Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has angrily denied that he ever threatened the Social Safety program — despite the fact that he has.
Johnson, a faithful Trump ally who's trailing within the polls within the upcoming midterms, final month proposed that funding for Social Safety (and Medicare) be determined 12 months by 12 months as a part of “discretionary” spending applications. That may topic funding to a doubtlessly fierce partisan political battle yearly, jeopardizing a predictable earnings for some 69 million Individuals — most of whom have paid into this system their total working lives.
Johnson insisted Sunday on “Fox & Buddies” that claims he’s out to intestine Social Safety are a “lie.”
“All of the Democrats can do is lie about me,” mentioned the testy senator. “Probably the most outrageous lie they’re telling about me proper now could be that I wish to minimize or finish Social Safety ... what elected official would ever wish to minimize Social Safety? It's absurd on its face. I wish to save Social Safety.”
Johnson warns in his marketing campaign web site that Social Safety advantages could need to be “minimize” with out sufficient cash to assist this system. But Johnson enthusiastically voted through the Trump administration to slash company taxes 40%, sucking an estimated $2.3 trillion out of the American Treasury over 10 years.
Ben Nuckels, a Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist, mentioned Johnson had stepped on the “third rail” of American politics by threatening the steadiness of Social Safety and Medicare funding.
“Ron Johnson by no means misses a possibility to stay his foot in his mouth,” Nuckels advised The Hill. “Johnson opened up this massive new line of assault together with his radical, excessive positions on Social Safety that voters 55 and over are going to be conscious about. When you might have 60 to 65% of the voters above the age of fifty, that’s going to be an enormous drawback for him,” he mentioned.
The Social Safety subject shouldn't be the one one Johnson is now making an attempt to dodge.
He’s additionally ducking his try to ship a slate of faux electors to former Vice President Mike Pence to overthrow the 2020 presidential election. Now he insists he was solely concerned for “seconds,” and that he actually had no thought what was happening.
“I had nearly no involvement,” the senator advised a reporter final month. “Actually, my involvement lasted seconds, OK?”
Johnson by no means had the chance to show over the names of the faux electors as a result of Pence’s chief of employees mentioned they wouldn’t be accepted.
One of many faux electors is on Johnson’s marketing campaign payroll. The Division of Justice is at present investigating faux electors in Wisconsin and 6 different states and their plot to overthrow the selection of voters, in accordance with Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Home Jan. 6 fee.
Johnson at present seems to be probably the most weak of Republican senators within the midterm elections. The 11-year Senate veteran is trailing Democratic opponent Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes by a slim margin, in accordance with current polls, in one more instance that excessive Trump loyalty won't repay within the basic election.
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