Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has been put on the defensive in his bid to win reelection after he said that Social Security and Medicare should be classified as discretionary spending, with Congress authorized to set their budgets every year, The Hill reported on Tuesday.
Johnson, a staunch Senate ally of former President Donald Trump, has been well ahead in his race for reelection in a favorable political climate for the GOP, which expects to take control of the House and possibly the Senate.
But now Johnson is on the defensive as Democrats push the narrative that he wants to cut the two popular entitlement programs.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said Johnson has stepped on a political land mine, emphasizing that "these are the programs that have taken several generations of seniors out of poverty."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attempted to connect Johnson's remarks to House Republican candidates by stating on her office blog that "putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every year is no way to help working families — it is a way to devastate them. Unfortunately, most House Republicans agree with Sen. Johnson."
Wisconsin-based Democrat strategist Ben Nuckels told The Hill that "Ron Johnson never misses an opportunity to stick his foot in his mouth. Johnson opened up this big new line of attack on his radical, extreme positions on Social Security that voters 55 and over are going to be acutely aware of."
Nuckels insisted that campaign attacks focused on Johnson's remarks about Social Security and Medicare are going to resonate with older voters, who are more likely to show up to the polls more reliably for the midterms.
A Senate Republican strategist agreed that Johnson's comments on Social Security and Medicare are "not good from a campaign perspective," but insisted to The Hill that he still has a good chance of winning reelection because President Joe Biden's approval rating has fallen dramatically in Wisconsin and his Democrat opponent, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, is "a weak candidate."
However, other Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from Johnson's remarks, with Senate Republican Whip John Thune, S.D., saying he did not know of any other Republicans who want to make Social Security and Medicare discretionary spending.
Johnson however, is doubling down on his position, arguing that if Social Security and Medicare are left on autopilot, they will run out of money at some point, adding that he has been calling for making the two programs discretionary, subject to an annual budget for years, according to The Hill.
"I've been saying for as long as I've been here that we should transfer everything, put everything on budget so we have to consider it every year. I've said that consistently, it's nothing new," he said. "I want to save it, I want to fix it. Right now we're whistling past the graveyard."
But Johnson also made clear that it's a "lie" and a "distortion" that he wants to put the programs on the "chopping block" as Democrats claim.
"I never said that, I never inferred that in any way shape or form. What I'd like to do is save the programs, and the only way to save the programs is if you take a look at them," he said.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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