EXCLUSIVE — Jake Johnson, a Democrat fighting to oust a Republican incumbent in a red-leaning district, plans on opposing increasing the debt ceiling and aiming to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, while vowing not to cut Medicare and Social Security, according to a policy platform first shared with the Washington Examiner.
Johnson outlined his “plan to stop the runaway national debt,” as he fights an uphill battle against Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) for a seat rated “Likely Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The Minnesota Democrat is pushing for a balanced budget amendment and is homing in on the popular Republican idea of “rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“This national debt problem that we have is core to the affordability argument, and so it really feels like it’s time to start taking this seriously in a way that politicians from both parties haven’t,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner.
Johnson’s more conservative policy positions might be necessary in a district that went to President Donald Trump by 12 points in 2024. Survey results show that 61% of voters support the Trump administration’s efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. The same poll shows 45% of Democrats support the initiative, with 86% of Republicans supporting it.
As part of his rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse initiative, Johnson has proposed consolidating unused workspace in government agencies, as well as restoring inspectors general who were fired by the Department of Government Efficiency.
“I think it needs to be done, first of all, in a bipartisan way,” Johnson said of DOGE cuts, which were generally popular among Republican voters.
“You should be leaning on institutional knowledge, and so that’s what I think was a missed opportunity within DOGE was just in how it was implemented,” he continued.
Johnson said DOGE was “correct” in “identifying the government is inefficient,” but said the approach was “reckless.”
Another approach Johnson outlined was modernizing the government’s technology to reduce spending on contracts.
While reining in government spending has long been an issue associated with the Republican Party, Johnson believes both parties have neglected the issue.
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“This is one of those places where I think the Republican Party can get back to some of its roots, where it used to be, a party that understood being fiscally responsible,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner. “Dwight Eisenhower was a president who commissioned, you know, a Hoover Commission and balanced the budget, and he did it in a responsible way, and it would be nice to see the Republican Party get back to that. And honestly, I look forward to working with folks who see this as the crisis that it is.”
Johnson is a high school math teacher who has leaned into his background as he campaigns to flip the Republican seat, which stretches across southern Minnesota. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added it to one of its “districts in play.”