On Wednesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: A liberal won Wisconsin's Supreme Court election Tuesday, while two Florida Republicans won their special elections to fill U.S. House vacancies. USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer discusses cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. Cory Booker breaks the record for the longest known Senate speech. The Trump administration acknowledges an 'administrative error' led to one deportation to El Salvador. USA TODAY National News Reporter Jeanine Santucci explains how cuts to the Department of Agriculture are hitting food banks. Val Kilmer dies at 65.

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Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today, we recap elections in Wisconsin and Florida, plus mass layoffs hit the Department of Health and Human Services, and how Department of Agriculture cuts are impacting food banks.

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Wisconsin voters elected Susan Crawford to the State Supreme Court yesterday, maintaining the court's four-three liberal majority. The election was widely seen as an early referendum on President Donald Trump's presidency, and the campaign became the most expensive judicial contest in US history, with more than $90 million spent by the candidates, the state parties and outside groups, according to New York University's Brennan Center.

But in another test of Trump's presidency, two Florida Republicans won their special elections to fill US House vacancies created by Trump's cabinet picks, though the GOP's margin in the solidly red di...
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