WASHINGTON − Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, slammed a sweeping bill backed by President Donald Trump that poses major consequences for taxes, Medicaid, food stamps and more – and warned there are enough GOP senators ready to block it.
The bill passed in the House by just one vote on May 22. Now, several Republican senators are sounding the alarm over the legislation’s price tag. It’s expected to add around $3.3 trillion to the nation’s deficit over the next 10 years and swell the federal government’s debt.
Johnson predicted in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the number of Senate dissenters may be enough to tank the proposal.
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“I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about the spending reduction and reducing the deficit,” Johnson said May 25.
Trump has urged Republicans to fall in line behind the bill that makes good on several of his 2024 campaign promises, including a temporary tax break on tips.
Republicans control the upper chamber by a 53-47 margin, but several Senate conservatives aren’t convinced.
“This is our moment,” Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We have witnessed an unprecedented level of increased spending … This is our only chance to reset that to a reasonable pre-pandemic level.”
The Wisconsin senator called for a different approach that tackles the country’s deficit before he could come on board.
And Johnson isn’t the only Republican senator knocking the Trump-backed legislation.
That’s because the bill also includes a $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling, a measure that must be approved in order to prevent a catastrophic default on the country’s debt that could hit sometime in August.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said the raise is a serious hold up for him.
“I still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemic cuts,” he told Fox News Sunday May 25, “if they weren’t going to explode the debt. The problem is, the math doesn’t add up.”
“It’s just, you know, not a serious proposal,” he added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, followed Paul on the Sunday morning show, and when asked by host Shannon Bream about the senator’s criticism, Johnson said he agrees “wholeheartedly.”
“I love his conviction, and I share it,” Johnson said. “The national debt is the greatest threat to our national security, and deficits are a serious problem.”
But, he added, “You don’t turn an aircraft carrier on a dime. It takes a mile of open ocean. And so, it took us decades to get into this situation. This is a big step to begin to turn that aircraft carrier.”
Contributing: Riley Beggin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republican senators slam Trump tax bill, say they could ‘stop’ it
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