Wisconsin Right Now

  (The Center Square) – President-elect Donald Trump is nominating former Congressman and current Fox Business host Sean Duffy to serve as his Department of Transportation secretary. “During his time in Congress, Sean was a respected voice and communicator in the Republican Conference, advocating for Fiscal Responsibility, Economic Growth, and Rural Development,” Trump said in a statement. “Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive Legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota History.” Duffy is an attorney who represented the seventh district of Wisconsin from 2011-2019 as a Republican. “He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America's highways, tunnels, bridges and airports,” Trump said. “The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on FoxNews, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to t...

(The Center Square) – President-elect Donald Trump picked Tesla CEO Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The department's acronym, DOGE, is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said the new group will pave the way for his administration to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulation, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies." Trump laid out lofty goals for the group in his announcement this week. "It will become, potentially, 'The Manhatten Project,' of our time," Trump's announcement said. "Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of 'DOGE' for a very long time." It won't be an official government agency, which will likely allow Musk and Ramaswamy to avoid public financial disclosures. Trump said the change he's looking for won't come from within the existing federal g...

Former President Donald Trump sued CBS News in federal court in Texas alleging it violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Trump sued CBS Broadcasting Inc. in U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division alleging the network’s “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to (a) confuse, deceive, and mislead the public, and (b) attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” in the 2024 presidential election, the 19-page brief states. The lawsuit alleges CBS News violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) when it aired two different versions of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. On Oct. 5 and 6, CBS News “aired two different versions of its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala” citing examples of the differences between the versions. In both clips, Harris is asked abo...

Former President Donald Trump holds a slight edge over rival Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to the issues voters are most concerned about: inflation and illegal immigration. That's according to the results of The Center Square's Voters' Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, and released Wednesday. The poll is one of only six national tracking polls in the United States. Harris is gaining ground on Trump on the third top issue: the economy and job, thought Trump still holds the trust advantage among voters.   Likely voters are more concerned about inflation (47%) and illegal immigration (40%) than the economy (32%). Other top issues for voters were abortion rights (26%), crime (22%), climate change (18%), healthcare access (18%), government corruption (16%) and national debt and government spending (14%). David Byler, of Noble Predictive Insights, said Harris has largely gotten a pass on inflation, an ...

Former President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that he would not debate Vice President Kamala Harris amid speculation that the two could have one last faceoff before Election Day on Nov. 5. Trump's comments come the same day that Fox News invited both candidates to debate at the end of this month, just days before voters head to the polls, though much early voting is already underway. "This would present an opportunity for each candidate to make his or her closing arguments," Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace and Vice President of Politics Jessica Loker wrote in a letter to both campaigns. Harris had previously publicly said she wanted to debate Trump on CNN , and Trump said that he had previously attempted to have a Fox News debate with Harris. Now, neither will happen. “I won the last two debates, one with Crooked Joe, the other with Lyin’ Kamala,” Trump wrote in all capital letters online. “I accepted the Fox-News invitation to deb...

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are tied in a new poll of Wisconsin voters. In a head-to-head matchup between the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, the American Greatness/TIPP poll of likely and registered voters shows both Trump and Harris at 47% support. When independent and third party candidates are added, Harris garners 46% support to Trump's 45%, within the poll's +/- 3.4% margin of error. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulls in 6% support, with 2% undecided. "The presidential race is very tight like 2020, within the margin of error," pollster Raghavan Mayur with TIPP told The Center Square. "It is probably the tightest among the battleground states." Mayur said that the economy, immigration, and national debt/government spending are the key issues that could sway independent and undecided voters in the state, with 52% listing the economy as among their top three issues and 36% citing immigration and bord...

  Donald Trump’s campaign announced Friday that they raised $34.8 million in small-dollar donations in the aftermath of the former president’s conviction on 34 felonies in a hush money trial. "Today, the Trump campaign announced a record-shattering small-dollar fundraising haul following the sham Biden Trial verdict totaling $34.8 million – nearly double the biggest day ever recorded for the Trump campaign on the WinRed platform," the Trump campaign posted on Truth Social, the social media platform Trump created after he was banned from Twitter. One of Trump's main fundraising websites crashed within minutes after the verdict was announced on Thursday, an early indication that the conviction may trigger a flood of donations from supporters. "From just minutes after the sham trial verdict was announced, our digital fundraising system was overwhelmed with support, and despite temporary delays online because of the amount of traffic, President Trump raised $3...

