Quotes of the week

Tariffs make life more difficult for Wisconsin farmers and could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on USMCA. … We should focus on passing USMCA, which would be a huge win for Wisconsin and the president.
– Rep. Mike Gallagher on President Trump’s proposed tariffs via Twitter. See the post here.

Your Admin so far: banned patriotic, trans Americans from serving in military, gutted protections for transgender ppl in health care, housing & schools, said you would veto #EqualityAct…I could keep going. Want to honor #PrideMonth? You’ll have to do better than this.
– U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said in a fiery tweet in response to President Trump’s post honoring Pride Month. See the post here.

This week’s news

— Two Republicans from Wisconsin’s congressional delegation joined fellow GOP lawmakers in Congress in questioning President Trump’s plan to impose new tariffs on Mexico because of an immigration dispute.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, voiced his opposition to the president’s proposal in an interview with WHBY on Friday, saying the tariffs would force Americans to “pay an additional tax for illegal immigration.”

“I just don’t understand that move,” he said. “I don’t think it will do anything to solve the crisis at the southern border. “

GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson also expressed hesitancy to embrace the president’s latest proposal to stem the tide of immigration at the southern border by using tariffs.

“Republicans don’t like taxes on American consumers, which is what tariffs are,” he told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

Speaking at a WisPolitics.com/Milwaukee Press Club luncheon, the Oshkosh Republican said Trump is aware that he is not a supporter of tariffs in the long-term. But he said was holding off voicing criticism of the measure until he learned more from the president.

“My first reaction was, if you use it as leverage to get agreement either with Mexico or Democrats to solve the problem, I’ll consider it,” he said.

White House officials met with Mexico’s top diplomats on Wednesday to discuss potential avenues to strike a deal and avoid the 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods set to begin Monday. But reports from Washington indicated the two parties failed to reach a deal and negotiations are scheduled to continue today.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin joined with a coalition of Senate Dems to reintroduce the Maternal CARE Act.

The bill, spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, aims to fund implicit bias training for OB-GYN health care professionals.

“Maternal and infant mortality rates are tragically high in Wisconsin, and they are even higher in the black community. We need to do more to make sure women and families have access to quality, affordable health care,” said Baldwin.

The proposal, first introduced in August 2018, would create a new $25 million program targeting racial bias in maternal health care. It would also allocate an additional $125 million to assist up to 10 states in developing pregnancy medical home programs.

These programs would be required to prioritize the care of Medicaid enrollees.

The legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by several prominent 2020 Dem presidential candidates including: Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Posts of the week

Had to stop to support these young entrepreneurs in Independence #Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/aoNdiEWgcG

— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) May 30, 2019

I’m proud to be from America’s Dairyland and proud to be a Cheesehead! What’s your favorite cheese? #NationalCheeseDay pic.twitter.com/nZCdfS8w4y

— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) June 4, 2019

Today marks 100 years to the day that the Senate passed the 19th Amendment.

A week later, on June 10, Wisconsin became the first state in our union to ratify the 19th Amendment.

I’m always proud to represent a state guided by our motto…#Forward. #ShallNotBeDenied #Suffrage100 pic.twitter.com/z92rXVl90h

— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) June 4, 2019