GOP Wisconsin speaker backs down from 'groundless' threat to impeach liberal court justice

Wisconsin voters rejected the MAGA agenda in April when liberal Janet Protasiewicz defeated far-right MAGA Republican Dan Kelly by double digits in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. That outcome wouldn't have been surprising in a deep-blue state like Massachusetts, California or Maryland, but Wisconsin is a state where Republicans gained a lot of ground during the Barack Obama years — and a state that Donald Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican Donald Trump ally, has been a Protasiewicz foe — especially after she criticized GOP-drawn legislative maps as "unfair" and "rigged." Vos has threatened Justice Protasiewicz with possible impeachment, but according to Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer, Vos appears to have backed down on that threat —at least for now.

During a Wednesday interview, Vos was asked if he would push for a Protasiewicz impeachment if she rules that gerrymandered legislative maps in Wisconsin need to be redrawn. And Vos responded, "I think it's super unlikely," although he didn't rule the possibility out.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, in response, said that Vos' "unconstitutional threat to overturn a Supreme Court election through a groundless impeachment has gone up in smoke."

Bauer reports, "The legislative electoral maps drawn by the Republican-controlled (Wisconsin State) Legislature in 2011 cemented the party's majorities, which now stand at 64-35 in the Assembly and a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate. Republicans adopted maps last year that were similar to the existing ones. The lawsuit before the (Wisconsin) State Supreme Court asks that all 132 state lawmakers be up for election in 2024 in newly drawn districts."

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