According to the Associated Press, Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday suspended a vote on funding for University of Wisconsin campuses, just hours after a top GOP leader promised to slash the college system’s budget as part of an ongoing fight over diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he expected the GOP-controlled Legislature’s budget-writing committee to cut all funding that the university system would use for diversity initiatives. He estimated the cuts would total $32 million.
That generated a wave of angry reactions from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats. After nearly seven hours of closed-door discussions, Republicans who control the finance committee could not come to an agreement and postponed consideration of UW’s budget.
Tensions between Republicans who control the Legislature and the state’s university system are nothing new, but the fight this year centers on issues of free speech and UW’s work to advance diversity and racial equity.
If Republicans pass the budget cuts Vos proposed, the UW System could come up nearly half a billion dollars short of what school officials say they need over the next two years.
The Legislature is expected to complete its budget plan by the end of June, at which point Evers can make adjustments using partial vetoes or send it back to lawmakers for revisions.
