Republican Leaders Publicly Feud Over Budget Negotiations

The Legislature’s top Republicans have gone public with an internal feud over Wisconsin’s transportation budget.

In an unusually harsh statement, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairman John Nygren accused Senate Finance Co-Chair Alberta Darling of making “false statements” and “being disingenuous” about the transportation budget. Darling had earlier told WisPolitics that Assembly Republicans were threatening to delay the Zoo Interchange in southeast Wisconsin to pressure Senate Republicans to go along with a gas tax or vehicle registration fee increase.

Vos and Nygren said Assembly Republicans never supported raising the gas tax and stopped pushing for a registration fee hike once it became clear the governor would not support it. Darling shot back with a statement of her own, saying she stood by her comments.

It’s the most public example yet that despite single-party control, Republicans are having a hard time closing deals on big issues in this year’s state budget.