Congress Monitor Build Handoff

Area: Full Workup (one official, all sections) (eo_full_workup) Filed: 2026-05-01T21:50:42.486Z Source: External LLM via /handoff/congress (attempt #69199) Resolved official: Glenn Grothman (entity #11118) Ingest result: 37 facts · 38 sources · 2 silences · 3 contradictions · 4 voting_records · 6 skipped

Briefing Sent

Single super-prompt covering every per-official research area in one LLM call: donor mapping, silences, contradictions, telling votes, and constituency baseline. The LLM returns ONE JSON object; the ingest pipeline dispatches each section to its typed table independently, so a malformed or no-data section never blocks the rest.

Result

{ "target_official": { "name": "Glenn Grothman", "bioguide_id": "G000576" }, "donor_mapping": { "facts": [ { "fact_text": "Glenn Grothman raised $8,231,096 and spent $7,708,606 in the 2013-2024 cycles. Top industry: Retired ($1,098,361). Top contributor: Northwestern Mutual ($102,190). Second largest: Sargento Foods ($71,300). Third: Oshkosh Corp ($70,314). Koch Inc: $52,500 all PAC. Leadership PACs contributed $381,800.", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "fact_text": "Top donors to Grothman's campaign include Northwestern Mutual ($102,190 including $45,500 PAC), Sargento Foods ($71,300), Oshkosh Corp ($70,314 including $55,000 PAC), Continental Properties ($56,507), Koch Inc ($52,500 PAC), Michels Corp ($50,580), and American Israel Public Affairs Cmte ($41,800 including $20,000 PAC).", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "fact_text": "In the 2025-2026 cycle, Grothman reported $504,000 in fundraising. Quiver Quantitative estimates his net worth at $2.2M (August 2025), the 217th highest in Congress, with approximately $7,600 in publicly traded assets.", "date_occurred": "2025-08-12", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Representative+Glenn+Grothman+has+filed+a+new+financial+disclosure+-+here%E2%80%99s+what+we+see" }, { "fact_text": "In late 2023, Grothman's campaign reported $110,884.66 in net contributions in a single period, including $92,646.16 from individuals and $18,238.50 from PACs, with cash on hand of $472,336.12.", "date_occurred": "2023-12-31", "confidence": "primary", "source_url": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00561597/1766480/" }, { "fact_text": "Grothman's top industry contributors: Retired ($1,098,361), Leadership PACs ($381,800), Real Estate ($364,638), Misc Manufacturing & Distributing ($349,377), Insurance ($315,032), Securities & Investment ($250,572), Commercial Banks ($240,072).", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/industries?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" } ], "connections": [ { "donor_entity_name": "Northwestern Mutual", "relationship_type": "major_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $102,190 total ($56,690 individuals, $45,500 PAC) — top overall contributor. Northwestern Mutual is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "donor_entity_name": "Koch Inc", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $52,500 all from Koch Industries PAC.", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "donor_entity_name": "American Israel Public Affairs Cmte", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $41,800 ($21,800 individuals, $20,000 PAC).", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "donor_entity_name": "National Assn of Realtors", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $38,300 ($300 individuals, $38,000 PAC).", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "donor_entity_name": "Associated Builders & Contractors", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $37,500 all PAC.", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "donor_entity_name": "National Assn of Home Builders", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2013-2024: $36,000 all PAC.", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" } ] }, "silences": [ { "topic": "Grothman has refused in-person town halls for over a year, using only telephone 'townhalls' with pre-selected questions", "expected_position": "As the elected representative of Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District serving 738,897 constituents, Grothman would be expected to hold regular open in-person town halls where voters can ask unvetted questions, especially after his February 2025 Oshkosh town hall drew an overflow crowd of angry constituents.", "window_start": "2025-03-01", "window_end": "2026-05-01", "evidence_summary": "An April 2026 letter to the Ozaukee Press states Grothman has been 'in hiding' from constituents for more than a year, hiding from in-person town halls, hiding behind fully muted telephone townhalls that allow only carefully selected questions. As of October 2025, a constituent letter stated: 'He continues to refuse to have town hall meetings in the district. He is in hiding and refuses to meet with his constituents.' In response to a March 2025 article about GOP leadership advising members to skip town halls, Grothman said he 'wouldn't change' how he held town halls but effectively stopped in-person