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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
No.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for Wisconsin governor, has not supported defunding the police — an effort to reduce law enforcement funding by shifting it to other programs.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee, claimed Tiffany voted six times to defund the police.
None of those House votes would have taken money away from law enforcement.
Tiffany voted against a bill that would have directly funded local police departments.
Other measures he opposed were different, including:
- Funding more than a dozen federal agencies, including NASA and the Commerce and Justice departments.
- Health and Human Services grants for violence intervention programs.
- Grants for mental health professionals, rather than law enforcement, to respond to certain emergencies.
We found no evidence that Tiffany backed reducing police funding.
In 2022, Tiffany said “it’s time to stop the defund the police movement.” In 2026 he criticized the movement.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- New York Times: House Passes Police Funding Bills, With Democratic Rifts on Vivid Display
- Congress.gov: H.R.6938 – Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026
- Congress.gov: H.R.4103 – Break the Cycle of Violence Act
- Congress.gov: H.R.8542 – Mental Health Justice Act of 2022
- PBS Wisconsin: 2022 Candidate Statement: Tom Tiffany – 7th Cong. Dist.
- PBS Wisconsin: Tom Tiffany on the 2026 Primary for Governor of Wisconsin
Has Tom Tiffany supported defunding the police? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
