Bryan Steil is a Republican U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st District, in the House since January 3, 2019 and chair of the Committee on House Administration, and he is seeking re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election against Democrat Mitchell Berman.
About Bryan Steil
- Full name
- Bryan Steil, Republican, listed by the Clerk of the House as the member for Wisconsin's 1st District
- Current role
- U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st District, House Administration Committee chair (the committee oversees federal elections) and chair of the Joint Committee on the Library
- In office since
- He assumed office on January 3, 2019
- Seeking
- Re-election to the U.S. House from Wisconsin's 1st District, general election November 3, 2026, against Democrat Mitchell Berman
- Key votes and actions
- House passage of H.R. 1, May 22, 2025; final passage of H.R. 1, July 3, 2025; against the ACA credit extension, January 8, 2026; the SAVE America Act he led through the House, February 11, 2026; against the Iran war powers resolution, April 16, 2026
What Bryan Steil Is Responsible For
- Medicaid and BadgerCare. On May 22, 2025, Steil cast one of the votes that passed the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act 215 to 214, and on July 3 he voted for the final law. KFF estimates it cuts federal Medicaid funding for Wisconsin by $6.745 billion over ten years, and the state health department says about 63,000 BadgerCare members are at risk of losing coverage under its work requirement, which starts January 1, 2027.
- Food assistance. The same law, which Steil voted for, cuts SNAP by $187 billion, about 20 percent, through 2034, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' count; the law's higher share of FoodShare's administrative costs, in effect since October 1, 2026, will cost Wisconsin an additional $32.4 million, and the expanded work rules reach about 43,700 recipients.
- Health insurance premiums. On January 8, 2026, Steil voted no on H.R. 1834, a three-year extension of the enhanced premium tax credits that passed the House and died in the Senate. Wisconsin's marketplace enrollment then fell 16%, and in his own district by 5,544 people, according to KFF.
- Tariffs. On April 9, 2025, Steil cast a deciding vote for a House rule, adopted 216 to 215, that switched off the House's fast route to a vote on ending the emergency behind the global tariffs. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates executive tariffs have cost Wisconsin $5.5 billion since January 2025.
- The Iran war. Steil voted against all six House war powers resolutions on Iran in 2026, and a switch by him alone would have adopted the one that failed 213 to 214 in April and the one that failed on a 212 to 212 tie in May. By October 2026, 21 U.S. service members had died in the war, and by mid-September Wisconsin's average gas price was up 62% from the day before it began.
- Voting rights. As House Administration chair, Steil led the House debate on the SAVE America Act and voted for it on February 11, 2026, when it passed 218 to 213; it would require documentary proof of citizenship to register, and the Brennan Center found that "21 million American citizens lack ready access" to such documents.
- Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin. On June 12, 2025, Steil voted for the Rescissions Act, which passed 214 to 212 and took back $1.1 billion already approved for public broadcasting; the federal money it ended had given Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin about $6 million a year.
- Immigration enforcement money. On June 9, 2026, Steil voted for S. 2, which passed 214 to 212, so a switch by him alone would have tied it, and which gives ICE and Border Patrol $69.5 billion more; ICE arrests in Wisconsin rose from at least 119 in May 2026 to 220 in June, concentrated in the southeast.
- The Epstein files. On July 15, 2025, Steil voted for a procedural motion that passed 211 to 210 and blocked a House vote on an amendment to make the Justice Department publish the Epstein files, and he did not sign Discharge Petition No. 9, which forced the House vote on the files later that year.
- Abortion. In July 2021 Steil signed the brief of 228 members of Congress asking the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, which the Court overturned in June 2022; afterward, WPR reported, virtually no legal abortions took place in Wisconsin until September 2023.
- Guns. Steil voted for the 2025 law that ended the $200 federal tax on silencers and short-barreled guns; after a court held that the repeal removed the basis for registering them, the ATF stopped requiring registration on October 9, 2026.
- Transgender health care. In December 2025 Steil voted for H.R. 3492, which would make giving puberty blockers or hormones to a minor a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and for H.R. 498, which would bar Medicaid from paying for that care for minors; both passed the House.
- The child tax credit. The law Steil voted for leaves 39,000 children, or 27%, in Wisconsin's 1st District without the full child tax credit because their parents earn too little, Columbia's Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates.
- Energy bills. The law's repeal of clean-energy credits, which Steil voted for, would add about $300 a year to the average Wisconsin household's energy costs by 2035, Energy Innovation projected.
- His claims about the law. Steil posted that the law was "strengthening Medicaid for vulnerable Americans" and that it "saved American taxpayers more than $1 trillion"; KFF projects 76,000 more uninsured Wisconsinites in 2034, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the law adds $4.7 trillion to the national debt through 2035.
How This Page on Bryan Steil Is Sourced
Every U.S. House vote on this page was checked against the official roll call from the Clerk of the House, such as the May 22, 2025 vote on H.R. 1; Bryan Steil's statements are linked to his own posts, his committee's releases or transcripts, such as the Racine County Eye transcript of his August 2025 town hall; and every figure links to its source, including KFF's Wisconsin Medicaid estimates and Wisconsin news outlets such as the Wisconsin Examiner and WPR, and the page was last updated on October 26, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bryan Steil
What is Bryan Steil's record under Trump?
Bryan Steil's vote helped pass the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a single vote, and he backed the final law, which KFF says takes $6.745 billion in federal Medicaid money from Wisconsin over a decade. His votes decided House rules that blocked votes on ending the tariff emergencies, he voted against Iran war powers resolutions that failed by one vote or on a tie, and as House Administration chair he led the SAVE America Act through the House. He voted against extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Did Bryan Steil vote for the Big Beautiful Bill?
Yes. Bryan Steil voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on May 22, 2025, when the House version passed by one vote, and for final passage on July 3, 2025, and he called it "a win for Wisconsin workers, families, and seniors." Under its work requirement, BadgerCare adults without children at home must show 80 hours a month of work, school or volunteering, starting with new applicants on January 1, 2027.
What has Bryan Steil said about Medicaid cuts in Wisconsin?
Bryan Steil said at an August 2025 town hall that for 63,000 BadgerCare adults not reporting work or a disability, "what we want to do is help lift them up and into work", and at his October 2026 debate he said the law "results in an increase in $1 billion in federal money coming to the state of Wisconsin for Medicaid"; the Wisconsin Examiner reported that money came from a provision in Wisconsin's own 2025-27 budget.
How did Bryan Steil vote on the Iran war?
Bryan Steil voted against all six House resolutions in 2026 that would have directed the President to remove U.S. forces from the war with Iran, including the April 16 resolution that failed 213 to 214 and the May 14 resolution that tied 212 to 212. In July 2026 he said on a national radio show that the President "showed a lot of courage" in attacking Iran, according to an American Bridge transcript.
What does the SAVE America Act that Bryan Steil led through the House do?
The SAVE America Act, which Bryan Steil managed on the House floor and voted for on February 11, 2026, would require documentary proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to register and a photo ID to vote, papers the Brennan Center says millions of citizens cannot readily produce, and Steil has said Republicans should pass it through budget reconciliation to bring the Senate threshold down to 50 votes.
How did Bryan Steil vote on the ACA tax credits?
Bryan Steil voted against the discharge motion that forced a House vote on extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act credits on January 7, 2026, and against the extension itself on January 8. Without the credits, Wisconsin marketplace insurers asked for 2027 increases of up to 30.88%, according to Peterson-KFF rate-filing data.
Last updated: 2026-10-26