A lame-duck ‘legislative coup:’ Wisconsin GOP stages last-minute power grab before Dems take office

Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are orchestrating an unprecedented power grab to weaken incoming Democratic Governor Tony Evers before he takes office. In an extraordinary move that some are calling a “legislative coup,” Republican legislators worked throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning to pass a sweeping package of lame-duck bills to give power to the Republican-controlled Legislature before Republican Governor Scott Walker leaves office in January. The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate passed a measure to limit the power of the Democratic governor and attorney general-elect and restrict early voting periods. Earlier Wednesday morning, the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly passed a bill enacting a Medicaid work requirement and limiting the incoming governor’s ability to change state laws requiring able-bodied adults without children to work in order to receive public benefits. We speak with Ruth Conniff, editor-at-large of the Wisconsin-based magazine The Progressive.