Ron Johnson

***VIDEO RELEASE*** Sen. Johnson Holds Hearing on Biden Health Officials’ Failure to Detect COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals

Position: Sen. Johnson contends that FDA officials knowingly failed to adopt advanced data-mining methods to detect COVID-19 vaccine safety signals, instead continuing to use older surveillance systems with known limitations, and that vaccine injuries are being systematically denied rather than studied and made public.

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing titled, "Unmasked: How Biden Health Officials Purposely Turned a Blind Eye Toward COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals." In conjunction with the hearing, the chairman released an interim Majority Staff Report, along with approximately 600 pages of records detailing how beginning in early 2021, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials became aware of a new, "state of the art" data mining method that could better detect statistically significant safety signals for adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. Rather than adopt the "state of the art" method, Biden health officials continued to employ their older data mining method with known limitations that prevented FDA from detecting adverse events. "Peter Marks, with the knowledge that he was treating vaccine injuries, and they weren't mild injuries. These were life-threatening injuries. These are total disability–type of injuries. So, he knew it. He was treating them. He knew that his safety surveillance system was masking these signals .... They were pleading with the officials at FDA, NIH, that knew they were severely injured by the vaccine, counting on them to make that public, to study their results so that others could get treated. To this day, they have not done that," Sen. Johnson said. "We've got a real big problem in this country about vaccine-injury deniers. Again, these vaccine injuries are real, but it's being denied. And you know, Mr. Science himself, accused a lot of people of being science deniers. I'll accuse people of being vaccine-injury deniers," Sen. Johnson continued. "Nobody that pushed these things wants to admit they're wrong. The advice they gave might have resulted in somebody's death or permanent disability. That's what we're faced with. That's why we have this massive vaccine- and injection-injury denying going on in this country. And I can tell you, from my standpoint, I'm not giving up … I'm not caving to the ridicule and vilification," Sen. Johnson concluded. Watch the full video of the hearing here. The interim PSI Majority Staff Report can be found here. The records the senator released contain minimal redactions for personally identifiable information which was one of the categories of redactions requested by HHS. The records are linked below:

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** PSI Chairman Johnson Releases Report; Will Hold Hearing on Biden Health Officials’ Failure to Detect COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals

Position: Senator Johnson contends that Biden administration health officials deliberately failed to adopt advanced data mining methods for detecting COVID-19 vaccine safety signals, instead continuing to use older methods with known limitations.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will hold a hearing entitled, "Unmasked: How Biden Health Officials Purposely Turned a Blind Eye Toward COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals." In conjunction with the hearing, the chairman released an interim Majority Staff Report, along with approximately 600 pages of records detailing how in early 2021, Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") officials became aware of a new, "state of the art" data mining method that could better detect statistically significant safety signals for adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. Rather than adopt the "state of the art" method, Biden health officials continued to employ their older data mining method with known limitations that prevented FDA from detecting adverse events. Key findings from the report include: The hearing will be livestreamed on Sen. Johnson's X account, Rumble, and Subcommittee's website. The interim PSI Majority Staff Report can be found here. The records the chairman is releasing today contain minimal redactions for personally identifiable information which was one of the categories of redactions requested by HHS. The records are linked below:

PSI Chairman Johnson Reveals Further Evidence of Biden Administration Downplaying COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Risk

Position: The release argues that the Biden administration downplayed COVID-19 vaccine safety risks, specifically a detected safety signal for ischemic stroke in older adults, by continuing to promote booster uptake rather than issuing immediate public warnings.

