Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson
Official portrait, 2021
United States Senator
from Wisconsin
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Serving with Tammy Baldwin
Preceded byRuss Feingold
Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 2015 – February 3, 2021
Preceded byTom Carper
Succeeded byGary Peters
Personal details
Born
Ronald Harold Johnson

(1955-04-08) April 8, 1955 (age 69)
Mankato, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Jane Curler
(m. 1977)
Children3
EducationUniversity of Minnesota (BS)
WebsiteSenate website

Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold. He was reelected in 2016, defeating Feingold in a rematch, and in 2022, narrowly defeating Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.

Born in Mankato, Minnesota, Johnson attended high school in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, and received a degree from the University of Minnesota. Before entering politics, he was chief executive officer of a polyester and plastics manufacturer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, founded by his brother-in-law.[1]

A staunch ally of President Donald Trump, Johnson voted for Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, supported Trump's decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), launched investigations into his political opponents and promoted false claims of fraud in relation to Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. He has rejected the scientific consensus on climate change. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson voted for the CARES Act, resisted stay at home orders, used his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to invite witnesses who promoted fringe theories about COVID-19 and spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. He has also suggested Social Security and Medicare spending be subject to an annual congressional vote.

  1. ^ Beck, Molly (May 6, 2019). "'Last man standing': Ron Johnson is left to lead Wisconsin GOP while contemplating future". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 26, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2020.

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