Gov. Evers Slams Trump Administration for Using Misleading Data to Justify Continued Threats to Funding Needed to Prevent Waste, Fraud, and Abuse and Support Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance Program
The Trump Administration continues to withhold millions Wisconsin was promised that would have been used to help modernize state’s UI system and prevent fraud
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary-designee Keith Sonderling, slamming the department’s recent letters to states, including Wisconsin, dated June 17 and July 6, in which he threatened to withhold critical funding needed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse and support Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance (UI) program based on misleading data and substandard analysis to accuse Wisconsin of allowing rampant fraud and failing to protect taxpayer dollars.
This is the fourth letter the governor has sent to the Trump Administration regarding this critical funding, and in his letter, the governor again implored the secretary to take action to restore the approximately $29 million in federal grant funding the U.S. DOL inexplicitly and without notice terminated in 2025—funding that was intended to complete modernization projects of Wisconsin’s UI systems to help reduce fraud, reduce overpayments, and improve efficiency in processing benefits. To date, the governor’s letters, including a letter sent directly to President Trump, to restore this funding have gone unanswered.
“I write today in response to your June 17 letter and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) July 6 correspondence in which you recklessly and irresponsibly threatened to withhold administrative funding for Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program,” wrote Gov. Evers.
“As governor, I take preventing fraud, waste, and abuse and ensuring the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars very seriously. Indeed, after decades of neglect from my predecessors, my administration made significant progress in fixing our archaic UI system, using innovative, first-of-their kind solutions to help reduce benefit fraud. Wisconsin became a leader among states in modernizing its UI systems to support program integrity efforts.
“It is for this reason that I write today to correct your flat-out wrong characterization of unchecked fraud in Wisconsin’s UI program, highlight my administration’s efforts to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the UI system and—for the fourth time—to write to the Trump Administration to implore you and President Trump to reverse the baseless decision to terminate federal funding awarded to Wisconsin to modernize our UI system.”
After the coronavirus pandemic overwhelmed Wisconsin’s antiquated UI system infrastructure, Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration began undertaking sweeping modernization efforts. In addition to significantly improving the system’s outdated interface, the modernization effort included deploying cutting-edge technology in Wisconsin’s UI system to bolster efforts to detect and crack down on fraud, prevent benefit overpayments, and significantly improve efficiency and timeliness.
Under the Evers Administration, Wisconsin has positioned itself to be one of the strongest-performing unemployment insurance programs in the nation. Since the modernization effort began, Wisconsin’s UI program has been audited nine times over the course of three years and has had zero identified instances of previously undiscovered fraud. The Evers Administration was previously awarded federal investments from the U.S. DOL to complete modernization projects of its UI systems to help reduce fraud, reduce overpayments, and improve efficiency in processing benefits. However, as noted above, last year—inexplicably and without any notice—the Trump Administration chose to terminate $29 million for Wisconsin’s modernization efforts, part of the Trump Administration terminating $675 million in grants awarded by the U.S. DOL to UI programs across over 30 states and territories.
According to the Trump Administration, the U.S. DOL originally terminated the investments Wisconsin was using for modernization efforts to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse because it “does not effectuate agency priorities.” The governor’s letter today, as well as previous letters, notes that the U.S. DOL’s refusal to release investments for states to fight fraud, waste, and abuse is incongruous with the Trump Administration’s and Republicans’ own purported goals of addressing fraud nationwide, specifically that the “June 17 commitment to ‘use every resource necessary to fight fraud’ in state UI programs lacks teeth.”
The governor’s full letter is attached.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Gov. Tony Evers
Gov. Evers Slams Trump Administration for Using Misleading Data to Justify Continued Threats to Funding Needed to Prevent Waste, Fraud, and Abuse and Support Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance Program
Jul 13th, 2026 by Gov. Tony EversThe Trump Administration continues to withhold millions Wisconsin was promised that would have been used to help modernize state’s UI system and prevent fraud
