MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A new report says Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin pushed for a tax break in 2017 resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in deductions to megadonors who funded his campaigns.
The nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica reported Wednesday that Johnson switched from an opponent of the massive Trump tax cut bill to a supporter after getting the more generous tax cuts that resulted in more than $79 million in tax savings for two of his largest donors in 2018 alone.
Democratic Senate candidates running to take on Johnson next year seized on the report, calling him beholden to special interests and corrupt. Johnson defended his moves as having “nothing to do with any donor or discussions with them.”
