CNN has identified at least 100 U.S. citizen children who have been separated from their parents after ICE deported them - including newborns. As a parent I cannot imagine the horror of being separated from my child, but that trauma is even more acute for the innocent children left behind.

I'm glad Disney listened to reason and is returning Jimmy Kimmel's show to airwaves on Tuesday night. But this was never about Kimmel. This is about an out-of-control federal government attempting to censor speech - efforts that are ongoing.

California just enacted a law that requires law enforcement - including ICE - to identify themselves and bans face coverings in most situations. I am proud to be a co-author of a similar bill here in WI. Who could be against this?

Your Brewers are NL Central Champs!

How do you do, fellow kids? Okay, so I'm old, and I don't skateboard, but that doesn't mean it should be illegal. In WI, it is against the law to ride a skateboard on the street. I'm proud to have introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow communities to set their own skateboarding regulations.

Got to catch up briefly with my friend WI State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly yesterday as she gave her State of Education Address. One standout line was when she said schools are places “where differences aren’t feared, but embraced and seen as opportunities to grow together as human beings.”

We have arrived at a point in U.S. history where the murder of a person who was a fierce proponent of free speech is being used as an excuse for a tyrannical gov't to limit speech. ABC can fire whoever they want. But to do it because the FCC threatened their broadcast license? That's fascism.

Did you know that since 2019, adoption of solar energy in the U.S. has increased four-fold while the cost has come down by 75%? If you were in the room for today's "Energy University" at the Capitol, you would have heard this and many other interesting facts about solar power's enormous potential.

This President has a pretty simple philosophy when it comes to information: if it contradicts his worldview, he tries to suppress it. But try as he might, he cannot erase our history - especially its ugly parts.

To receive Medicaid or SNAP, participants must certify their income regularly. This ensures that help goes to the people these programs were intended for. For WI's private school voucher program, families must only certify their income one time for as long as their kids are in school.

Our Constitution only matters if it applies to everyone. Otherwise it’s just words on paper.

Open meetings and public records are hallmarks of transparency and accountability that we have come to expect from our gov't. So why are taxpayer-funded voucher schools not subject to either of these things?

The President is suing the most influential newspaper in the country, the New York Times, for $15 billion due to his unhappiness wither their coverage of him. Earlier this year, he sued the conservative Wall Street Journal for $10 billion.

Vaccines save lives. In the wake of significant confusion regarding vaccine recommendations and availability coming from the federal government under the current Administration, Governor Tony Evers issued Executive Order 275 today.

As responsible adults we need to be able to acknowledge that some opinions are abhorrent and dangerous AND nobody deserves to be hurt or killed for expressing them. You don't beat ideas with violence. You beat them with better ideas and community organizing.

FEMA Individual Assistance Applications are NOW OPEN If your home was affected by the recent floods and you live in Milwaukee, Washington, or Waukesha County, you can apply online now at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362). There are limited funds available, so don't delay!

It's never been easy to be a young person or to be LGBTQ in America. These past few years, it's only gotten harder. If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe & judgment-free place to talk, call the Trevor Project's Lifeline at 866-488-7386 OR text START to 678-678.

I truly believe that most people in our country find political violence to be unacceptable. We all have our own part to play in eliminating it. Words matter. Some easy things we can all do right now to tone things down:

As we look back on that fateful day 24 years ago when our entire nation was wounded by the 9/11 Terror Attacks, let us take a moment to appreciate the sacrifices of our first responders who saved countless lives with little regard for their own safety.

Gun violence is cowardly, and so is our political leaders’ collective refusal to do anything to stop it.

Today I was proud to join with my Assembly colleague Rep. Darrin Madison in convening an amazing panel for the first in a series of conversations about our Clean Energy future that we are calling “Wisconsin Energy University.”

Trump's proposed budget would cut $165.8 million from WI's public schools in 2026 - the equivalent of over 3,900 first-year teacher salaries. The cuts would be felt in every district, affecting programs for literacy, homeless youth, educator training, after school programs, and more.

Job applicants deserve to know what the salary and benefits of the position they are applying to are. When this information is not disclosed, it puts prospective employees in a bad negotiating position.

New COVID vaccines for 2025 are now available at CVS and Walgreen's locations in Wisconsin. Sadly, because of known anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.'s actions at the federal level, healthy adults under 65 are not technically not eligible unless they have an underlying condition that may put them at higher risk.

Taxes should be based on your ability to pay - not your ability to buy off legislators or pay high-priced accountants. Wisconsin was the birthplace of progressive income tax, but since Republicans took control of the legislature in 2011 our tax code has become much more regressive.

The President’s unnecessary, likely illegal deployment of 2,200 National Guard troops to Washington D.C. is not a law enforcement operation. Troops are doing things like taking photos with tourists, picking up trash, and laying mulch at a cost of nearly $1 million per day.

