Wisconsin Right Now

(The Center Square) – Multiple whistleblowers have come forward telling U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that many working as part of former President Donald Trump’s security detail at a rally in Pennsylvania one week ago weren’t Secret Service and were “unprepared and inexperienced personnel,” Hawley says. The accusation comes after the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on which Hawley sits, announced it will conduct a bipartisan investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt of Trump. Multiple whistleblowers contacted his office “with disturbing new information behind the assassination attempt on the former president,” he said. They did so after Hawley opened a whistleblower tip line, pledging to protect the anonymity of everyone who contacts his office. Whistleblowers are encouraged to make protected disclosures by calling (202) 224-6154 or emailing tips@hawley.senate.gov . In response to the information he has received so far, Hawley

  Lawmakers have threatened to revoke the appropriations for a federally-funded scholarship program that an audit found favors liberally leaning students over conservatives by a ratio of 10 to 1. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established in the 1970s to award scholarships to students who “demonstrate outstanding potential for and who plan to pursue a career in public service.” An audit of those scholarships performed by the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, though, reported strong liberal bias at the taxpayer-funded foundation. “While this role suggests these programs should include scholars who reflect a breadth of views, values, and interests, their participants instead display a stark ideological tilt,” AEI said in its report . The foundation does have members of both parties on its board, including U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kans. Notably, President Joe Biden's Education Secretary Miguel Cardona also si

  House Republicans have nominated Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be speaker of the House, but it remains unclear if Jordan can get the needed 217 votes from his own fractured party. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., a lesser-known member, threw his name in the hat for the position as well and got significant support in the nomination vote, though possibly only as a vote against Jordan instead of a true vote for Scott. Later, though, Scott threw his support behind Jordan. "I highly respect Jim Jordan. He is an asset to the Republican Party and our nominee for Speaker," Scott wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Our conference has spoken, and now we must unite behind Jordan so we can get Congress back to work." Jordan has conservative chops and support from the party base, but many moderates may not be willing to go his way. "For years, I've stayed out of House leadership elections, but this time I endorsed [Jordan]," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-T

"The $2.4 trillion BBBA – before the U.S. Senate this week – would increase taxes on the middle- and working-class by up to 40%." Democrats have argued that the tax reforms implemented through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) only benefited the rich, and that the Build Back Better Act will help middle-and working-class Americans the most. But several nonpartisan groups found that the TCJA reduced the tax burden for the middle- and working-class by up to 87% and, they argue, the $2.4 trillion Build Back Better Act – before the U.S. Senate this week – would increase taxes on the middle- and working-class by up to 40%. A new analysis published by the Heartland Institute found that the TCJA reduced the average effective income tax rates for taxpayers in every income tax bracket – but the lower- and middle-class saw the greatest benefits – with the lowest-income filers receiving the largest tax cuts. The poorest Americans, with adjusted gross income of between $5,00