A group of Wisconsin mayors have now publicly shamed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) over his antics regarding the infrastructure bill, suggesting that the Senator’s support in his home state is precarious. The mayors speaking out against Johnson included Superior Mayor Jim Paine, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels, and together, they condemned Johnson for his disregard of the opportunity to advance the interests of Wisconsin residents amid recent infrastructure negotiations in the Senate. Essentially, they argued that Johnson wasn’t doing his job.
Madison, whose mayor was among those speaking out against Johnson, is the capital city of the entire state, lending serious prominence to the criticism of the Trump-allied Senator. Together, the mayors said as follows:
‘With the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the Senate we’re confident we are going to be able to invest in our communities, create good paying jobs, repair and expand our infrastructure, and grow our local economies. The fact that Senator Johnson refused to support this plan without even reading it proves he had no interest in delivering much needed federal infrastructure funding to our state. We implore Senator Johnson to stop playing these self-serving political games with our constituents’ livelihoods and fulfill his duties as Wisconsin’s United States Senator.’
Johnson admitted in a recent interview that he hadn’t actually read the infrastructure bill that was recently passed by the Senate with support from members of both major political parties. The bill includes over half a trillion dollars of federal investment in areas like expanding rural access to broadband internet and safely maintaining roadways and bridges throughout the country. Now, it’s up to the House to pass the legislation, but passing the bill in the House could be relatively easier than the already surpassed hurdle of passing it in the Senate. The reason for this difference is that the House doesn’t have filibuster rules, which in the Senate require the agreement of at least 60 members of the 100-member chamber before moving forward on most bills. With the Senate’s current party breakdown in place, 10 Republicans would need to join with all Democrats to hit that 60-vote threshold.
Johnson is up for re-election next year, although he’s yet to announce whether he’ll run again. In the meantime, the Cook Political Report currently rates his seat as a “toss-up,” and with Biden having won Wisconsin just last year, Johnson’s Senate seat definitely seems like a potential Democratic pick-up.
