According to Punchbowl, Sen. Ron Johnson just announced he won’t support the reconciliation bill being written by House Republicans. He says there have to be $5 trillion in cuts to get his vote. And forget about the July 4th deadline. For perspective, the House Freedom Caucus was demanding either $1.5 or $2 trillion.
This is part of what we mean when we say that public opinion matters. If Trump were at 55% support or even 50% there is zero chance Johnson would be doing this. But they see him as currently weak and on the rocks. So someone like Johnson is happy to say, “You’re weak. So I’ll come forward and inflate my cred with hard right-wingers at your expense.”
