The enormous cost of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill chock-full with a historic number of tax cuts is exposing divides among conservatives. While some want to deliver the largest tax break for Americans in history, others are fearful of what it means for the nation’s long-term fiscal health.
Count among the latter U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a Tea Party-era Trump supporter who on Sunday publicly split with the president over the largesse written into a version of the bill passed by House Republicans last week. After initially hearing that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s total cost would not exceed $1.5 trillion, Johnson said he was dismayed to see Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) get behind a $4 trillion-plus proposal.
“I have nothing but support for what President Trump is trying to do,” Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “But from my point, this is a budget reconciliation process, so we ought to talk about numbers.”
Trump’s signature domestic legislation now sits with Senate Republicans where Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has conceded that substantial edits may be made. He will be expected to try and accomplish the same balancing act that Speaker Johnson succeeded at — boosting tax cuts to pacify moderates while promising faster, deeper spending cuts to keep fiscal hardliners on board.
Sen. Johnson, who rode into office on a wave of resentment about the growing national debt, starkly warned Tapper about the size and scope of spending in Trump’s bill.
“One of my disappointments with the House process is, the only number we ever heard about was $1.5 trillion, which sounds like a lot, but it’s only $150 billion per year,” he explained. “And this is put in context that in 2019 we spent $4.4 trillion. This year we’ll spend over $7 trillion — $150 billion on that is basically a rounding error… We have to reduce the deficit, so we have to focus on spending, spending, spending.”
The Wisconsin Republican followed up on those concerns with another on social media.
“I pledged to do everything I can to stop mortgaging our children’s future, and I fully intend to make sure we are looking at the most relevant numbers in the Senate budget debate,” he wrote.
What Johnson may not have accounted for was a fierce backlash by grassroots MAGA disciples online.
“The fact that ‘all hearings, no action’ Ron Johnson is on CNN tells you it’s all one party, and they are all frauds,” medical podcaster Jane Ruby commented.
Others pointed to President Trump’s establishment of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency as evidence that he has been serious about attempting to rein in wasteful spending while redirecting those savings back to the American people.
“President Trump wouldn’t have started DOGE if he wasn’t concerned about the [national] debt,” another wrote while a third added, “Make the DOGE cuts permanent! Absolutely disgraceful that Republicans have managed to discourage Elon Musk in only 4 months.”
“Pass the bill with Trump’s agenda. Cut the pork if you want. But pass the agenda with the tax cuts NOW,” a fourth said.
