Sen. Johnson predicts he has enough Senate allies to hold up the "big, beautiful bill"
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Sen. Ron Johnson talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on May 22. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a fiscal hawk who has openly criticized House Republicans' reconciliation bill, predicted Sunday that there are enough in his flock to stop the process "until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit."
The big picture: Pushing President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" through the House was far from a painless process, but the fiscal package now heads to the Senate, where the chamber is likely to make changes.
- Johnson, who has not held back in his criticism of the bill championed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), characterized the GOP-only legislation as "the Titanic" at a Politico event this month.
- Ron Johnson wants deeper cuts and has repeatedly called for a return to pre-pandemic spending levels.
Driving the news: "This is the weekend we honor the service and sacrifice of the finest among us," Ron Johnson said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, referencing the Memorial Day holiday. He added: "I don't think they served in sacrifice to leave our children completely mortgaged."
- He called for his fellow lawmakers to be "responsible," contending the "first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit."
- As he noted, the legislation — which aims to extend Trump's first-term tax cuts, among other priorities — would do the opposite.
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates an increase in the deficit of $3.8 trillion for the 2026–2034 period.
The other side: House Speaker Johnson, also appearing on CNN on Sunday to defend the bill, said such estimates are "dramatically overstated," arguing that the CBO does not do "dynamic scoring" and does not account for the growth he says will be fostered by the bill.
- Asked about Ron Johnson's contention that the bill "will almost certainly add to our deficits and debt," the Louisiana Republican pointed to the wide range of opinion in his caucus and said, "We're doing the best we can with the vote numbers that we have."
- Two House Republicans joined Democrats in voting "no" Thursday, while one voted present.
Yes, but: Ron Johnson said he agrees with independent deficit projections that show an increase of up to $4 trillion.
- "You don't defeat the deep state by funding it," he said and added that the process for passing the bill — to hit Mike Johnson's Memorial Day goal — has been "rushed."
- Mike Johnson told CNN's Jake Tapper the House was trying to get the work done on "a very aggressive timetable."
What we're watching: Asked how many of his fellow GOP senators he thinks share his concerns and would be willing to make major changes to the bill, Ron Johnson said, "We have enough to stop the process."
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) echoed his Senate colleague's criticism, saying on "Fox News Sunday" that the spending cuts included in the House bill "are wimpy and anemic."
- He continued that he "still would support the bill even with wimpy and anemic cuts if they weren't going to explode the debt."
- Other senators, like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), have expressed concerns about changes to Medicaid proposed in the bill.
Go deeper: GOP and Dems agree: "Big, beautiful bill" key to 2026 midterms
