“The theme of Gov. Walker’s budget is that the middle class pays more and gets less,” Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said in a statement.

But no matter how it’s spun, passage of the budget and Walker’s signing of it before the new fiscal year starts on July 1 is a significant achievement for Republicans who control both houses of the Legislature. They worked quickly to approve the budget before recall elections in August that could result in Democrats gaining a majority in the Senate and the power to block Walker and the GOP’s agenda.

The recalls stem from voter anger over Walker’s contentious plan to require most public sector employees to contribute more to their pensions and health insurance. The plan, a key lynchpin in Walker’s budget, also strips almost all of those workers of their collective bargaining rights.

Walker signed the plan into law in March after weeks of massive demonstrations at the state Capitol. Frustration over it is still running high over the changes; protesters have spent weeks disrupting budget deliberations in Madison.