So the President of the U.S. plans to go to war with a major American city, presumably using napalm? Waiting for a single elected Republican to condemn this unhinged behavior. Republicans in Congress can impeach and remove him from office at any time. What are they waiting for?

WI Republicans like to use crime as a wedge issue to attack Democrats, but their own policies make crime worse. Last session, they introduced a bill that would have exempted guns and ammunition from sales tax.

Trump's "Liberation Day" was April 2nd. On that day he announced a host of arbitrary and possibly illegal tariffs on multiple countries. It would appear that the only things we've been liberated from since then are our money and any sort of meaningful job growth.

The President promised to cut home energy costs in half, but his policies are doing just the opposite. In fact, prices are rising at 2X the rate of inflation. Trump's war on green energy (which is cheaper than fossil fuels), coupled with the explosion in AI data centers will only make this worse.

Today I stood in solidarity with striking UAW Local 95 nurses from Mercy Clinic East in Janesville. They're standing up for safer working conditions - something that has sadly become an issue at healthcare facilities across the state.

States with Republican Governors tend to have higher homicide rates than Democrat-led states. In fact, cities with 13 of the top 20 homicide rates in the U.S. are in Republican-led states, including 8 of the top 10. These states also tend to have lax gun laws and high rates of gun ownership.

Happening now: a unified Democratic legislative caucus introduces 4 key bills to restore and expand worker's rights in Wisconsin. -Reinstate Prevailing Wage -Repeal "Right to Work" -End Worker Misclassification -Restore Project Labor Agreements Speaking: SEIU Wisconsin nurse Colin Gillis

We don’t make firefighters buy their own hoses. We don’t make police officers buy their own handcuffs. Why do we make teachers pay for basic supplies out of pocket?

The President continues to turn his back on our veterans. Despite every Veterans Health Administration facility in the country being severely understaffed, VA Secretary Collins pledged to cut 76,000 jobs from the agency earlier this year.

Today, I stood with a diverse coalition of organizations in favor of raising our minimum wage and making sure it keeps pace with inflation. Wisconsin’s $7.25 minimum wage is woefully below what it costs to make ends meet. In fact, a single adult in Milwaukee County needs to make about $19.50/hr.

In honor of #BackToSchool, I've prepared a handy set of flash cards that I hope will help contextualize current events.

A federal judge has declared Trump’s use of military troops in Los Angeles illegal, barring the Pentagon from using National Guard members and Marines from performing police functions, like arrests and crowd control.

As you get ready to enjoy your #LaborDay weekend, remember that the holiday, and the concept of a 2-day weekend itself are a direct result of America’s labor movement. In this era of out of control wealth inequality, unions are how we tip the scales back in workers’ favor.

If Trump really cared about stopping crime, he wouldn’t have pardoned (and later hired) Jan 6th rioters. Also, he is an adjudicated rapist and felon, so let’s not pretend sending the military to American cities against the will of our communities is anything other than a fascist power play.

Masked men are kidnapping people off the streets - including U.S. citizens, often without showing any identification or a valid warrant. Today, I joined several of my Dem. colleagues to say "not in Wisconsin." I am proud to co-sponsor the "Keep Families Together" Package, which does the following:

You may have heard that Republicans' big ugly law will cause 270,000 Wisconsinites to lose their health insurance in the next few years. What you may not know is that it will cost Wisconsin taxpayers at least $142 million per year due to changes in the Medicaid and SNAP programs.

All I want are leaders who love children more than they love guns.

Today, Governor Tony Evers submitted his official request to the federal government for a disaster declaration to be made. This is the final step the state must take before federal aid can be released to Wisconsin in the wake of this month's historic rainfall.

The people who take care of us every day are not OK. Doctors, nurses, home care workers, and other caregivers are being asked - sometimes forced - to work longer hours and care for more people than they can handle, and it's pushing many to their breaking point.

Today we celebrate #WomensEqualityDay in commemoration of the 105th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in all U.S. Elections. It's hard to believe we are less than two lifetimes away from a time when women could not exercise this basic democratic right.

The military is not a police force, and should never be deployed in American communities against their will. That the President doesn't understand this (or simply doesn't care) shows just how grossly unfit for office he is.

Remember, any time a politician crows about how much money they're raising from tariffs, they're really just bragging about raising your taxes. Kind of a weird flex, TBH.

President Trump issued an executive order today that attempts to force states that have modernized their pretrial release policies to adopt cash bail instead. It's worth noting that Trump himself benefited from New York's cashless bail system and remained free while he was convicted of 34 felonies

The greatness of a nation is revealed not in the scope of its wealth, but by how it treats its most vulnerable. When it comes to taking care of the sick, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor, the United States is failing.