MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld Republican-authored lame-duck laws that curtailed the powers of the incoming Democratic attorney general.
The ruling Thursday rejected arguments that the laws were unconstitutional, giving Republicans yet another victory.
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a series of laws in December 2018 designed to weaken Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, both Democrats, before they took office in January 2019.
The laws prohibit Evers from ordering Kaul to withdraw from lawsuits, give legislators the right to intervene in lawsuits without using Kaul’s Justice Department lawyers and force Kaul to get GOP legislators’ permission before settling lawsuits.
In a statement released Thursday morning, Evers said Republicans have been "sour grapes" since he was elected governor.
"We had a race for governor in 2018. I won. Unfortunately, things got off on the wrong foot because Republicans immediately passed a law overriding the will of the people and the election, and they’ve been sour grapes ever since," said Evers. "From the lame-duck laws and challenging my veto power, to Safer at Home and holding an unsafe election this past April, clearly Republicans are going to continue working against me every chance they get, regardless of the consequences. But I'm not going to let that stop me from continuing to do what I promised I would when I ran for this office—I am going to keep putting people first and doing what's best for the people of our state.”
