Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) suggested in an interview on Monday that if Republicans win control of Congress and the White House in 2024, they will work to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — a move they’ve attempted dozens of times without success.
The law is popular throughout the U.S.It is viewed favorably by a majority of Johnson’s constituentsIn Wisconsin. But Johnson’s comments on Monday seemed to imply that Republicans would continue trying to undermine or repeal the law should they regain power in Washington.
During a podcast interview with Breitbart, Johnson said that if Republicans won in 2024, it would allow them to “actually make good on what we established as our priorities.”
“If we were going to repeal and replace Obamacare — I still think we need to fix our health-care system — we need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail,” Johnson said, referencing the last time Republicans took control of both houses of Congress.
For now, Johnson added, the GOP’s goal will be blocking President Joe Biden’s agenda if they win the 2022 midterms later this year.
Johnson, who is known as one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators running for re-election in this year’s midterm races, was immediately criticized for his statement.
“Voters are learning exactly what Republicans will do with a Senate majority, in their own words: raise taxes on seniors and working families, end Medicare and Social Security — and once again try to spike the cost of health care while ripping away coverage protections from Americans with pre-existing conditions,” a statement from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee read.
Later on Monday, Johnson attempted to walk back his statements on repealing the ACA, saying that he was only using the GOP’s 2017 attempt to repeal the law as an “example” of how Republicans failed in the past, and how they should change their strategies in the future.
“I was not suggesting repealing and replacing Obamacare should be one of [the] priorities” for Republicans, he said. “Even when we tried and failed, I consistently said our effort should focus on repairing the damage done by Obamacare and transitioning to a health system that works.”
Although Johnson claimed that criticisms of his original comments were “false attacks” against him, he did not say if he supported keeping the law in place.
Johnson, however, has been a staunch opponent of the ACA and has voted repeatedly to repeal it at nearly every opportunity. Even after Republicans abandoned attempts to repeal the ACA, the Wisconsin senator continued to oppose it. still insisted that the party should continue efforts to scrapThe law.
Johnson has voiced his opposition to popular aspects and the law in general, as well as speaking out against it. He has proposed eliminating restrictions that prevent companies from using pre-existing conditionsAs a pretext for denying patients care,
Johnson is likely to lose his reelection bid despite the fact that many election experts predict huge wins for Republicans this year. A recent Marquette University Law School pollThe results show that only 33% of Wisconsin residents approves of the Republican senator, while 46% disapprove.
It’s likely that much of this disapproval is the result of Johnson’s comments throughout the coronavirus pandemic, as the lawmaker falsely claimed that vaccines were harming athletesAnd peddled unproven treatments for COVIDWhile mocking the prevention methods that actually worked against the virus. Johnson has also reneged on a promise to adhere to self-imposed term limits. Johnson promised voters he would only serve two terms as president, but he announced earlier this month that he would run for a third term.
