Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), one of half a dozen holdouts, will vote for the Senate Republican tax package after securing more favorable treatment for “pass-through” entities that pay taxes through the returns of individual owner, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The senators to watch now: Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Bob Corker (R-TN) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) “watched angrily last fall as his fellow Republicans gave up on his reelection campaign, convinced he was doomed and that their dollars and hours would be better spent elsewhere. A year later, Johnson is still in the Senate but also a key holdout vote in the Republican effort to overhaul the tax code — and those political calculations, along with the ill will they bred, are coming back to haunt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow heads of the GOP,” the Washington Post reports.
“Johnson surprised party leaders this month when he said he would vote against the Senate version of the GOP tax plan, saying it favors corporations over other businesses. To vote for the bill, he is asking for a large-scale restructuring that could add more than $100 billion in benefits for certain businesses.”
“Republican leaders, who probably can afford to lose a maximum of only two GOP votes if they hope to move their measure through the Senate, are working to win over Johnson with a mixture of cajoling and concessions. But as the leaders negotiate, they’re working with a senator who feels little obligation to repay any party favors.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told the Wall Street Journal that the Republican tax plan benefits corporations more than any other kind of business, and for that reason he is opposed to the bill.
Said Johnson: “If they can pass it without me, let them. I’m not going to vote for this tax package.”
Axios: “Unless they get Democrats on board, Republicans can only afford to lose two GOP votes. This is one.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told a group of high school students “that they don’t have a right to health care, food and shelter,” WISN reports.
Said Johnson: “I think it’s probably more of a privilege.”
He added: “Do you consider food a right? Do you consider clothing a right? Do you consider shelter a right? What we have as rights is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Past that point, we have the right to freedom. Past that point is a limited resource that we have to use our opportunities given to us to afford those things.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said that he thinks that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) brain tumor and the early morning hours may have affected the Arizona Republican’s no vote on the Senate bill to repeal Obamacare, CNN reports.
Said Johnson: “I’m not gonna speak for John McCain — he has a brain tumor right now — that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in.”
He quickly added: “Again, I-I-I don’t know exactly what — we really thought — and again I don’t want speak for any senator. I really thought he was going to vote yes to send that to conference at 10:30 at night. By about 1, 1:30, he voted no. So you have talk to John in terms what was on his mind.”
“I see what leadership is trying to do. They’re trying to jam this thing through.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, asking for more time to deliberate on the GOP health care bill.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told the Beloit Daily News that he believed Hillary Clinton could be impeached if she becomes president.
In referring to a statute on concealing official records, Johnson said: “She purposefully circumvented it. This was willful concealment and destruction. I would say yes, high crime or misdemeanor. I believe she is in violation of both laws.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told the Wisconsin State Journal that Donald Trump needs time to adjust to the world of politics.
Said Johnson: “You’ve got a new nominee who in many respects is fleshing out his ideas in many of these pretty complex policy areas. I’m sympathetic with that as a business person. We need to give them the time and space and continue to have those conversations.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) mistakenly called Gov. Nikki Haley (R) an “immigrant” even though she was born in South Carolina, Politico reports.
Said Johnson: “Let’s face it: No two people agree on everything. And Governor Haley is an immigrant. She has powerful stories of being an immigrant and experiencing discrimination herself.”
“It’s unbelievable to me that liberals, that President Obama, of course he sends his children to private school, as did Al Gore, and Bill Clinton and every other celebrated liberal. They just don’t want to let those idiot inner city kids that they purport to be so supportive of… they don’t want to give them the same opportunity their own kids have. It’s disgraceful.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), quoted by the Washington Post.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Wisconsin shows Russ Feingold (D) with a clear lead over Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in a hypothetical rematch of their 2010 contest, 50% to 41%.
“To most Democratic and Republican leaders in Wisconsin, it’s no longer a question of if Russ Feingold runs for Senate—it’s a question of when he’ll formally enter the race,” National Journal reports.
“If Feingold’s departure is imminent, that comes as no surprise in Wisconsin, where political insiders have believed for months that Feingold would return to take on GOP Sen. Ron Johnson next year in a repeat of their 2010 matchup.”
“I’ll always tell Wisconsinites the truth, to the best of my ability, and I’ll never vote my reelection mind. I’m not afraid to justify my votes. I generally have a pretty good rationale for voting the way I do.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), quoted by The Hill.