Former President Donald Trump called for special counsel Jack Smith to be sanctioned or censured for "attacking" the judge in Trump's classified documents case. Trump's comments on Thursday come after Smith and his team of prosecutors made it clear they think Judge Aileen Cannon's latest ruling was based on "an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise." Prosecutors objected to Cannon's order to produce proposed jury instructions under two different legal scenarios. Smith said both legal scenarios were flawed . In response to the judge's order, prosecutors said they need clarification on Cannon's position so they can appeal if needed. They asked the judge to decide before the trial if the Presidential Records Act "has an impact on the element of unauthorized possession" of classified documents. Failure to do so could make it impossible to prosecute Trump because of the double jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment, which...

  Former President Donald Trump said Friday he has enough cash on hand to cover the New York civil judgment against him and his business but wants to use that money to get re-elected. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump made it clear he wants to hang on to both his cash and his real estate portfolio. New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she will take steps to seize Trump's assets if he doesn't put up the money. Monday is the deadline for Trump to come up with $464 million, plus interest, or a bond for that amount to appeal a civil case that threatens his presidential campaign and his real estate portfolio. "Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president," Trump wrote in all caps Friday morning. Trump is appealing a ruling by Superior Court Judge Arthur Engoron in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by James in 2022. ...

  Former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial date, in a case involving porn actress Stormy Daniels, will be March 25. A New York judge rejected a request to dismiss the case from Trump. He faces charges in multiple states while commanding the lead for the Republican nomination in the presidential race. His lawyers, appearing before Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, said the case will interfere with his campaign to return to the White House. Trump has three other prosecutions unresolved, one of which involved a district attorney under heavy scrutiny in Georgia on Thursday. Trump’s defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, said the president should not be spending the next two months in preparation for a trial when he should be on the campaign trail. Trump, after the decision, said he would be in court during the day and “campaigning during the night.” It echoes previous statements he has made. This New York case , with a prosecution led by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, was the...

  Former President Donald Trump will remain on the Illinois ballot after the State Board of Elections dismissed a challenge alleging he was ineligible because of his challenging the results of 2020 election. The elections board, in a bipartisan 7-1 vote, said it did not have the jurisdiction to remove Trump from the ballot. A hearing officer had earlier recommended Trump’s name be removed. The primary in Illinois is March 19. The General Election is Nov. 5. This story is developing and will be updated. The Center Square Go to Source Reposted with permission https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/trump-to-remain-on-illinois-ballot/?feed_id=9908&_unique_id=65b972e9e5146

  Former President Donald Trump on Monday night easily won the caucuses in Iowa, the first state to vote in a months-long primary process where Republican voters will decide who they want to face the likely Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden, in November. Based on national polling and Trump's decisive win Monday, it might not take months to decide the GOP nominee. Iowa has 40 delegates up for grabs, and 1,215 are needed to win the Republican nomination. Initial results showed Trump winning more votes than all of his opponents combined, though he dropped to about 50% of the total as more votes were counted. The outcome seemed so lopsided early, most major news outlets – including Fox News, CNN, CBS News and ABC News – called the race less than 30 minutes into the caucuses. Trump's top challengers, former South Carolina Gov. and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, were in a tight battle for second place with thousands of votes still to be co...

  Former President Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to win Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses Monday, leading his closest challengers in polls by more than 30 percentage points. RealClearPolitics Poll Average of major polls across the country shows Trump with more than 52% support in The Hawkeye State. His closest challenger there, former South Carolina Gov. and Ambassador Nikki Haley, shows 18.2% support, a nearly 34% percentage point gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 candidates in the state. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is an even more distant third with 15.6% support. Monday's caucuses in Iowa – where temperatures are expected to hover just below 0 degrees and wind chills could hit minus 35 degrees or worse – are the first time voters get to weigh in during the Republican primary season. Unlike a standard primary election where voters simply go to the polls and cast their ballots for the candidate of their choice (or in more recent years, mail in their ballots),...

