Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson gets honor of making motion to adjourn RNC

After former President Donald Trump gave his long-awaited acceptance speech, and once thousands of red, white and blue balloons dropped onto delegates below, there was one final step to close out the Republican National Convention.

That was making the final motion to adjourn. And Trump's campaign extended the honor to former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, a fixture in Wisconsin politics for decades.

Though many delegates had started leaving Fiserv Forum, the camera panned to Thompson standing with the Wisconsin delegation. Thompson moved to adjourn, Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley adopted it and the convention was officially over.

Thompson thanked “Wisconsin (and) the great city of Milwaukee for a great convention” and acknowledged former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming.

“Thank you, all of you, for coming, and drive safely home,” he ended.

Thompson was one of Wisconsin's 41 delegates at the convention. He was elected governor four times — serving from 1987 to 2001 — making Thompson the longest-serving governor in state history.

Thompson was the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during President George W. Bush's first term. He led the University of Wisconsin System between 2020 and 2022, guiding the state's public university system through much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More: Far from being a placeholder, Tommy Thompson is steering the UW System through a tough stretch with ideas, persuasion, upbeat attitude

In an interview Thursday afternoon on Wisconsin Media Row, Thompson described himself as a "cheerleader" for Wisconsin. "Everybody says I cheer too much, I don't think so," he said.

"I'm so happy to have a convention here. I've been going to these for 48 years. I was here when Abraham Lincoln was nominated — not really," Thompson joked. "It's a great opportunity and it's been a great convention."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson gets honor of making motion to adjourn RNC