Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., arrives for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
The national debt has ballooned to the eye-watering sum of more than $36 trillion, with lawmakers and presidents from both parties presiding over the deficit spending that has led the nation to this point.
Johnson said he's "trying to force reality" upon everyone in the nation's capital, regardless of whether they want to face that reality.
He said for decades the nation has been suffering a "chronic debt crisis," illustrating the dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar by noting that "the dollar you held back in 1998 is now only worth $0.51 cents," while "a dollar you held in … 2019 is only worth $0.80 cents."
The senator referred to inflation as "the silent tax."
But he's certainly not staying silent.
Johnson indicated that the elected leaders are mortgaging the future of American children, but "don't talk about it."
"I'm forcing everybody to look at it," he said, noting that his "primary role" is to force "acknowledgment of our problem."
Johnson isn't necessarily interested in another term in office. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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Johnson, who has served in the Senate since 2011 and won election to a third term in 2022, said he'd prefer not to seek another term in office.
"I don't covet this job," he said, noting that he wants to leverage his post to help save America and aid those who are "ignored by the system."
While he's not ruling out another run, Johnson, who turned 70-years-old earlier this year, said he'd "be happy" to return to Oshkosh and "live a nice, peaceful life."
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-senator-ron-johnson-says-hes-trying-force-reality-dc