JD Vance promotes Trump’s signature tax law at Wisconsin visit

Vice President JD Vance praised the sweeping federal budget bill for its potential to improve local manufacturing before a crowd of supporters in La Crosse on Thursday, signifying the outsized attention on this corner of the state more than a year out from midterm elections.

The visit, billed as a promotion of President Donald Trump’s signature tax and immigration law, is the second time in a week that a national political figure visited Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, which will be host to one of the most hard-fought U.S. House races next year.

“What the President of the United States was elected on a promise to do was to bring back American manufacturing, to bring back American craftsmanship,” Vance said during brief remarks before an audience of 250 at Mid-City Steel, a metal fabrication shop.

Vance was joined at the event by U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, who currently represents the district and will be defending his seat as national Democrats seek to unseat him.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited nearby Viroqua to endorse Rebecca Cooke, who is one of the Democratic challengers vying for Wisconsin’s 3rd District.

In his remarks, Vance uplifted Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the sweeping law that cut taxes and restructured tax codes, cut Medicaid and food assistance and hiked spending on border enforcement.

Vance praised the cuts the legislation made to certain types of taxes, including taxes on overtime pay and taxes on tipped income. 

“For years, American leaders would ask you to work overtime, would ask you to spend even more time away from your family. And every hour that you spend on the job, they would reach further and further in your pocket,” said Vance. “We believe that if you spend an extra hour of work, the government ought to keep its hands the hell out of your pocket.” 

Vance also celebrated Trump’s tariff policy, saying it would disincentivize people from making things overseas, instead of manufacturing within the United States. That message resonated with the crowd at the manufacturing facility, although broad claims about the effects of tariffs are hard to make, as they have been alternately imposed and revoked several times since Trump took office, and faced a range of legal challenges.

Early analyses indicate volatility in trade markets has squeezed American manufacturers, but also increased national revenue. Early concerns that they would immediately trigger price increases and spike inflation have not played out.

“If you build crap overseas and try to undercut the wages of American workers, you’re going to pay a big fat tariff,” Vance said.

Vance was introduced by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota. He credited Van Orden for voting for the tax bill.

Van Orden did not speak from the podium at the event. Before Vance’s arrival, he made some quick remarks among the audience before circulating to take photos and shake hands. 

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, shakes hands with Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., while speaking at a campaign event, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 in Eau Claire, Wis. AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Political visits foreshadow fight for western Wisconsin district

Meanwhile, Democrats used the occasion to take aim at the Trump administration, with hopes of leveraging the policy’s unpopularity in their quest to flip key House seats.

That includes Van Orden’s, which encompasses large swaths of western Wisconsin, including La Crosse, Eau Claire and the rural Driftless Region. Democrats are also eyeing Wisconsin’s 1st District, although that is considered more safely Republican.

The Democratic Congressional Committee used the occasion to launch an ad campaign in the district, accusing Van Orden of supporting a law that would hike the price of Labor Day Weekend essentials like beer.

And in a statement, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker said Vance was taking a “victory lap for stripping health care” from families, referring to the law’s cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.

“This visit isn’t about helping Wisconsin — it’s a blatant PR stunt to cover up the devastation caused by the Big Ugly Bill,” said Remiker. “These tone-deaf political photo ops are exactly why WisDems are fighting like hell to kick Republicans out of power in 2026.”

A protester holds a sign outside a manufacturing facility in La Crosse, Wis., where Vice President JD Vance addressed a crowd of supporters on Aug. 28, 2025. Anya van Wagtendonk/WPR

Outside of the event, a handful of protesters held signs accusing Vance of authoritarianism. One held a sign inquiring about the whereabouts of the “Epstein files,” a reference to evidence gathered in the investigation into financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died while incarcerated on charges of sex trafficking.

That issue caused significant tension among congressional Republicans this summer. GOP leaders in Washington gaveled out of session rather than taking a vote on releasing the materials. Like Trump’s budget bill, the Epstein files are another issue Democrats hope to use against vulnerable congressional candidates like Van Orden.

Gov. Tony Evers releases Wisconsin analysis of Trump law

Earlier Thursday morning, the administration of Gov. Tony Evers released its own analysis of the law, finding it will increase costs to Wisconsinites by $142 million per year and cause about 270,000 people to lose health coverage.

That analysis comes weeks after the Wisconsin Department of Health Services warned that the plan would shift responsibilities for covering food assistance to the states, leaving Wisconsin to cover about $314 million. That agency also released its own new analysis on Thursday, finding 43,700 Wisconsinites are now at “immediate, high risk” of losing food assistance.

The department said it’s awaiting further state-level guidance from the federal government to assess the impact of the program, but added that immediate increased administrative costs would total more than $69 million.

And the Evers analysis said that his administration would be asking the GOP-held state Legislature to release money to cover those costs, setting up a potential political fight as Republicans dispute the price tag of the federal program.

Gov. Tony Evers speaks before signing the 2023-2025 biennial budget Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Republicans also argue that changes to social safety net programs are in the interest of increasing efficiency and making them more sustainable for people who truly need them.

That was a key theme of Vance’s appearance on Thursday, where he accused the law’s critics of “lies.” 

“Don’t believe the lies and don’t believe the attacks,” he said. “What we are doing with this legislation is giving you a tax cut and trying to rebuild the health care infrastructure of this country that got decimated under Joe Biden’s leadership.” 

Vance argued preserving those benefits must start with deporting people who live in the United States without authorization. 

No answers about National Guard in Milwaukee, disaster declaration 

Vance also praised the deployment of the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., and demurred when asked by reporters about whether there would be similar action taken in Milwaukee.

Vance said the presence of the National Guard has brought down violent crime in the nation’s capital city. Data shows that reported incidents of violent crime in the last two weeks are half of what they were on average during the same time period over the last five years, and burglaries and car thefts have also decreased.

Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol Union Station, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Washington. AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib

The District’s Democratic Mayor, Muriel Bowser, has said an expansion of police on the streets contributed to that lower crime rate, while many other Democrats have argued that armed federal agents have sparked fear and are an overexertion of the president’s authority.

Other analyses indicate an increase in arrests has been driven largely by a crackdown on misdemeanors.

Vance said the “principle at stake” in Washington is that taxpayers “bought those streets, you ought to be able to enjoy them as American citizens.”

“We do think that we have the legal right to clean up America’s streets if we want to. But what the President has said is, very simply, is: ‘Why don’t you invite us in?’” he said.

Trump issued an executive order on Monday to expand his ability to mobilize National Guard units and has said he’s considered deploying to other cities like Chicago. That’s raised questions about the possibility of a deployment to Milwaukee, which has also seen a recent increase in violence downtown.

“I hope the mayor of Milwaukee gets some common sense,” Vance said. “Because we would love to actually help cut down on the crime in this community.”