Gannett/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson defends pass-through tax provision as Democrats accuse him of doing the bidding of his top donors

In the face of withering criticism, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson pushed back Wednesday at assertions that he forced a tax cut provision through to benefit wealthy Americans, including two of the biggest forces in Republican politics in Wisconsin and nationally.

Johnson was on the defensive Wednesday after ProPublica reported on his efforts to get the so-called pass-through provision included in President Donald Trump’s signature 2017 tax legislation.

ProPublica said that Dick and Liz Uihlein of Pleasant Prairie-based packaging company Uline and Diane Hendricks of Beloit-based ABC Supply “contributed around $20 million to groups backing” the Republican senator’s 2016 reelection campaign. …

Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin called the tax provision “one of the most glaring examples of quid-pro-quo pay-to-play politics I’ve ever seen.”

“The idea a U.S. Senator would stand in the way of a major initiative of his own party on a very specific provision of a complicated tax bill, and the fact it benefited two of his largest donors, I just think is pretty eye-opening,” he said. “My goodness what a great investment for the Uihleins and Diane Hendricks.”