ones after the contentious February 2025 Oshkosh event. Grothman has been highly active on other fronts during this period: he issued press releases celebrating the Big Beautiful Bill (July 2025), introduced the COMPETE Act (March 2026), advanced the Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act through committee (April 2026), appeared on PBS Wisconsin, and held telephone town halls — proving he was actively communicating through controlled formats, yet avoided open unfiltered public forums.", "primary_url": "https://ozaukeepress.com/category/op-ed?page=4" }, { "topic": "Grothman has not held a public-facing press release or town hall addressing the impact of H.R. 1's Medicaid cuts on his district's estimated 30,145 residents projected to lose coverage", "expected_position": "After voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 3, 2025, which the AFL-CIO assessed would enact 'devastating cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other important social safety programs,' Grothman would be expected to address directly the projected loss of health coverage for over 30,000 constituents in WI-06 rather than solely emphasizing tax relief and fraud reduction.", "window_start": "2025-07-03", "window_end": "2025-10-01", "evidence_summary": "Grothman's July 3, 2025 press release celebrating H.R. 1 focused entirely on tax cuts, border security, work requirements, and his own bills included in the package. It portrayed Medicaid changes as 'restor[ing] commonsense work requirements' and preserving the program 'for those who truly need them,' without acknowledging CBO or other projections of coverage losses. A constituent letter published July 12, 2025 in USA Today stated Grothman had promised at a town hall he 'wouldn't support cuts to Medicaid' but then 'backs a budget that does exactly that.' Grothman did not issue a follow-up press release addressing the coverage-loss estimates during this period, though he was active on his fraud prevention legislation and other matters.", "primary_url": "https://grothman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4782" } ], "contradictions": { "claims": [ { "claim_text": "At the Algoma Town Hall in Oshkosh on February 21, 2025, Grothman told constituents that cutting Medicaid funding 'would be a mistake' and, when asked if he would oppose a government funding bill with cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, replied 'Certainly, if Social Security is cut. And Medicaid, we'll have to see.'", "claim_date": "2025-02-21", "claim_type": "statement", "source_url": "https://www.wpr.org/news/glenn-grothman-faces-hostile-crowd-at-oshkosh-town-hall" }, { "claim_text": "On July 3, 2025, Grothman voted Yea on H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Roll Call 190), which the AFL-CIO assessed would enact 'devastating cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other important social safety programs to provide tax-cuts to the rich.' The bill passed 215-214. An analysis projected 30,145 residents in Grothman's district could lose health coverage.", "claim_date": "2025-07-03", "claim_type": "vote", "source_url": "https://aflcio.org/scorecard/legislators/glenn-grothman?order=date&sort=desc" }, { "claim_text": "Grothman told constituents in a 'Special Edition' newsletter that Republicans had 'done everything to keep the government open' and passed a 'clean' continuing resolution, while 'Democrats, out of spite, plotted to shut it down.' He painted himself as 'a reliable vote to keep the government running.'", "claim_date": "2025-10-01", "claim_type": "statement", "source_url": "https://www.ozaukeepress.com/content/letter-grothman%E2%80%99s-falsehoods-can%E2%80%99t-hide-his-role-us-shutdown" }, { "claim_text": "On September 22, 2020, Grothman voted Nay on H.R. 8337, a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11, 2020. He stated he was 'against government shutdowns' but voted no, citing insufficient time to review the 115-page bill. The CR passed 359-57, keeping government open.", "claim_date": "2020-09-22", "claim_type": "vote", "source_url": "https://grothman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1803" }, { "claim_text": "Grothman voted against H.R. 7108, the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, one of only 8 House members (all Republicans) to do so on March 17, 2022. He cited concerns about amendments to the Global Magnitsky Act, stating he feared it 'could be used to punish foreign officials who support laws in their home countries opposing abortion rights and same-sex marriage.'", "claim_date": "2022-03-17", "claim_type": "vote", "source_url": "https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/human-rights-experts-dispute-rep-glenn-grothmans-reason-for-voting-against-russian-sanction/article_07209724-1f12-5128-847e-d5d835bfb086.html" }, { "claim_text": "Grothman co-sponsored H.R. 7014, a separate bill that would also suspend normal trade relations with Russia. He stated: 'I adamantly oppose Russia's attack on Ukraine. I support sanctions on Russia. I support the idea of suspending normal trade relations with