MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday in a newspaper report that he won’t 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.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he wants to cut $32 million from the UW System in the state’s 2023-25 budget, an amount he said is equal to what the system spends on diversity officers. He said during a news conference Wednesday that diversity efforts have become liberals’ “new religion” and tax dollars shouldn’t be used to help them.
Evers, a Democrat and a former UW regent, tweeted Tuesday that the cut would be “disastrous” for the UW System. He told reporters during a tour of a cheese manufacturer in Monroe on Wednesday that he wouldn’t sign the budget if Republicans follow through, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.