Wisconsin Republican bill blocks Tony Evers pledge

The Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature is rushing to pass legislation that would bar the incoming governor and attorney general, both Democrats, from fulfilling a campaign promise to leave a lawsuit seeking to overturn most of Obamacare.

It’s part of a year-end package Republicans are pursuing to try to win as many final battles as possible before losing the friendly signature pen of Gov. Scott Walker, and facing Democrat Tony Evers, the governor-elect.

Mr. Evers and Josh Kaul, a Democrat who won the attorney general’s race, say that voters sent a clear message by electing them last month, and that they intend to follow through by dropping out of the lawsuit filed by 20 states this year.

GOP lawmakers, though, are trying to pass a bill that would let them replace the attorney general with their own lawyers in federal lawsuits, taking decisions about the Obamacare case out of Mr. Kaul’s hands.

They’re also forging ahead with attempts to limit early voting to no more than two weeks — some places had up to six weeks ahead of last month’s elections — and give Republicans more control over a state job agency.

GOP leaders hoped to approve the measures by Wednesday, though it’s tight. Senate Republicans, who hold an 18-15 majority, cannot afford more than one defection, and a few senators are being tight-lipped about their stance, according to local reports.

The effort is making national headlines and causing a firestorm in Madison, evoking memories of state Capitol protests over Mr. Walker’s 2011 crackdown on collective bargaining among public-sector workers. It’s also drawing comparisons to similar moves by Republican legislators in North Carolina, before Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper took office in 2017.

Mr. Walker, the outgoing GOP governor, has signaled he’s ready to sign the changes — drawing protests Tuesday when he lit a Christmas tree at the state Capitol.

Republican leaders, citing disruptions, cleared the Senate gallery shortly after gaveling into session late Tuesday, prompting cries of “shame!” from the ousted members of the public.

Republicans lawmakers say they are trying to “restore the balance of powers” between co-equal branches of government.

Democrats who romped to victory on Election Day say it’s a last-gasp power grab by “sore losers.”

“Today is a disgrace, as the Republican Legislature shows direct contempt for the voters of our state,” Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, a Democrat, said ahead of Tuesday’s session.

Mr. Evers and Mr. Kaul have said they will consider legal action if the measures proceed.

Opposition to the Obamacare suit, in particular, was “a central issue in the governor’s race,” Mr. Kaul told reporters Tuesday.

“The Legislature is deciding if it passes this, it knows better than the people of Wisconsin,” he said, according to The Wisconsin State Journal.

A federal judge in Texas is set to rule any day on the Obamacare case.

The GOP-led states say the law’s benefits were tied to the Obamacare tax, but the 2017 federal tax cuts zeroed out the penalty as of next year, leaving the states to say the benefits must now fall as well.

Wisconsin Senate Republicans say they’re working on a measure that would protect people with pre-existing conditions from losing coverage, since the lawsuit threatens parts of Obamacare requiring insurers to cover sicker Americans and charge them the same price as healthy customers.

“We’re still looking for the language that all the members are comfortable with,” said state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican.

State Rep. John Nygren, a Republican, said he hopes the Senate will pass a version of a bill the Assembly passed earlier in the year, which would bar insurers from charging sicker consumers higher premiums, so long as they maintained continuous coverage.

“We are stepping up as a legislature to say Obamacare has failed,” Mr. Nygren said Tuesday. “One of the things we do support is the ability of people to get covered if they have pre-existing conditions.”