Jim Sensenbrenner says Ron Johnson is 'strutting around like a peacock' on tax reform

MADISON – Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner lambasted fellow Republican Sen. Ron Johnson for “strutting around like a peacock” this week for how he has shown his opposition to tax legislation moving through Congress.

“I wasn’t strutting around like a peacock saying that I didn’t like (a provision in the bill),” Sensenbrenner on Thursday told WISN-AM (1130) host Mark Belling.

“You know, there are ways you can fix things with a phone call rather than threatening to bring down the whole house of cards and the Senate proving itself to be a dysfunctional body.”

Belling asked, “Are you suggesting Senator Johnson is strutting around like a peacock?”

“Yes,” said Sensenbrenner, the Menomonee Falls Republican who is the longest-serving member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.

Johnson on Wednesday said he opposed the House and Senate versions of the tax bill because it didn’t do more for certain types of businesses.

On Friday, Johnson told Belling he wasn't trying to raise his profile by announcing his opposition to the bill but saw no other way to get his concerns addressed.

He said he had worked behind the scenes for months on tax issues without success. But once he made it clear he would vote no if changes weren’t made, he started getting calls from the White House and congressional leaders, he said.

"Had I not gone public, it wouldn’t have been fixed," Johnson said. 

Johnson’s stance this week drew national attention and sparked questions about whether Republicans could get tax reform through the Senate. If all Democrats oppose the bill, Republicans can’t lose more than two of their own members. 

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