Wisconsin governor issues budget veto threat in Republican campus fight

Tony Evers says he will not sign budget if Republicans follow through on plan to cut funds for university system’s DEI officers

The Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, said on Wednesday in a newspaper report he will not sign the state budget if Republican lawmakers follow through on their plan to cut funding for the state university system’s diversity officers, escalating a bitter fight over dollars for the state campuses.

The assembly speaker, Robin Vos, told the Associated Press on Tuesday he wants to cut $32m from the UW system in the state’s 2023-25 budget, an amount he said was equal to what the system spends on diversity officers. He said during a news conference on Wednesday that diversity efforts have become liberals’ “new religion” and tax dollars should not be used to help them.