ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — Republican Congressman Tony Wied represents Wisconsin's 8th district, or much of northeast Wisconsin. We spoke with the Congressman on Wednesday about his actions in February — and what some consider his inaction.
- In a month that has seen his Republican counterparts Rep. Glenn Grothman (6th district) and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (5th district) take heat at listening sessions with constituents, Rep. Wied has chosen not to host such a town hall — which has drawn some criticism on social media
- A local Democratic organizer started a website last week taking shots at Rep. Wied's record — she responded to questions from NBC 26 on Wednesday
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details and quotes added for web)
Representative Tony Wied (R-WI) proposed his first two bills in Congress this month, including one this week, and took heat from a new website criticizing his transparency and record. We spoke with the Congressman on Wednesday night, and the woman behind the website.
Watch Karl Winter's full story here:
The first bill Wied proposed was about permanently keeping lake sturgeon off the threatened or endangered species lists.
"There are issues [with sturgeon population] across the country, perhaps, but again, not here in Wisconsin," he said. "[The sturgeon are] doing just fine."
The second, about repealing a Biden-era plan to give states (including Wisconsin) money for electric vehicle charging stations.
"I see a future in electric vehicles," Wied said. "I don't think our taxpayer money should subsidize that, though."
Wied says the bill is an effort to codify a U.S. Department of Transportation directive to states to kill their implementation plans of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
"We just don't have the money to do this type of thing, and it's not practical," he said.
As Rep. Wied starts making policy, a website surfaced last week, questioning his record.
The Vice Chair of the Democratic Party in his district, Julie Hancock, runs the site. She was out of the country Wednesday, and chose to provide written responses to NBC 26's questions.
Hancock, who is also an immigration attorney, wrote: "We want to know that Mr. Wied is on our side, and not a yes man for the President."
The top concern on Hancock's site is that Wied has not hosted a town hall, like some of his counterparts.
"I would like to see him make an effort to connect with constituents across the district from all political spectrums, not just those who voted for him," Hancock wrote in an email.
We asked the Congressman about it.
"Representatives Grothman and Fitzgerald have recently hosted town halls to engage with constituents," we asked. "Is that something that you might consider, soon, or in the future?"
"We are having telephone town halls, and I think that's a great opportunity to allow people to express themselves [and] ask questions," Wied said. "We'll take calls [of] anybody that has concerns, and we're doing that."
We also asked him about a group of Medicaid supporters visiting his office last week — the same group that protested at Republican Senator Ron Johnson's Oshkosh office Wednesday.
The Congressman responded, in part: "That particular group that came on that day, we had met with for over an hour just several days before on other issues as well, and we invited them in, and we will. We can't just have 20 people come in, from a safety perspective, unannounced. But we have been engaging, and we will continue to listen and hear the concerns as it relates to Medicare. I've never said that we should slash the benefit for Medicare. I've never heard that in any of our meetings here, and I just don't believe that to be true."
We also touched on federal layoffs and cost-cutting, with both Hancock and Congressman Wied.
"I would like to see him explain the 'waste, fraud, and abuse' he claims is being uncovered by DOGE," Hancock wrote, "rather than repeat a catchy tagline. We have a right to know why critical resources and public safety nets, including the FAA, NOAA, among others, are being dismantled with a wrecking ball, rather than a scalpel."
Congressman Wied responded.
"If you were to hear from a federal employee here in Wisconsin," we asked, "that was worried about being fired in whatever agency, what would you say to them, if that was something that was on their radar?"
"Our federal debt is over $36 trillion," he said. "We just don't have the capacity to continue to operate like we were, so we need to look at efficiencies in different areas, and do it in a compassionate way. I think there's other options to repurpose or look at other things, but again, at this point, we just need to do what's right for the taxpayer."
Congressman Wied is scheduled to be back in the district on March 8 for a rally for state Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel.
