{"id":1483,"date":"2026-06-12T07:37:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T07:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1483"},"modified":"2026-06-12T07:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T07:37:48","slug":"republicans-wince-as-speaker-johnson-grabs-the-third-rail-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1483","title":{"rendered":"Republicans wince as Speaker Johnson grabs the third rail: report"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson may push a reform on a key issue that will put them even further on the bad side of the American public.<\/p>\n

Read more Whistleblower warns a devastating bubble is about to pop Trump\u2019s rotten economy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMike Johnson did something very out of character Monday,\u201d wrote The Bulwark’s Joe Perticone on Thursday. \u201cNormally coy in public, the speaker of the House openly admitted to a radio interviewer that if Republicans retain their majority heading into next year, they are planning to flatten their palms against the hottest stove in politics \u2014 and he broadcast this just months before an election in which many forecasters are already projecting a Democratic wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perticone then quoted Johnson saying, \u201cThe reason we\u2019re in trouble is because over seventy-four percent of federal spending is on autopilot \u2014 mandatory spending, that is your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and things like Social Security \u2014 they have to be adjusted and fixed. We have a plan to do that next year, and it\u2019s critical, because we\u2019re at $40 trillion-plus in debt. At some point, you get into a hole so deep you can\u2019t climb out of it, so desperate times call for desperate measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Democrats are overwhelmingly speaking out against any possible cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, Perticone observed that it is more notable that even some of Johnson\u2019s fellow Republicans are worried that the MAGA approach of cutting all social welfare programs might hurt Trump if he touches this issue.<\/p>\n

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) went on record saying \u201cDidn\u2019t somebody say that last Congress?\u201d although he added \u201cwe\u2019ve got to protect these programs, and if we don\u2019t protect the programs, we\u2019re just kicking the can down the road. I know the speaker is a good guy; he wants to get things done. I know it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Senate Republican was even harsher in his assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I hear that, that sounds like to me\u2014that sounds like wealthy people who wanna have all of their tax breaks and loopholes and carried interest deductions and so forth,\u201d Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Perticone.. \u201cBut they want working people who\u2019ve paid into all of these programs to take less. So I can\u2019t say I like the sound of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump to make America\u2019s birthday about one hideous thing<\/a><\/p>\n

He added, sarcastically, \u201cI mean, \u2018saved,\u2019 sure. But \u2018addressed\u2019? \u2018Reformed\u2019? That\u2019s usually code for \u2018cut.\u2019\u201d Also significantly Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who is running in a competitive race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), refused to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnson may be correct in the abstract about the need to address Social Security in some form,\u201d Perticone wrote. \u201cBut his reformist position is wildly out of step with public opinion, and even the opinion of some of his most important battleground incumbents. Regardless of who controls Congress next year, lawmakers are likely going to have to at least broach dealing with Social Security\u2019s looming insolvency. The decision about which path to take is ultimately up to a handful of swing votes in swing states.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking with AlterNet in May, former Social Security Commissioner Martin O\u2019Malley similarly disputed the ongoing conservative claim that Social Security is heading toward insolvency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t true \u2014 but it is often repeated,\u201d O\u2019Malley explained. \u201cSocial Security is a pay as you go program. It is not funded by deficit spending. It is more akin to an insurance company. People’s premiums and benefits are paid out from those premiums. Even the surplus \u2014 which because of income inequality is being depleted sooner (2032) than thought in 1983, even that was built up by payroll tax, not borrowed money. \u201c<\/p>\n

On the other hand, he added that \u201can utter devaluation of the dollar \u2014 which Trump is causing and risking in so many reckless and self-serving ways (bitcoin), would be really bad for everything in the US including Soc Sec.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Steve Schmidt details the \u2018real danger\u2019 that grips Trump\u2019s America<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson may push a reform on a key issue that will put them even further on the bad side of the American public.\u201cMike Johnson did something very out of character Monday,\u201d wrote The Bulwark’s Joe Perticone on Thursday. \u201cNormally coy in public, the speaker…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRepublicans wince as Speaker Johnson grabs the third rail: report - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1483\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republicans wince as Speaker Johnson grabs the third rail: report - 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