‘President Trump And Elon Musk Showed Us How To Do It’: Ron Johnson Wants Forensic Budget Review On Excess Spending

Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson appeared on Newsmax Tuesday to call for a forensic review of federal spending to curb waste and inefficiency.

During an appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Johnson outlined his concerns about the current trajectory of U.S. government expenditures, saying that without a detailed examination of each program, the country risks continuing unsustainable spending habits. When asked about the difficulty in reducing federal spending, Johnson pointed to the examples set by President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk.

“The beauty is President Trump and Elon Musk showed us how to do it. Contract by contract, line by line, program by program. You realize there’s over 2,600 programs in the federal government, over 2,000 lines of budget,” Johnson told host Rob Schmitt. “If you look at that forensically, if you do the work, there’s got to be hundreds of billions of dollars. If you don’t spend it, nobody would even know other than the grifters who are sucking down that.”

Johnson’s argument revolves around the increase in federal spending over the past several years. He pointed out that in 2019, the U.S. government spent $4.4 trillion, but this year the government is set to spend more than $7 trillion.  (RELATED: ‘Important And Heroic Thing’: Mike Johnson Defends Medicaid Reforms In ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill)

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“What is inarguable is we had an unprecedented level of spending over the last six years. 2019, we spent $4.4 trillion. This year we’ll spend over $7 trillion. That’s a 58% increase. Again, it’s unprecedented,” Johnson added. “We went from President Trump in his first three years averaging about $810 billion in deficit spending, then, of course, COVID, $3.1 trillion deficit, but we should have returned to at least less than a trillion dollars. Biden averaged $1.9 trillion in deficits, and that’s locked in now.”

Conservative fiscal hawks in the Senate warn that President Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” may fail in the upper chamber unless the GOP agrees to deeper spending cuts. With a critical four-week window to pass the president’s tax and spending proposal by a July 4 deadline, deficit-minded Senate Republicans are urging GOP leadership to secure more substantial spending reductions than the $1.6 trillion agreed upon by House Republicans.

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced his opposition to the House-drafted bill due to its provision of a $4 trillion debt ceiling increase. Trump criticized Paul in a Truth Social post, claiming the senator would “play right into the hands of Democrats” and warned that a “first time ever” default on the national debt could occur if Paul votes “no” on the bill.

Johnson, who has hinted at not seeking reelection in 2028, has voiced stronger opposition to the bill than his colleagues, emphasizing what he said is the need to alter the country’s fiscal course.

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