher in the 8th CD:
@alexbruesewitz
said he is "now taking a VERY STRONG LOOK" at run
State Sen. Andre Jacque texts me it's "certainly something I'll take a hard look at."
NEW: Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the Select Committee on China, will not seek reelection this November.
He tells me he will leave Congress but plans to continue work on defense policy: via
@journalsentinel
Just spoke to Derrick Van Orden. He tells me he was calling Matt Gaetz “tubby” — not Speaker Johnson — after Gaetz called DVO a “squish”
Says he saw group around Johnson & joined the group to support Johnson.
Called Gaetz a bully & said only way to stop bully is to “push back”
Things just got very heated on the House floor
Group of hardliners were trying to pressure Johnson to only put Israel aid on the floor and hold Ukraine aid until the Senate passed HR2
Johnson said he couldn’t do it, and Van Orden called him “tubby” and vowed to bring on the MTV
This is the gym in Athens where I’m told
@Giannis_An34
grew up playing.
Posters of the Antetokounmpo brothers hang on the walls. It’s quiet today, and only a few people are on the court.
Former Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan tells me he WON’T join this race and will instead support Barca.
“I feel very strongly that Peter Barca can do this… We gotta have somebody representing the 1stCD that’s willing to speak out against Donald Trump.”
New: Democrat Peter Barca will join the House race to challenge Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, he tells me.
He plans to formally announce his campaign for WI-01 today: via
@journalsentinel
NRSC Chair Steve Daines chuckled when asked about a potential WI Senate run from Sheriff David Clarke and Clarke’s attacks on his own party leadership, saying:
"Well, we're looking for candidates who can win primaries and general elections."
.
@PhilaUnion
player Jose Martinez (8) wore the name “Robinson” on his jersey today.
This is in honor of Tony Robinson, the 19-year-old black man killed in 2015 by police in Madison, Wisconsin, according to the team.
People continue to share poetry and personal stories at the Capitol.
Those nervous to speak are often encouraged by the large crowd. After each set, there is always applause.
Wisconsin’s Republican Sen. Ron Johnson indicates he’ll support the bill codifying same-sex marriage.
“Even though I feel the Respect for Marriage Act is unnecessary, should it come before the Senate, I see no reason to oppose it." (via
@BillGlauber
)
Mark Pocan, the only WI Dem who called on Biden to withdraw, tells me Biden made the "right decision doing this," says he's "putting country before himself."
He says Kamala Harris is "absolutely the leading contender" now...
New: Peter Barca confirms to me he is seriously considering a challenge to Bryan Steil in WI-01
“I feel like I’ve always been part of trying to get things done and solve problems and stand up for working families. We need people to pay attention now more than ever,” he says.