Releases nearly 2,000 pages of Biden HHS records, including communications about COVID-19 vaccine adverse events WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), revealing yet another instance of the Biden administration's failure to take immediate action to warn the public about a serious COVID-19 vaccine adverse event. In the letter, Chairman Johnson described how as early as Nov. 2022, vaccine safety surveillance systems, run by Biden health officials, began detecting statistically significant safety signals for ischemic stroke among individuals age 65 and older following receipt of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent booster. Rather than immediately issue a formal warning to the public, documents show that in Dec. 2022, the Biden White House and HHS pushed to "increase uptake of the booster" for people 65 years and older. The following month, in Jan. 2023, a draft Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "communications plan," which included edits from the Biden White House, appeared to underscore the Biden administration's continued desire to "increase uptake of the booster." Specifically, edits made to the plan downplayed the significance of the safety signal, changing a sentence that stated that the "signal is moderately elevated" to the "signal is slightly elevated." That same month, even as a safety surveillance system continued to detect a statistically significant safety signal for ischemic stroke, Biden health officials posted on FDA's website that "no change is recommended in COVID-19 vaccination practice." However, even though Biden health officials continued to tell the public the vaccine was safe, behind closed doors, they initiated multiple studies and statistical analyses — including a so-called "Stroke Project" — to investigate the validity of their assertion. These investigations continued through at least Sept. 2025. "I am sharing my preliminary findings to provide HHS and the public with even more evidence of the Biden administration's unsupported and unyielding devotion to a harmful vaccine at the expense of the public's health," Chairman Johnson wrote. The letter is part of Chairman Johnson's ongoing investigative efforts to expose the Biden administration's failure to warn the public about the adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. The chairman included in the letter several requests for additional information about the detection of ischemic stroke following the booster noting, "the full extent of HHS's awareness of the ischemic stroke safety signal remains incomplete and key records are still missing." In conjunction with the letter to HHS, which includes preliminary findings, Chairman Johnson released nearly 2,000 pages of relevant HHS records available below. In addition to documents showing the detection of ischemic stroke following receipt of the Pfizer bivalent booster, the records released also contain internal communications between Biden health officials acknowledging significant statistical limitations in their ability to detect safety signals through their data analyses – called empirical Bayesian data mining. Full text of the letter can be found here. Read more about the chairman's letter in The Epoch Times. The relevant HHS records released by Chairman Johnson, which at the request of HHS contain minimal redactions for personally identifiable information, are linked below:

Sen. Johnson for The Wall Street Journal: Move to End the Filibuster Now—Before Democrats Do

Position: Senator Johnson argues that the Senate filibuster rule should be eliminated to enable passage of legislation, citing the Senate's failure to pass appropriations bills on time and the resulting fiscal dysfunction. He proposes a vote on a rule change to end the 60-vote cloture threshold.

WASHINGTON – Today, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) calling for an end to the filibuster to restore effective lawmaking in the U.S. Senate. The senator argued that outdated Senate rules have paralyzed Congress and that eliminating the 60-vote threshold is necessary to pass meaningful legislation. "At a minimum, if the SAVE America Act fails to pass, the Senate should vote on a rule change (requiring 67 votes) to end the filibuster. It would be interesting to see whether Democrats would vote yes when Republicans are in power. Forcing them to defend the rule now could politically shame them into preserving it later: It's the only chance I see of dissuading them from voting yes once they regain power," the senator wrote. The full op-ed can be found here and excerpts are below. "The U.S. Senate is broken. That U.S. federal government debt is approaching $39 trillion is only the most obvious evidence proving this point. Since I entered Congress in 2011, we should have passed 180 appropriations bills before the start of the fiscal year they were funding. We've passed only six on time. That's a 96.7% failure rate. "Owing to that dysfunction, in the past 15 years we've had five shutdowns, relied on 57 continuing resolutions to fund government on an interim basis, and increased or suspended the debt ceiling a dozen times, allowing the federal government to incur an additional $24 trillion in debt. Despite this record of failure, for some inexplicable reason many of my Republican colleagues believe that maintaining the 60-vote threshold required to end a filibuster is crucial to the future of our republic. "I'll admit that the 60-vote cloture threshold has prevented many bad bills from becoming law, and that without it bad bills would become law more easily. But it also prevents good bills from getting passed. "Lawmakers routinely use the cloture vote today to snuff out discussion and thoughtful consideration of proposed amendments to legislation being debated. The result is a charade in which both sides agree to a set number of amendments that will be voted on that are guaranteed to fail, protecting the original text of the legislation from alteration. "Such are the convoluted rules of the Senate. Senators will vociferously defend them by invoking the tradition and uniqueness of the Senate. I don't share their reverence for the institution, nor does most of the public. And it is public opinion that will eventually end the filibuster. "At a minimum, if the SAVE America Act fails to pass, the Senate should immediately debate and vote on a rule change (requiring 67 votes) to end the filibuster. It would be interesting to see whether Democrats would vote yes when Republicans are in power. Forcing them to defend the rule now could politically shame them into preserving it later: It's the only chance I see of dissuading them from voting yes once they regain power."

