TUE AM News: Hegseth touts Oshkosh Corp. as ‘model’ for other defense contractors; Evers slams Trump, Republicans for trade conflict with Canada

August 25, 2026

— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised Oshkosh Corp. as a model for other defense contractors during a visit to Wittman Regional Airfield, noting the company’s military vehicles have saved the lives of soldiers overseas.

“It’s incredible what you’ve accomplished here in Oshkosh,” he said yesterday. “This company has played a role in every major conflict of the last 80 years since World War II, and I’ve seen your incredible work firsthand downrange, and I know that it saves American lives, the lives of American warriors.”

Meanwhile, WisDems Chair Devin Remiker yesterday criticized the tour as a “desperate” attempt to do damage control for “jacking up the cost of living with their wildly unpopular tariffs and endless war-of-choice” in Iran.

The stop near Oshkosh, part of the department’s “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, focused on both the company’s impact as well as the Department of Defense’s new approach to contracting under the current administration.

Hegseth said “we’re a different kind of department, moving at the speed of business,” arguing the administration is cutting red tape and bureaucracy to provide the military with the best American-made hardware.

“Our job is to make it easier for the big guys and the little guys to get in to compete, and ensure that American warriors have the best,” he said, adding “most companies have been in the past too afraid, and rightfully so, of the maze of Pentagon bureaucracy.”

He emphasized Oshkosh Corp.’s role as both a military and commercial manufacturing company, calling it a model for other commercial manufacturers “to step up when your country needs you.”

He added: “We need more Oshkosh across America.”

Hegseth said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act secured $190 million in defense contracts executed in Wisconsin, noting “we intend to do more as we move forward modernizing our forces.”

He also plugged the department’s federal budget request for $16.8 billion to update Army and Marine Corps combat equipment, including “new, futuristic vehicles” such as Oshkosh Defense’s ROGUE-Fires unmanned, autonomous ground vehicle. The U.S. Marine Corps earlier this year awarded the company with a $92 million contract for these vehicles, Hegseth noted.

Remiker, in his response to Hegseth’s remarks, grouped him in with Wisconsin Republicans including GOP guv hopeful U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and U.S. Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil, saying they have “now stooped to parading around Hegseth” to sell a failed economic agenda.

“Wisconsinites see through Republicans’ slimy sales pitch and are tired of footing the bill for foreign wars and tariffs that have crushed our businesses, farmers, and manufacturers,” he said.

Watch the video of Hegseth’s remarks, as well as follow-up questions by reporters.

— Gov. Tony Evers charged the Trump administration and congressional Republicans with “leaving America’s Dairyland in the lurch” amid the latest trade tensions with Canada, Wisconsin’s largest export market.

Evers yesterday issued a statement slamming President Donald Trump and other Republicans for starting a trade war with Canada, after the president threatened to enact 50% tariffs on certain Canadian products amid a breakdown in trade negotiations between the countries.

Canada was Wisconsin’s largest export destination last year with more than $7.5 billion in products, according to details from the guv’s office.

The release criticizes Trump’s “erratic tariffs and reckless trade wars,” blaming GOP members of Congress from Wisconsin in particular.

“Time and time again, President Trump and Republicans are causing costs to go up and making life even harder for ranchers, farmers, and producers across America, including here in America’s Dairyland — and where in the hell are Republicans in Congress?” Evers said.

A WisGOP spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

See the release.

— The Wisconsin Farm Bureau is calling on Trump to reconsider his plan to import beef products and then sell them below market value, with President Brad Olson calling it “deeply concerning.”

In a statement posted yesterday on X, Olson called price manipulation “un-American when it is done by the government, regardless of the intention behind it.”

Trump on Friday announced his administration had reached a deal to allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported over the next 90 days. In exchange for easing tariffs, the exporters will provide a 25% discount on beef, though the Trump administration hasn’t provided details on the agreement.

“We should be looking for ways to strengthen American agriculture and expand domestic production rather than artificially manipulating prices,” Olson wrote, urging the administration to instead work with American producers to “strengthen our domestic food system.”

The nation’s cattle herd is the smallest it’s been since the 1950s.

Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden also knocked the move, saying it fails to address the lack of competition in the beef processing system with four companies controlling more than 80% of the market. He argued that is a factor in the gap between what consumers pay for beef and “what makes its way back to the farm.”

“This move by the administration does nothing but undermine U.S. beef farmers who are already trying to compete in an increasingly consolidated marketplace,” he wrote.

— Milwaukee was ranked No. 30 in a list of the best U.S. cities for tech workers.

The list, compiled through a study done by software development marketplace Lemon.io, assessed the 250 most populous cities in the country across various measures related to the tech industry.

Milwaukee was the last city included in the list and the only one from Wisconsin represented, though others in the Midwest made the ranking. The study found Milwaukee had five institutes offering computer programs, with an average graduation rate for tech courses of 58%.

Wisconsin’s largest city also has 657 WiFi hotspots, benefiting remote and traveling tech workers, as well as 874 total tech job openings according to data pulled from job listing site Glassdoor.

Milwaukee also has 478 information technology businesses rated three stars or better on Glassdoor, according to the study.

Other Midwest cities to make the list include St. Paul at No. 2, Cincinnati at No. 10, Minneapolis at No. 11 and Cleveland at No. 24.

Aleksandr Volodarsky, the company’s CEO, notes roles in software development, programming and data engineering are “becoming more and more valuable” as AI rapidly advances.

“The cities in the ranking highlight where some of the best tech minds reside and where, if you’re curious about developing these skills then these are the places to do so,” he said in a statement.

— Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 11th annual Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest.

Nominations opened yesterday for the competition, which highlights some of the most popular products made in the state with a bracket-style tournament called Manufacturing Madness.

This year’s winner will be announced Oct. 27 at WMC’s Business Day event in Madison.

See the release.

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from the latest WisBusiness column by manufacturing expert Buckley Brinkman.

— Earlier this month, I spoke to the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium at Carthage College and coached MBA candidates at UW-Madison.

In both cases, it was a delight to be back on campus and to engage with bright from around the state, along with some of their advisors. The two days left me feeling optimistic about the future, provided our older generations can stay out of the way.

Read the full column by Buckley Brinkman here.

Find more columns from Brinkman at the AI in Wisconsin page.

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