‘Don’t Insult Us!’ GOP Senator Pleads With Trump to Dial Down Rhetoric — As He Slams ‘Grotesque’ and ‘Immoral’ Budget Bill

A GOP senator who has been a target of White House criticism over his opposition to the budget bill is urging President Donald Trump’s administration to dial down the rhetoric as they try to hammer out an agreement.

Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) — a vocal critic of the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful” budget legislation — insisted that he will not bow to pressure to change his mind.

“The president and senate leadership has to understand that we’re serious,” Johnson said. “They all say, ‘Oh, we can pressure these guys.’ No, you can’t. … We’re serious about this. They need to take us seriously. Don’t insult us! Work with us!”

During a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “blatantly wrong” for opposing the bill.

But on CNBC Wednesday, Johnson made clear he hasn’t wavered in his view that the bill would explode the national debt.

“This is immoral what us old farts are doing to our young people,” Johnson said. “This is grotesque what we’re doing. We need to own up to that. This is our moment. I can’t accept this scenario. I can’t accept it, so I won’t vote for it unless we are serious about fixing it.”

Johnson advocated for the bill to be split into two to make it more palatable — with the first part focused on urgent expenditures, and the second part focused on DOGE-inspired longer-term cuts.

“They can’t dispute the numbers,” Johnson said. “Again, we didn’t talk about numbers in the House process. If the White House just comes and starts insulting us, I’m sorry, I got the numbers to back myself up.”

Watch above, via CNBC.