>> Representative Neubauer, great to speak with you.
>> Thank you. >> Next up, Senate Minority
Leader Dianne Hesselbein, who says that because Democrats are
no longer in the super minority, she hopes her party can work
more closely with Republicans who need their votes.
>> So you are new in this position. A year ago, you were
not the minority leader in the Senate. What have you learned in
your first year running this caucus? Even, you know, few few
months in session and then the election? Yeah.
>> Well, conversations matter and treating people with respect
matters. And I think that's what was first elected to this in
2012. And I will continue to do that. I really feel that you can
disagree without being disagreeable, and that's
something that my whole, my whole caucus can lead with.
>> So walk me through the election and the results for
you. was I was just so disappointed
on that night with what was happening with President Trump
and his gains in so many states, including ours. But at the same
time, during that same time, we were getting wins. And so we'd
find out like, oh, Jamie Wall won green Bay or this one won or
Keyeski won. So at the same time when inwardly I was like, oh my
gosh, this is terrible for the United States, the Senate
Democrats, in a very tough Trump election year, we won. We wanted
to win all five seats that we set forth to win, and we did it.
And we flipped four of those when the original narrative was,
you know, Republican blowout, has you recalculated that?
>> Have people started to reevaluate what actually
happened in Wisconsin on election night?
>> I think I think they have I think they realize that in a
Trump wave, we were able to hold on to Tammy Baldwin, which is
extremely important in the US Senate, and then making gains in
both the Wisconsin State Senate and the Wisconsin State Assembly
is really huge. And I really think that's because we finally
have fair maps, and people finally had a chance at the
they wanted to. >> So we obviously have a budget
coming up next year. What does the new makeup of the Senate
means in terms of Democrats maybe having a voice in the
budget, as opposed to relying on Governor Evers and just
protecting his veto? super minority, right? The
Republicans no longer have a supermajority in the Senate. And
with 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats, I'm really hoping
that we can work in a bipartisan fashion the entire way through
the state budget. So maybe for the first time since I was first
elected in 2012, maybe I can get to a yes to a vote for a budget
would be really exciting. I think the Republicans are going
to need our votes to get through. And certainly I have an
open door policy to try to make that happen.
do you think Democrats are most likely to be involved in that?
>> Well, I've already had a meeting with Senator LeMahiue
and Senator Falkowski this week, and we're going to continue to
have those conversations starting in January, because the
original joint finance process usually takes quite a while, and
that's where a lot of the work gets done.
>> But then there is that kind of free for all when it comes
back to the floor. And you can offer some of your own
amendments. Do you think by then it'll be too late to change
what's already on the in the bill?
might need our votes to get things done, so we'll see. I
mean, we're going to be talking the entire way through and
hopefully get to a finished package that we can all live
with, or at least the majority of us can live with and be happy
about. But we'll see. We're certainly open to however we can
maneuver so we can get something positive to the governor's desk.
>> In past budgets, Senator LeMahiue has been able to allow
some of his more conservative members to vote no against the
budget because he's had that that flexibility in terms of his
raw numbers. Now, he doesn't. Do you anticipate that means he'll
be leaning more on them, or do you think he'll be leaning more
on Democrats? think he's going to have a hard
row to navigate. But I know, like I said, I have an open door
process and I'm willing to help out where I can.
>> Looking at the national perspective, there's been a lot
of money flowing from the Biden administration into Wisconsin.
occur with the Trump administration?
the Trump administration is going to do, but I'm hoping that
we can continue working together and getting some things done for
the people in the state of Wisconsin. I think Sean Duffy
being in transportation is going to be could be helpful for us. I
don't know him personally. I've never met him, but I think
somebody that knows Wisconsin is good for us.
>> There have been talk at the Trump, at the Trump level to
eliminate the Department of Education altogether and, quote,
return education to the states. What would that look like and
how would that play out in terms of the legislature having to
take some steps? >> Yeah, I'm curious of how that
would look, because certainly, you know, we get federal money
from the federal government for education. And honestly, our
IEPs that we do with federal protection for kids that have
special needs and special disabilities and to help them
moving forward in their educational process. So I have a
lot of questions. If they return things to the States, I know
that in our state, superintendent Jill Underly is
doing a really good job, but I worry about what's going on in
other states in Alabama and Texas and where their scores are
really not doing well. And so I'm kind of worried what that