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(The Center Square) - Wisconsin is now expected to have $1.5 billion more in surplus after its current budget cycle ends on June 30, 2027, after new estimates were announced by the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
That would mean the state would have $2.3 billion in surplus, lower than the $4 billion heading into this budget but well above the $800 million surplus that was previously projected.
The group said that the surplus would be the result of nearly $1.4 billion in increased tax collections and $104 million in additional departmental non-tax revenues.
Both Republicans and Democrats took credit for the surplus.
“These revenue estimates are further proof that Legislative Republicans’ long-standing commitment to responsible budgeting and fiscal discipline is working,” Joint Committee on Finance Co-Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said in a joint statement. “Through careful planning, conservative assumptions, and thoughtful decision-making, Wisconsin remains on strong financial footing, even in the face of economic uncertainty.”
Recent Wisconsin Department of Revenue numbers have shown the increased tax collections, with 4.9% more in general purpose revenue taxes and fees collected for the fiscal year through November
“This good news is a tribute to Wisconsin Democrats, who have prioritized investments in the people of Wisconsin that have improved our state’s economy, provided middle class tax relief, and helped make Wisconsin a state where businesses want to invest and families want to live,” said Senate Minority Leader Diane Hesselbein. “The bi-partisan 2025-2027 budget, which I helped negotiate, advances those important priorities.
“The people of Wisconsin expect that we will invest these increased revenues in initiatives that will lower costs, improve lives, and continue to help make Wisconsin a place where everyone can thrive.”
The Trump administration has launched a series of investigations into various public schools and state departments of education across the country over Title IX allegations related to the participation of transgender athletes in girls' sports.
The investigation led by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights coincides with the U.S. Supreme Court beginning oral arguments on transgender sports cases.
The core of the complaints asserts that these K-12 districts and state agencies maintain policies that discriminate based on sex. By permitting transgender students to participate in sports, the Department argues that these institutions are violating Title IX protections.
According to the Department of Education, these policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities, the Department said.
“In the same week that the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future of Title IX, OCR is aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.
"We are currently reviewing the letter and will respond appropriately through the proper legal and administrative channels,” the University of Nevada, Reno, one of the schools under investigation, told Fox News. "The University remains committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and respectful campus environment for all of our students. We recognize and uphold our responsibilities under state and federal law, and we will continue to act in accordance with the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions.”
The department has also announced this week an investigation into the California Community College Athletic Association over its Transgender Participation Policy, which allows transgender females to compete on women’s teams after one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, said during a webinar that allowing transgender athletes to compete in female sports has done violence toward women's equality.
“[Title IX] a federal statute, only 37 words long, something that was really the crown jewel of the women's liberation movement in the '60s and early '70s. To expand it to transgender status and gender identity did a significant amount of violence to the notion of women's equality, not just within athletic contexts, but within all sex-separated offerings,” Perry said.
The following entities are currently under investigation:
Jurupa School District (California).Placentia-Yorba School District (California).Santa Monica College (California).Santa Rosa Junior College (California).Waterbury Public Schools (Connecticut).Hawaii State Department of Education (Hawaii).Regional School Unit 19 (Maine).Regional School Unit 57 (Maine)Foxborough Public Schools (Massachusetts).University of Nevada – Reno (Nevada).Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District (New York).New York City Department of Education (New York).Great Valley School District (Pennsylvania).Champlain Valley School District (Vermont).Cheney Public Schools (Washington).Sultan School District No. 311 (Washington).Tacoma Public Schools (Washington).Vancouver Public Schools (Washington).
The lowest number of illegal border crossings were reported for the first quarter of a fiscal year in U.S. history in President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (October, November and December 2025), U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded the lowest illegal border crosser encounter/apprehension totals ever reported at the beginning of a fiscal year.
A total of 91,603 encounters/apprehensions were reported nationwide – lower than any prior fiscal year to date, according to the latest CBP data.
By comparison, record highs were reported under the Biden administration of 392,196 in Q1 of fiscal 2025; 988,512 in Q1 of fiscal 2024; and 865,333 in Q1 fiscal 2023, according to the data.
Border Patrol agents also apprehended the lowest number of illegal border crossers at the southwest border in U.S. history in the first quarter of a fiscal year of just 21,815.
The total is 95% lower than the first quarter average under the Biden administration.
In December, Border Patrol agents apprehended 6,478 illegal border crossers between ports of entry at the southwest border, a 96% drop from the monthly average during the Biden administration.
The total is also less than the number apprehended in just four days in December 2024.
To put this in perspective, Border Patrol agents apprehended 209 illegal border crossers a day along the entire southwest border in four states in December 2025.
That is less than the number apprehended every 1.5 hours during the Biden administration, according to CBP data.
Nationwide, illegal border crossings in December remained historically low, totaling 30,698. This is the lowest total ever reported for the month of December in U.S. history.
By contrast, 370,883 were reported nationwide in December 2024 under the Biden administration, according to the data.
Border Patrol officers also released zero illegal border crossers into the country through parole programs in December and over the last eight months, CBP says. This is after the Trump administration terminated Biden-era parole programs, including catch and release, and implemented expedited removal processes, The Center Square reported.
By comparison, Border Patrol agents were ordered to release illegal border crossers into the country by the Biden administration. In December 2024, they released 7,041 along the southwest border, according to CBP data.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the dedication of DHS law enforcement, America’s borders are safer than any time in our nation’s history. What President Trump and our CBP agents and officers have been able to do in a single year is nothing short of extraordinary,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “Once again, we have a record low number of encounters at the border and the eighth straight month of zero releases. Month after month, we are delivering results that were once thought impossible: the most secure border in history and unmatched enforcement successes.”
The numbers are a complete reversal from the Biden era that saw a minimum of 14 million illegal border crossers, The Center Square reported. This included more than two million gotaways, those who illegally entered between ports of entry to evade capture. It also excludes millions released through more than a dozen parole programs and multiple visa programs the previous administration created and expanded. The Trump administration either terminated or revamped them. It is also implementing new policies and procedures to identify waste, fraud and abuse in several federal immigration programs and agencies.
