Reps in the News: Outgoing Governor Walker Quiet After Election

Governor Scott Walker

Where is Gov. Walker? The governor hasn’t been seen publicly since before the election was called. Walker narrowly lost the election last week to State Superintendent Tony Evers by little more than one percent of the vote. Wisconsin’s First Lady Tonette Walker was in Kimberly on Monday. When asked about what’s next for her husband, who’s been in elected office since 1993, she said, “The Walkers are going to be fine. You’re going to hear from us soon. We’re just figuring it all out just like anyone who has to make a big move or big change. Do you want to know exactly where he is? His father died 30 days ago, and he has not had much time to spend with his mother.” Shortly after that, Walker tweeted a message out on his personal Twitter account, saying, “Plenty to do to move my mother into her new place. Glad I’m able to help along with my brother and the rest of our families.”

Source:  Wbay.com

Congressman Mike Gallagher

“I am honored that the people of Northeast Wisconsin have once again entrusted me with the duty of representing them in Congress. As I return to Capitol Hill, I will always remember that I work for all of you – the ‎732,402 people who live, work, and raise their families here in Northeast Wisconsin. In my second term, I will continue working as hard as humanly possible every single day to fix problems on your behalf. I commend my opponent Beau Liegeois for stepping up to engage in the political process, and I wish him well in the future. But now it is time to roll up my sleeves and get back to work as your Congressman. Semper Fi.”

Source:  Gallagher press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Baldwin and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand chiropractic health services for military retirees and members of the National Guard and Reserve. The Chiropractic Health Parity for Military Beneficiaries Act would require TRICARE to cover chiropractic services for all military service members, both active and retired, and non-activated reservists. Currently, health care programs through the U.S. Department of Defense, including TRICARE, do not cover chiropractic care for military retirees and non-activated reservists. Baldwin’s bill continues her bipartisan efforts to address the opioid epidemic by expanding access to complementary and integrative health services, which includes chiropractic care, for members of the military and veteran communities to treat chronic pain.

“I’ve heard from Wisconsin veterans who are in desperate need of chiropractic health services so they can access non-opioid pain management care and live healthier lives,” Baldwin said. “My bipartisan legislation with Senator Moran would make sure these individuals can get the health care benefits they’ve earned and deserve.”

Source:  Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

The United States must solve its illegal immigration problems before it can address an intensifying shortage of workers with more immigrants, Sen. Johnson, who oversees border issues as chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security committee, told an audience at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on Tuesday. Johnson said he knows the economic health of the U.S. is threatened without more people coming in. But at a conference focused on the role of immigration in the Midwestern and U.S. economies, Johnson spent much of his keynote address focused on illegal immigration. “Until we fix [illegal immigration], we’re not going to be able to get to the economic thing we have to fix,” Johnson said. “I’m just pointing out the political reality.”

Source:  startribune.com

President Donald Trump

In one week, President Trump has transformed from a nonstop campaign-rally machine to a nearly invisible figure communicating mostly by tweet. Trump returned late Sunday from a 43-hour trip to Paris, where he sat out some big events and clashed with allies, and on Monday he ended his public day at 10:03 am, skipping the Veterans Day trip to Arlington National Cemetery every president since at least John F. Kennedy has made to lay a ceremonial wreath. On Tuesday, Trump’s only public appearance was a brief showing at a Diwali ceremony, and he had Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet with visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan. Trump sent Vice President Mike Pence to the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit typically attended by presidents, potentially offending Asian leaders; canceled a trip to Colombia; and opted not to visit the U.S. troops he sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to protect a “caravan” he seems to have forgotten about. Maybe Trump is just tired, but White House officials and Trump allies say he’s in a particularly sour mood amid a string of late Democratic victories in areas where he campaigned, looming investigations by House Democrats, expected indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and bad press from his France trip.

“Trump has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and resentment,” the Los Angeles Times reports, citing multiple administration sources. “Behind the scenes, they say, the president has lashed out at several aides,” sketching “a picture of a brooding president ‘trying to decide who to blame’ for Republicans’ election losses, even as he publicly and implausibly continues to claim victory.”

Source:  theweek.com