‘Still Not Comfortable’: Senate Fiscal Hawks Try to Make Sense of Their Reconciliation Votes

“I’m not happy with all the things we threw in,” Sen. Ron Johnson said.

Senate Appropriations
Sen. Ron Johnson speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

In the weeks leading up to the Senate’s reconciliation vote, congressional reporters were all looking for a quote from the same Republican senator.

At least, it seemed that way when dozens of journalists regularly flocked to Sen. Ron Johnson in the Senate basement, tripping over themselves to position the business end of their recorders toward Johnson’s mouth.

Most had variations of the same question: Will you vote for Donald Trump’s legislative agenda? Is the $3.9 trillion price tag too much for you to swallow?