***MEDIA ADVISORY*** Sen. Johnson to Hold Press Conference: “Duchenne Families Fight to Maintain Access to Existing Treatment”

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will host a press conference in the Senate Swamp alongside patients and families who are losing access to ataluren, a treatment used for years by individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. WHAT: "Duchenne Families Fight to Maintain Access to Existing Treatment" WHO: Senator Ron Johnson, Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients and families WHEN: Tuesday March 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET WATCH: Tune in live on X @SenRonJohnson and Rumble. NOTE: Credentialed media may RSVP to press@ronjohnson.senate.gov to attend.

***VIDEO RELEASE*** Sen. Johnson Reacts to State of the Union on Mornings with Maria

Position: Sen. Johnson praises President Trump's State of the Union address and criticizes Democratic policies on immigration enforcement, economic management, and the Affordable Care Act, arguing that strong Republican leadership is needed to address these issues.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), joined Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria to discuss President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech, the national debt, military spending, government shutdowns, the SAVE America Act, the filibuster, and Republican priorities. The senator praised the President's address, calling it "an inspirational speech celebrating America and its heroes." "I thought the crowning moment really was when President Trump just asked Democrats, would you reaffirm that the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens? And I could not believe Democrats didn't stand for that," Sen. Johnson said. "Democrats create these enormous messes and rather than, you know, lend a hand, and try and help solve these problems, no, they train activists. They encourage their supporters to go and obstruct justice, putting them in harm's way. They get a couple of martyrs, and then they use that with, you know, the backing of the legacy media. So it would be nice if we had Democrats who are willing to acknowledge the fact that their Obamacare is a disaster, that they created this devaluation of the dollar that's making things unaffordable, that they opened the border, but we do not have partners. So that's why it takes very strong leadership and that's what President Trump was providing," Sen. Johnson continued. "I, for one, like a president who's optimistic, who celebrates America and Americans, and that was a very optimistic speech right there. Don't you want a president with a vision to make the country even greater? I mean, this is a great country, 250 years. It can be even better. That's the kind of leadership we want. That's the kind of leadership President Trump is providing," Sen. Johnson concluded.

Sen. Johnson Investigates Fraud in Minnesota, Demands Audit and Inspection Records

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote to Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi requesting records related to oversight failures, fraud detection, and program-integrity controls across 14 Medicaid service categories designated by Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) as "high-risk," as well as Minnesota's child care assistance program. A copy of the letter was sent to Gov. Walz. The letter follows recent public reporting on fraud in Minnesota, including a YouTube video by Nick Shirley that highlighted potentially $111 million in improper payments and fraud at child care centers across Minnesota and raised serious questions about whether existing oversight mechanisms at DHS were sufficient to detect and prevent fraud. "At the very least, routine DHS oversight should have identified obvious program-integrity red flags at child care centers receiving unusually large payments relative to their licensed capacity," Chairman Johnson wrote. In the letter, the chairman enclosed a list of over 70 examples of child care businesses in Minnesota that received over $1 million in annual payments from the state in 2024. He demanded audit and inspection records connected to those entities. "Given the pervasiveness of fraud in your state, it is past time for Minnesota to answer for its apparent failure to safeguard taxpayer dollars," Chairman Johnson stated. Read more about the chairman's letter in the New York Post. The full text of the letter can be found here.

Sen. Johnson Introduces Bill to Permanently Authorize School Choice in D.C.

Position: Senator Johnson introduced legislation to permanently authorize funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for low-income families to attend private schools, as well as funding for D.C. public charter and public schools.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reintroduced legislation to permanently authorize the funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP), D.C. Public Charter Schools, and D.C. Public Schools. Senator Johnson has long championed school choice in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Since the beginning of his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the committee of jurisdiction for the District of Columbia, Senator Johnson led reauthorizations of this vital program for disadvantaged D.C. students. DC OSP provides scholarships for low-income families in the District for their children to attend a private school in the District. DC OSP is a monumental success, demonstrated by students' graduation rates, post-secondary success, parental satisfaction, and the annual demand from District parents. "The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has helped thousands of students from low-income households attain a graduation rate significantly higher than comparable students. The fact that twice as many children apply for the program than can be accommodated shows how important choice in education is for families. Permanently authorizing the program would continue to allow families access to a better future and the ability to choose the best type of education for their children," Sen. Johnson said. "The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has a track record of delivering real results for students, especially those from low-income households," said Sen. Tim Scott. "Permanently authorizing the SOAR Act ensures scholarships through this proven program remain available, protects families' freedom to choose, and keeps opportunity within reach for the students who need it most." Full text of the legislation can be found here.