'You have to be honest': MAGA senator slams Trump’s massive bill to far-right radio hosts

19 May

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Despite having Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress, President Donald Trump may not get to sign his so-called "big, beautiful bill" due to opposition from within his own party.

During a Monday interview with conservative radio hosts Buck Sexton and Clay Travis (who are considered the direct successors of far-right talk radio pioneer Rush Limbaugh), Sen. Ron Johnson didn't hold back in expressing his opposition to the bill in its current form. Johnson — who has previously called for the bill to be broken up into multiple pieces of legislation – told Sexton and Travis that he felt the bill was fiscally irresponsible.

"If you really look at it and look at the numbers ... we will actually increase the deficit over the next 10 years, going from right now $37 trillion in debt, CBO [Congressional Budget office] says we'll be at $59 [trillion], my guess would be that we'll probably increase that by about $4 trillion with the big new deal, the big beautiful bill," Johnson said. "That puts us at $62 trillion or $63 trillion."

"Again, you have to be honest," he continued. "And by the way, I know Buck, at the end of the show, he asked me this last time, 'what are you going to cut?' It's impossible to say. Medicaid, you absolutely have to go after that. But what you need is a process."

The Wisconsin Republican has already said he doesn't support the bill because he views its current proposed budget cuts as insufficient. He told WBUR last week that he wants to see federal spending be cut from approximately $7 trillion to roughly $5.5 trillion. And he likened the current funding mechanism for Medicaid (the program that provides health insurance for low-income and disabled Americans) to "states stealing from the federal government."

Trump's bill is currently still being debated among House Republicans, which are split among factions who want deeper cuts to both Medicaid and federal agencies across the board, and Republicans who come from swing districts where constituents are more sensitive about the prospect of gutting Medicaid to pay for the bill's hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to have three GOP defections if he hopes to pass the bill, assuming all Democrats vote no.

Listen to the audio of Johnson's remarks below, or by clicking this link.

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