Johnson pushes back on Paul’s objections to ‘big, beautiful bill’

Over the last week, the “big, beautiful bill” has been hogging all the headlines, and for good reason.

Speaker Johnson (R-LA) barely managed to get the bill through the House, and now it is being shredded in the Senate. Johnson, however, is now firing back.

It won’t pass

Ever since the bill was presented, Senator Johnson (R-WI) has stated that he did not like the format of the bill and he would not pass it if it came to the Senate.

Now that it has passed the House, Johnson is doubling down, saying there is no way this bill will make it out of the Senate in its current form.

Senator Johnson is against several aspects of the bill, but he is particularly targeting the changes in Medicaid because he knows this is a death sentence for Republicans with the attacks that Democrats have planned.

I honestly think most Republicans like the idea behind the work requirements, but this is a huge change that may need some time to settle in, and Dems will focus on this to flip the House. Of that, I have no doubt.

Paul pushes back

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has also been making noise about the bill, and while he is willing to talk, the debt ceiling is a major concern for him.

He stated, "If you increase the debt ceiling $4 to $5 trillion, that means they're planning on $2 trillion this year and more than $2 trillion next year. That's just not conservative.

He continued, adding, "Somebody has to stand up and yell, 'The emperor has no clothes.'"

"Everybody is falling in lockstep on this—'Pass the big, beautiful bill. Don't question anything.' Well, conservatives do need to stand up and have their voices heard.”

Johnson Pushing Back

Speaker Johnson is coming directly at Senator Paul, stating, "It sounds like his biggest objection is the fact that we are extending the debt ceiling. That's a critically important thing to do. We have to do it. We're not going to get any Democrats to assist on that.

"So to get it through the Senate and make sure we don't crash the U.S. economy and default on our debts for the first time in history, it has to be part of the reconciliation package. And that's why President Trump and all the other Republicans in Congress, House and Senate understand the necessity of this.”

Trump has already chimed in, telling the Senate to make the changes they want, but I am sure he is hoping the changes are minimal, as is Johnson, who stated, “I had lunch with my Senate Republican colleagues on Tuesday, their weekly luncheon, and I encouraged them to remember that we are one team. It’s the Senate and the House Republicans together that will deliver this ball over the goal line, so to speak. And I encouraged them to make as few modifications as possible, remembering that I have a very delicate balance.”

I know Speaker Johnson wants to give Trump everything he wants, but he cannot do so at the peril of the party in the 2026 and 2028 elections, and the bill, as is, would do that. I have outlined the parts of the bill I would not support, and as it is, if I were in the Senate, I would not support it without addressing those issues. We need to pass this bill, but the bill also needs to deliver on fiscal promises made.