Russia.'", "claim_date": "2022-03-17", "claim_type": "statement", "source_url": "https://grothman.house.gov/uploadedfiles/mfn_newsletter_3.24.222.pdf" } ], "contradictions": [ { "claim_a_idx": 0, "claim_b_idx": 1, "type": "reversal", "severity": "high", "narrative": "Grothman told constituents at a February 2025 town hall that cutting Medicaid 'would be a mistake' and hedged on whether he'd oppose a bill with Medicaid cuts. Five months later, he voted for H.R. 1, which the AFL-CIO, CBO, and constituent analyses projected would enact devastating Medicaid cuts. A constituent letter published July 12, 2025 in USA Today stated Grothman 'promised he wouldn't support cuts to Medicaid' at a town hall but 'now backs a budget that does exactly that.' The same statutory hook (budget reconciliation affecting mandatory Medicaid spending) and same population (Medicaid recipients in WI-06) are at issue, though the vote was on a much broader reconciliation package rather than a standalone Medicaid cut bill. Severity high due to the direct contradiction on a promise to a live constituency audience." }, { "claim_a_idx": 2, "claim_b_idx": 3, "type": "reversal", "severity": "medium", "narrative": "Grothman claimed in 2025 to be a 'reliable vote to keep the government running' while attacking Democrats for shutdown brinkmanship, yet voted against a 2020 continuing resolution (H.R. 8337) that kept the government open, citing procedural complaints about insufficient review time. Both involve the same mechanism (a continuing resolution to fund government operations), but the political context shifted: 2020 had a Democratic House majority while 2025 has a Republican trifecta. Severity medium because the votes are years apart under different political leadership." }, { "claim_a_idx": 4, "claim_b_idx": 5, "type": "position_evolution", "severity": "medium", "narrative": "Grothman co-sponsored a bill suspending trade relations with Russia (H.R. 7014) while voting against another bill doing the same thing (H.R. 7108). His rationale — objections to Magnitsky Act amendments he said could target anti-abortion and anti-same-sex-marriage officials — was disputed by human rights experts who noted the amendments were identical to wording in a Trump executive order. Days later, Grothman voted for an amended version of the trade bill after the Senate removed the provision he opposed. This is a position evolution driven by specific legislative language rather than a policy reversal.", "claim_b_idx": 5 } ] }, "telling_votes": [ { "bill_id": "H.R. 1", "title": "One Big Beautiful Bill Act (budget reconciliation — Medicaid/SNAP cuts, tax reform)", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2025-07-03", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1", "why_it_matters": "Grothman voted with a narrow 215-214 Republican majority for a bill that the AFL-CIO and independent estimates project could cause 30,145 constituents in WI-06 to lose health insurance within 10 years and over 280,000 Wisconsinites to lose coverage. His district has 5.7% poverty and significant Medicaid enrollment. Grothman had earlier expressed skepticism about the bill's 'sincerity' and told constituents cutting Medicaid 'would be a mistake,' making this vote an against_constituent reversal. The bill passed by one vote; his was decisive.", "category": "against_constituent" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 7108", "title": "Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act", "vote": "nay", "vote_date": "2022-03-17", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7108", "why_it_matters": "Grothman was one of only 8 House members (all Republicans including Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert) to vote against stripping Russia of normal trade relations after the Ukraine invasion, while 424 voted yea. 209 of 217 voting Republicans supported the bill; Grothman was among just 3.7% of the GOP conference to defect. He cited Magnitsky Act concerns rather than opposing Russia sanctions on their merits, and later voted for an amended version. This vote was a party_defection by a wide margin.", "category": "party_defection" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 8337", "title": "Continuing Resolution to fund federal government through December 11, 2020", "vote": "nay", "vote_date": "2020-09-22", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8337", "why_it_matters": "Grothman voted against a continuing resolution that kept the government open, one of only 57 House members (5 Republicans, 52 Democrats dissenting on various grounds). The bill passed 359-57. While Grothman stated he was 'against government shutdowns' and voted no on procedural grounds (insufficient review time), his 2025 claim to be a 'reliable vote to keep the government running' creates cross-pressure with his record. This vote is a reversal from his self-portrayal as a consistent anti-shutdown vote.", "category": "reversal" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 2550", "title": "Protecting America's Workforce Act (restoring collective bargaining rights for federal workers)", "vote": "nay", "vote_date": "2025-12-11", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2550", "why_it_matters": "Grothman