Assembly Republicans leave Capitol mid-session to attend fundraiser
Assembly Democrats have been pushing to force a vote on two bills that have been blocked by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, pictured here at the Madison Club, where a fundraiser is being held.
The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Multiple sources are telling The Recombobulation Area that a group of Assembly Republicans left the Capitol mid-session today to attend a fundraiser at the Madison Club hosted by Jobs First Coalition.
This comes as Assembly Democrats are working to force votes on two bills that have been blocked from a vote by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — postpartum Medicaid expansion and Gail’s Law, a measure on breast cancer screenings.
A photo shared with The Recombobulation Area shows Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August at the Madison Club talking to reporters. The Assembly has been in recess for a partisan caucus since mid-afternoon.
Greta Neubauer, the Assembly Democratic leader, said today that Democrats have “drafted amendments to every single bill on the calendar, and we are going to stop business in the legislature until we pass postpartum expansion of Medicaid and Gail’s Law.”
Each of these bills has passed the State Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support, but have been blocked from a vote during an Assembly floor session by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Jobs First Coalition is a Brookfield-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that has long backed Republicans. A 2022 release by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says the conservative group spent more than $2.6 million since 2010, mostly supporting legislators.
According to Jobs First Coalition’s tax filing for the year 2024, Michelle Litjens Vos is the person who “possesses the organization’s books and records.” Litjens Vos is a former Republican state representative and is Robin Vos’ wife. The filing also says Litjens Vos worked in fundraising and event planning for the organization, and raised more than $3.3 million, and was paid about $70,000.
This story is developing.
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This is so gross. Bad enough that they won't vote on these critical health bills, which their voters support, but they went to a fundraiser at the Madison Club? Ew.