GOP senator who blasted megabill confronted by CNN's Jake Tapper over major flip
Jake Tapper confronted a prominent Republican senator during his show, "The Lead," on Monday afternoon after the lawmaker appeared to make a significant flip-flop on President Donald Trump's megabill.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Tapper that he now supports passing President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act," even though the legislation would increase deficit spending by between $2.4 trillion and $5 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
About a month before Johnson appeared on Tapper's show, the senator said Trump's signature piece of legislation was "far off the mark" and that there was "no amount of pressure" that could make him support it.
"I want to see [Trump] succeed. But again, my loyalty is to the American people, to my kids and grandkids. We cannot continue to mortgage their future," Johnson told ABC News at the time.
The Senate has worked on the bill for a couple of weeks, which appeared to Tapper to be enough time for Johnson to change his mind.
"Has your position changed?" Tapper asked Johnson.
Johnson offered a lengthy rebuttal, where he blamed Democrats for not undoing Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cut corporate taxes and tax rates for wealthy families.
"All Democrats do is spend," Johnson said.
Tapper then questioned why Republicans are spending so much time wrangling over the bill, given that the party controls the House, Senate, and White House.
"What we're trying to do is prevent an automatic $4 trillion tax increase on every American," Johnson said.