U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is not in support of the budget reconciliation bill currently going through Congress because it doesn’t make enough cuts to the federal budget.
The Wisconsin senator announced that in a speech May 3 during the Shawano County Republican Party’s annual dinner, which boasted more than 100 people, at Golden Sands Golf Course in Cecil. Normally an ardent supporter of the Trump Administration’s agenda, Johnson made it clear that if the GOP is intent on shrinking government spending, it needs to be bolder.
“If you look at the stuff and put it under a microscope, you can’t justify it,” Johnson said. “I have a belief that we literally will find hundreds of billions of dollars that’s completely unjustified. You couldn’t spend it, and no one would even notice. I’m on notice. I put the administration on notice and said that, unless we return to a pre-pandemic level — and engage in a process that can achieve it and maintain it — I’m going to vote no.”
Johnson’s statement garnered applause from those in attendance. Currently, the Republicans maintain razor-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress, and Johnson said that several of his GOP colleagues could join him in opposition, which would cause the bill to fail.
“I know it won’t be pleasant. I remember how unpleasant it was back in 2017 when we were talking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Johnson said. “That came over from the House, and the one thing Trump campaigned on was a 20% tax rate for sea corps (overseas business operations), but it became 20% for businesses. It was written for sea corps, but it left 95% of American businesses uncompetitive with no tax relief whatsoever.”
Johnson said he was against that, which got him some heat from the Oval Office, but he dug his heels in on the matter and got things changed. He plans to do the same with the budget reconciliation bill.
“When it was all said and done, everybody was singing my praises and thanking me for doing it,” Johnson said. “I don’t think the next couple of weeks are going to be pleasant, because I put them on notice.”
Johnson noted that the House’s speaker and majority leader encouraged him to talk to the staff crafting the budget bill and get his issues addressed. The reply he got, in different terminology, was to “pound sand.”
“I’m not kidding,” Johnson said, adding that the staff told him the “big, beautiful bill” needed to be ready to go forward by Memorial Day. “Washington is run by staff.”
Discretionary spending at the federal level has doubled over the last year, according to Johnson, which made him suggest that Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security don’t need to be touched to make the reductions needed.
During his speech, Johnson also expressed disappointment on the April general elections and blamed Republicans not showing up for Susan Crawford’s victory over Brad Schimel for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“Never forget that the left is relentless,” Johnson said. “As much elation as I felt in November, I was more deflated in April.”
Rep. Tony Wied also spoke at the county Republicans’ dinner and praised them for being a driving force to electing him to the House seat vacated by Mike Gallagher. He said his past few months have involved enacting as much of President Donald Trump’s agenda as possible and curtailing liberal efforts, adding that grocery prices and the cost of gas are going down.
“This state went to President Trump, and it was because of your tireless work and what you’ve done here in Shawano County,” Wied said. “In November of last year, you sent a clear message that we will not stand by and let that far-left radical ideology run this country anymore. We will not do that.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Johnson plans to vote against federal budget bill