voted against restoring collective bargaining rights for over one million federal workers. His district's manufacturing-heavy workforce (92,928 manufacturing employees, the largest sector) includes many union members. His top donor Northwestern Mutual's insurance sector is not directly unionized, placing this as an against_constituent vote on labor rights — though notable primarily in the context of his manufacturing constituency rather than donor pressure.", "category": "against_constituent" } ], "constituency_baseline": { "baseline": { "district_summary": "Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District stretches from Lake Michigan through rural, suburban, and exurban communities between Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, including Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, and parts of Ozaukee County. With approximately 738,897 residents, the district is 87.5% White and heavily Republican (Cook PVI R+23). The median household income is $75,789, well above the national median but below neighboring suburban Milwaukee districts. Homeownership is 71.7% and poverty is just 5.7%. Manufacturing dominates the economy with 92,928 jobs — the most of any congressional district nationally as a share of total employment — followed by health care (47,574) and retail trade (40,279). Key manufacturing employers include Oshkosh Corp (defense vehicles), Sargento Foods, Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corp), and numerous paper and packaging firms. Agriculture is significant, with the district being a major dairy and grain producer. The district is heavily car-dependent (77.6% drive alone) with a short 21.4-minute mean commute. Grothman has held the seat since 2015, winning re-election in 2024 with over 60% of the vote.", "top_employers": [ { "name": "Oshkosh Corporation (defense vehicles, JLG)", "employees": 15000, "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "name": "Sargento Foods (cheese manufacturing)", "employees": 2500, "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "name": "Brunswick Corporation (Mercury Marine)", "employees": 3500, "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00036409&cycle=CAREER" }, { "name": "Fond du Lac County government", "employees": 1500, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" }, { "name": "Agnesian HealthCare / SSM Health", "employees": 2500, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" } ], "dominant_industries": [ { "naics": "31-33", "share": 0.24, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" }, { "naics": "62", "share": 0.14, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" }, { "naics": "44-45", "share": 0.12, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" }, { "naics": "11", "share": 0.04, "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" } ], "recent_ballot_measures": [ { "name": "Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment Question 1: Ban on private election grants (April 2024)", "year": 2024, "result": "passed", "margin": "53.8% Yes to 46.2% No", "source_url": "https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_2024_ballot_measures" }, { "name": "Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment Question 2: Ban on non-legislated election officials (April 2024)", "year": 2024, "result": "passed", "margin": "54.1% Yes to 45.9% No", "source_url": "https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_2024_ballot_measures" }, { "name": "Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments: Limit Governor's power to spend federal funds (August 2024)", "year": 2024, "result": "failed", "margin": "Voters rejected both GOP-authored questions limiting governor's spending power on federal money, widely seen as a win for Democrats", "source_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/wisconsin-voters-reject-ballot-questions/" } ], "demographic_anchors": [ { "label": "Median household income", "value": "$75,789 (national: $37,585)", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Population (2024 estimate)", "value": "738,897", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Homeownership rate", "value": "71.7% (national: 65.5%)", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "White population share", "value": "87.5% — significantly above national average", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Poverty rate", "value": "5.7% (national: 12.4%)", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Unemployment rate", "value": "2.7% (national: 3.5%)", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Bachelor's degree or higher", "value": "28.7% (national: 33.7%)", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Cook Partisan Voting Index", "value": "R+23 — Solid Seat", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/glenn-grothman-G000576/district" }, { "label": "Manufacturing employment", "value": "92,928 — highest share of manufacturing jobs of any congressional district nationally", "source_url": "https://www.datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-6-wi" } ] } } }