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Biography

Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and 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. Johnson defeated Feingold in a rematch in 2016, and defeated Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes in 2022. Before entering politics, he was chief executive officer of a plastics manufacturer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Johnson entered politics to oppose the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and credits the Tea Party movement with his political ascent, though he does not personally identify with the movement. As a freshman senator, he gained a reputation for opposing government spending and seeking a balanced budget, having stalled or voted against budget proposals from both major parties for not offsetting spending. He is also critical of the Social Security program and has called for its partial privatization. Johnson has promoted various political conspiracy theories, including the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory, connections between vaccines and autism, election denial, the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, and 9/11 conspiracy theories. He advocates the use of alternative medicine and sponsored a right-to-try law to legalize the use of experimental medical treatments. Johnson also supports stronger measures against crime and illegal immigration, expansion of free trade, rejection of the scientific consensus on climate change, and protection of the right to bear arms. Starting in his second term, Johnson aligned himself with Donald Trump. As chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, he led investigations into Hillary Clinton, Hunter Biden, and officials involved in the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign. Johnson also worked on Ukraine–United States relations during his second term and saw Ukraine as an ally against Russia, but stopped supporting military aid for Ukraine after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 because he believed a Russian victory was inevitable. Due to his interactions with Ukrainian officials, Johnson was a major witness in the 2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal and the subsequent impeachment of Donald Trump, which he said was an attempt to sabotage Trump. In his third term, Johnson has focused on investigating corruption in federal agencies, which he alleges are working against the Trump administration.

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