Trump's speech to Congress; Wisconsin lawmakers react

MILWAUKEE - President Donald Trump spoke to the nation on Tuesday night, March 4.

Trump speaks to the nation

It was not the State of the Union, since that doesn't happen in a new president's first year. He spoke about his first 43 days in office and what's next for the country.

US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order that renames a wildlife sanctuary in honor of late Jocelyn Nungaray during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. D

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Big picture view:

Wisconsin was a key battleground state, as it flipped red and helped propel Trump back into the White House.

Cuts to Medicaid

Local perspective:

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)’s guest for the president's speech was a Milwaukee woman, who is a cancer survivor who receives Medicaid.

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"I want to let them know: this is Medicaid. Right here. Stage 4 cancer survivor, who is willing to fight," Renee Scherck-Meyer said. "I want to live. I want to be healthy. I want to have my health care. I’m very scared that I might not have access to my team anymore."

A budget resolution adopted Tuesday by House Republicans called for the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion in spending. The bipartisan committee for a responsible budget said that will inevitably mean cuts to Medicaid.

The other side:

"Our social safety net programs, and an important one being Medicaid, should be there for the most vulnerable: for children, for pregnant women," U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said. "But we also have to make sure that we are helping individuals come off and lift their lives up and come off the programs."

House Republicans applaud during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Donald Trump's primetime address Tuesday night from Capitol Hill, billed as a chronicle of his "Rene

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Trump also highlighted the flurry of executive orders on things like freezing foreign aid, and stopping transgender athletes.

The president spoke about what he called "waste," and praised Elon Musk for the Department of Government Efficiency.

Politicians respond

That's something on the minds of Wisconsin's Congressional delegation.

What they're saying:

"The beginning of this Administration has been riddled with chaos," Baldwin said. "It’s checks and balances. It’s Congress that passes budgets, that passes appropriations bills, passes laws and it’s to be the President who implements them and administers them. And that’s not happening right now."

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"The proof will be in what they are able to produce when it comes to numbers," U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) said. "So, I’m still very hopeful that there is a dividend, that at the end of the day, the tax payers will see a reduction ultimately in their taxes as a result of the federal dollars that they’re finding that are really, completely unaccountable."

Dig deeper:

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund:

"Derrick Van Orden, Bryan Steil, and Wisconsin Republicans in DC are working with Donald Trump and Elon Musk to cut as much as $880 billion from Medicaid, dole out massive tax cuts to the rich, and attack hard-earned Social Security benefits Wisconsin seniors depend on. Nothing we heard from Donald Trump tonight changes the disastrous impact this agenda will have for Wisconsin families."

The Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming:

"President Trump has embodied ‘promises made, promises kept.’ In just over a month since taking office, President Trump has secured the southern border, slashed millions of wasteful spending, and stood up to Hamas. Americans are grateful for President Trump delivering his America First agenda and renewing the American Dream."