Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, known for his contentious approach within the Senate GOP, is now pushing for significant spending cuts as part of the party’s domestic policy bill. Johnson has been a vocal fiscal hawk, demanding that his fellow Republicans deliver substantial reductions in federal spending. He is threatening to block President Trump’s top legislative priority if his demands for trillions of dollars in cuts are not met.
The megabill, which is moving through the House, is facing internal GOP tensions over the scale of spending cuts. Johnson is insisting on returning the federal government to pre-pandemic spending levels, which would require more than $6 trillion in reductions. This demand is far beyond the current estimates of the House GOP, which are struggling to meet even the $1.5 trillion in cuts. Johnson’s history of pushing for specific provisions in past legislation has given him leverage, but his current demands could complicate the GOP’s ability to secure a party-line vote on the megabill.
Johnson’s hardball tactics have previously paid off for Republicans. In 2017, he successfully pushed for a new 20 percent deduction rate for pass-through business income, an estimated $414 billion line item in the $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Now, with key TCJA provisions expiring, his demand for roughly 10 times the fiscal impact has put pressure on his colleagues to take his concerns seriously. While some lawmakers are hesitant to support his approach, others recognize the need to address the growing fiscal challenges facing the nation.
Johnson has also suggested a potential compromise, proposing that lawmakers enshrine a chunk of the overall cuts in the pending GOP bill while setting up a bicameral commission to find the rest by going