  A Black Trump supporter wrote, “he is really a man of his words and doesn’t have a lot of lobbyists telling him what to do or say.” (The Center Square) – Former President Donald Trump holds a lead over President Joe Biden heading into this presidential election year, the latest poll shows. Trump’s lead is due in large part to his growing support among Hispanic and Black voters, which is higher than Republican presidential candidates have received in the past. One portion of the survey allowed Republican voters to share why they prefer Trump over his primary competitors, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, over whom he holds a wide lead. A Black Trump supporter wrote, “he is really a man of his words and doesn’t have a lot of lobbyists telling him what to do or say.” The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll, conducted Jan. 2-4, found that among likely voters, Trump holds 45% support compared to Biden’s 41% in a head-to-head face...

  Former President Donald Trump's legal team alleged Thursday that federal prosecutors have deliberately violated a stay order in his Washington D.C. case to thwart his presidential bid. In the defense's clearest attack yet, they alleged special counsel Jack Smith and his team were trying to interfere with the 2024 presidential election. "Unstated, but obvious, is the prosecutors' desperate effort to harass President Trump and prevent his likely victory in the 2024 Presidential Election," Trump's defense attorneys wrote in the latest court filing. "A significant part of this strategy, which the prosecutors have employed from the outset, is to use this case as a platform to advance the Biden Campaign’s dishonest political talking points, including, for example, echoing the false and defamatory claims that President Trump spreads 'disinformation.'" The defense motion comes in response to request last month from Smith's team, which...

Former President Donald Trump fulfilled a promise made last month to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled he wasn’t constitutionally eligible for the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot in March. Trump’s legal team filed their appeal to the nation’s highest court on Wednesday after Colorado’s highest court ruled in a 4-3 decision his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "The questions presented in this Petition are of the utmost importance," the request states. "President Trump is the leading candidate for the nomination for President of the United States of one of two major political parties. In 2020, President Trump received more than 74 million votes nationally, and more than 1.3 million votes in Colorado alone to be reelected as President of the United States. Thus, the Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado an...

  Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has filed an appeal of Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to disqualify him from the primary ballot, according to local news reports. A Kennebec County Superior Court clerk confirmed filing to the Portland Press Herold late Tuesday afternoon. “The clerk said a judge was reviewing the filing and a copy was not immediately available,” according to the news report. Last week, Bellows issued a decision brought forth by Maine voters to challenge Trump’s primary petition, determining it invalid. Bellows, a Democrat, “ruled that the declaration on his candidate consent form is false,” saying the former president is not qualified to hold the office of president, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Bellows contends that Trump deliberately inflamed supporters to prevent the certification of the 2020 election. She accused the former president of knowingly encouraging “violence.” “I conclude … that the record establis...

  Former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary field, according to new polling, as his opponents are set to take the debate stage on Wednesday in Miami. Trump’s Republican opponents will duke it out in Florida, but at least for now, they are fighting for second place. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, now shows that Trump far outpaces his Republican opposition, even while skipping the debates and facing nearly 100 criminal charges in four separate indictments. How those criminal charges will affect Trump's candidacy remains to be seen. The poll of 2,605 voters includes 1,035 Republicans, 1,074 Democrats, and 496 true Independents, and is among the most comprehensive in the country. "Trump is continuing to dominate the primary field. We have seen some changers beneath the surface,” David Byler, chief of research at Noble Predictive Insights, told The Center Square. “As Nikki Hal...

  Former President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be speaker of the House of Representatives. The move comes after a handful of House Republicans voted with House Democrats to oust U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the role after McCarthy struck a deal with Democrats to keep the federal government from partially shutting down last weekend. “Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District. Respected by all, he is now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom. So much is learned from sports, and Jim was a master! While attending Graham High School, he won State Championships all four years, a rarity, and compiled an amazing 156-1 record.” Trump went on to list Jordan’s accomplishmen...

Former President Donald Trump enacted a policy called Title 42 in March of last year to allow federal border officials to expel migrants held in border facilities in an attempt to keep COVID-19 from spreading in facilities and from there into U.S. communities. Biden has not reversed the policy despite pressure from liberal groups, but media reports Monday indicated the Biden administration is considering lifting the Trump rule. (The Center Square) – As illegal immigration continues to surge at the southern border, President Joe Biden is under fire for reports that his administration is considering changing a key immigration policy to allow more people to enter the country. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol released data earlier this year reporting that CBP encountered 172,000 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the southern border in March, a major increase from 101,000 in February. Those figures have increased by several thousand per month since and significantly outpaced number...