Senator Ron Johnson made a surprising move that’s sending shockwaves through Washington.
The Wisconsin Republican’s latest comments have caught the attention of both parties.
And Ron Johnson Senator just dropped this bombshell about Trump that has Washington buzzing.
Senator Johnson slams House GOP’s $1.5 trillion budget plan
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is throwing cold water on the “One Big, Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill that Republicans just passed through the House of Representatives.
During an interview on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Johnson made it clear he believes the plan falls far short of what’s needed to address America’s ballooning debt crisis.
“The first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit,” Johnson declared. “This actually increases it.”
While the House plan boasts $1.5 trillion in cuts that might sound significant, Johnson pointed out this only amounts to $150 billion per year – a drop in the bucket when compared to the federal government’s $7 trillion in annual spending.
“$150 billion on that is basically a rounding error,” Johnson stated bluntly.
Johnson warns of dire consequences if spending isn’t reined in
The Wisconsin Senator painted a disturbing picture of America’s fiscal trajectory, pointing to how deficit spending has spiraled out of control.
“President Obama averaged about $910 billion of deficits per year. President Trump in his first three years averaged about $810. Then COVID hit, over $3 trillion in deficit,” Johnson explained.
“It should have ended there. We should have immediately returned to a pre-pandemic level spending,” he continued. “But President Biden averaged $1.9 trillion of deficits over his four years. And, according to CBO, these deficits now average $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. We will add $22 trillion in debt.”
While being careful to express his respect for House Speaker Mike Johnson and his support for President Trump’s agenda, the Senator made it clear that the current plan doesn’t come close to addressing the problem.
“I love the way he’s acting boldly and swiftly decisively to fix the enormous messes left by the Biden administration,” Johnson said of Trump. But on the budget, he believes Republicans need to do much more.
Memorial Day message: We owe fiscal responsibility to those who sacrificed
Johnson tied his fiscal concerns to Memorial Day weekend, framing the debt crisis as a betrayal of those who gave their lives for the country.
“This is the weekend we honor the service and sacrifice of the finest among us, the more than a million that died to defend this nation,” Johnson said. “I don’t think they served and sacrifice to leave our children completely mortgaged, their future and their prospects diminished because of it.”
The Senator’s comments reflect his long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility. He reminded viewers that he emerged from the Tea Party movement in 2010 with a clear mission.
“I would shout, this is a fight for freedom. We are mortgaging our children’s future. It’s wrong. It’s immoral. It has to stop,” Johnson recalled. “I haven’t changed.”
Johnson’s alternative: Start from pre-pandemic spending levels
Rather than making modest cuts to the current $7 trillion budget, Johnson advocates for a complete reset to pre-pandemic spending levels.
“You don’t start at $7 trillion, a completely unjustified level spending, and then subject yourself to death by 1,000 cuts,” Johnson explained. “You start with a reasonable pre-pandemic level spending.”
He proposed a budget of $5.5 trillion to $6.5 trillion, based on Clinton, Obama, or Trump-era spending adjusted for population growth and inflation, while leaving Social Security, Medicare, and interest payments untouched.
Johnson also praised the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for exposing wasteful spending.
“If you go line by line, like DOGE has done, you will find hundreds of billions of dollars… of spending if you eliminate — nobody would even notice it, other than the grifters who are sucking down the waste, fraud and abuse,” Johnson stated.
Potential showdown with Trump looms
When pressed by Tapper about President Trump’s apparent lack of concern about the debt and his desire for Republicans to fall in line, Johnson didn’t back down.
“He may not be worried about that. I am extremely worried about that,” Johnson said firmly. “That is my primary goal running for Congress.”
Johnson portrayed the current moment as a critical opportunity to correct America’s fiscal course.
“This is our moment. We have witnessed an unprecedented level of increased spending, 58 percent since 2019, other than World War II. This is our only chance to reset that to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending,” he insisted.
The Senator also criticized the rushed process, suggesting more time is needed to thoroughly examine the budget.
“Part of the problem here is, we have rushed this process. We haven’t taken the time,” Johnson explained. “We have done it the same old way, exempt most programs, take a look at a couple, tweak them a little bit, try and rely on a CBO score.”
When asked how many other Republican senators share his concerns, Johnson confidently stated, “I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit.”
Ron Johnson’s stance sets up a potential clash with Trump and House Republicans as the budget moves to the Senate.
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