Ron Johnson slams Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' says president can't 'pressure' him like House

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson on Thursday pushed back on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that passed the House of Representatives earlier in the day, stating the president cannot "pressure" him the way he did with House Republicans.

The sprawling package passed the lower chamber in a narrow 215-214 vote, which came after two House Republicans voted against the bill and several missed the vote. 

The legislation was only passed after House GOP leaders made deals to satisfy Republican holdouts in blue states and in the House Freedom Caucus. The moves included speeding up the new Medicaid work requirements from January 2029 to December 2026, and raising the deduction cap for state and local taxes.

Johnson blasted his fellow party members in a comment to reporters at the Capitol, stating that the lower chamber "set the bar way too low" in their plans to generate savings.

“They just kept talking about $1.5 trillion. They set the bar way too low,” he said. “The goal of the House effort has been to pass one big, beautiful bill. It’s rhetoric. It’s false advertising. The goal should have been reduce average annual deficits, so we have to focus on spending."

The legislation will now go to the Senate, which is hoping to pass its version by July 4, but it is expected to include a lot of changes. 

Johnson said he would not cave to pressure from the White House or Trump, because he is working for his constituents and not the president. The senator is considered a fiscal hawk, and is focused on trimming the U.S. deficit.

“In the House, President Trump can threaten a primary, and those guys want to keep their seats. I understand the pressure. Can’t pressure me that way," he insisted. “I ran in 2010 because we were mortgaging our children’s future. It’s wrong.

“We were $14 trillion in debt, now we’re $37 [trillion],” he continued. “Have you been watching what the bond markets are doing in relation to the one big, beautiful bill? They’re not thinking it’s a very big, beautiful bill.”

Annual deficits are expected to stay well above a trillion dollars, meaning the national debt will likely exceed $40 trillion by the time Trump's second term as president ends. 

The legislation also comes as Congress stares down a summer deadline to increase the amount of money the U.S. can borrow from foreign countries. That deadline is expected to fall in mid-July. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.