MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut tuition at the University of Wisconsin and use taxpayer funds to pay for it is shaking up normal political alliances with some Democrats expressing support while skeptical fellow Republicans worry it could put the state on a path toward socialist Bernie Sanders’ free college tuition plan.
Republican governors across the nation have criticized universities over higher tuition and some, including Walker, have forced tuition freezes. But Walker appears to be the first Republican governor to promise taxpayer money to reduce the cost of university tuition.
The idea comes as Walker is considering running for a third term in 2018 after flaming out as a presidential candidate in 2015. He sprang the tuition cut idea, with no details on its size or structure, on the Republican-controlled Legislature during his State of the State address on Tuesday. Asked about the proposal on Wednesday, he said it would be “significant” and paid for from the state budget.
The idea threatened to deepen a rift between Walker and some Wisconsin Republicans, who had already broken with him over the lack of money to pay for road construction and repair and are wary of diverting tax revenues to lower tuition.
The Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the conservative group funded by the Koch brothers that’s been an enthusiastic Walker benefactor, said it hadn’t taken a position on the idea.