Senator Ron Johnson Expresses Concerns Over Trump’s Spending Bill
On Sunday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin stated that he won’t back down until enough members of the GOP express worries about what he calls President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Despite Trump pushing for Republicans to support his budget proposal, some lawmakers remain skeptical. During an appearance on “The State of the Union,” host Jake Tupper asked whether any Republican senators could quantify the number of party members opposed to the legislation.
“So, we’ve run out of time, but how many Republican senators are willing to voice their concerns and push for significant changes to this bill?” Tupper inquired.
Johnson responded, “I believe it’s enough to halt the process until the president seriously commits to cutting spending and addressing the deficit.”
Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” barely made it through the House of Representatives last Thursday, winning by a slim margin of 215-214-1. A couple of GOP lawmakers—Thomas Massey from Kentucky and Warren Davidson from Ohio—joined Democrats, while Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, voted against it.
Before exploring how GOP senators might rally enough support to block the bill, Tupper asked Johnson about his commitment to urging party members to resist unless “major changes” were proposed.
“This is our moment. Except for World War II, we haven’t seen this level of spending—58% since 2019. This is our chance to bring it back to a reasonable pre-pandemic level,” Johnson remarked. “I think we can achieve that, and honestly, most people wouldn’t even notice the cuts we’d make.”
“But getting that done requires effort and time. That’s part of the issue here. I rushed through this process and didn’t take the necessary time,” he continued. “We’re exempt from many programs, and we need to look at the adjustments while considering the Congressional Budget Office scores that are somewhat out of touch with the reality of our situation—like a projected $22 trillion deficit in the next ten years.”
Prior to the House’s passage of the bill, Johnson had called attention to “unsustainable federal spending,” suggesting in a Wall Street Journal piece that Trump and Congress reconsider their approach.
“If we pass the bill quickly based on the Senate’s original budget resolution, we can secure funding for border protection and defense priorities while achieving $850 billion in real spending reductions. The next step is extending the current tax law to prevent default and ensure we maintain momentum toward future cuts,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Toon mentioned on Thursday that he believes there’s a “workable path” to gather 51 votes by July 4th, though he can’t afford to lose more than three GOP senators.
Alongside Johnson, Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Curtis of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota have all raised concerns regarding various aspects of the bill.
