Sen. Ron Johnson on the shutdown, health care costs and a third term for Trump

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

News

4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pressure on lawmakers to end the 29-day government shutdown is mounting, and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin joins us to discuss where the shutdown stands and what his party expects from Democrats to reopen the government.

And, Hurricane Melissa left more than 500,000 people in Jamaica without power. David Rose, reporter for The Jamaica Observer, details the latest rescue and recovery efforts.

Then, as climate change reshapes the Blue Ridge Mountains, the iconic brook trout is in decline. Grist and Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter Katie Myers explains whether the native Appalachian trout can survive in a warmer world.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for this podcast comes from Is Business Broken, a podcast from BU's Mayrotra Institute
0:06.2	that explores questions like, why are executives paid so much? Do they deserve it? Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
0:16.0	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:21.4	On November 1st, people in more than 30 states are going to be aghast when they see their
0:28.0	bills, and they're going to cry out.
0:30.5	And I believe there will be increased pressure on Republicans to negotiate with us.
0:36.3	Pressure grows on lawmakers to end the government shutdown as food benefits are set to stop
0:42.4	and health care premiums are expected to rise.
1:00.7	It's Wednesday, October 29th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBWR Boston.
1:02.2	I'm Shiko Theuli.
1:08.9	Today on the show, we get the latest from Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.
1:14.6	We are a great country, and despite our challenges, we rise to the Caucasian. And can Appalachia's native trout endure a warming world?
1:18.6	These waves of successive deforestation that we saw from the timber industry in Western North Carolina
1:23.6	heard that habitat already.
1:25.6	And now with climate change, these streams are warming.
1:32.4	But first, two looming events may be pushing lawmakers to sit down and negotiate an end to the government shutdown.
1:40.5	On Saturday, food benefits will be cut off. It's also the day open enrollment begins, and people who get their health care through the Affordable Care Act will see huge premium increases as they shop for new plans. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer thinks those two things will bring Republicans to the table. Well, what does a Republican think?
2:01.9	Scott Tong gets perspective from Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Of course, there's a real easy way
2:07.8	to reopen the government, and that would be just to vote for the House passed continuing
2:11.4	a resolution that's pretty well modeled on what Democrats passed 13 times during the Biden
2:16.9	administration at President Biden's
2:18.8	levels. So it's not like Republicans in the House came in with a continuing resolution that
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.