The One Big Beautiful Bill Act must be revamped, and getting the measure to President Donald Trump's desk by July 4 "won't happen," Sen. Ron Johnson said Wednesday.
"The sooner President Trump recognizes the reality of the situation, the sooner we can work on a smaller version of the bill, do the things that have to be done: extend current tax law, increase the debt ceiling, provide border funding," the Wisconsin Republican told reporters, as reported by The Hill.
Also on Wednesday in an interview with CNBC, Johnson called on the House and the White House to work with Senate Republicans toward a smaller bill.
"I ran in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement. We were mortgaging our children's future. We were $14 trillion in debt then. Now, we're over $37 trillion," he said.
"We're serious about this. They need to take us seriously. Don't insult us. Work with us. Lay out the numbers. If you can say that our numbers are wrong, fine, let's work through it.
"If I'm wrong, prove that I'm wrong. But let's do it with respect, but mainly respect for our children and grandchildren," Johnson continued.
"This is immoral what us old farts are doing to our young people. This is grotesque what we're doing. We need to own up to that.
"This is our moment. I can't accept this scenario, so I won't vote for it unless we're serious about fixing it," he said.
When asked on CNBC if voting no on the bill was a "long shot," Johnson said there were "enough" senators to block it, adding that opponents of the bill want to see Trump "succeed."
"But again, my loyalty is to our kids and grandkids. We're mortgaging their future.
"So there's enough of us who have that attitude that, very respectfully, we just have to say, 'Mr. President, I'm sorry, one big, beautiful bill was not the best idea.'"
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the legislation would increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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