Fact Check
The senator has wanted to reform Social Security for years, but there was no proof he originated this quote.
Published Aug. 21, 2026
Claim:
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., once said, "Senior citizens have misused Social Security and that's why I want it to sunset."
A rumor that a United States senator made a comment about his desire to end Social Security due to seniors misusing it circulated online in August 2026.
Users on social media and Reddit claimed Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., once said, "Senior citizens have misused Social Security and that's why I want it to sunset."
The purported quote was shared along with an image that featured Johnson, a sunset and additional text that read, "How does that sit with you, seniors?"
The widespread nature of the claim led some Snopes readers to reach out via email and ask for authentication of the quote.
While our research found plenty of examples of Johnson critiquing the Social Security program throughout his political career, no evidence emerged that Johnson ever publicly said, "Senior citizens have misused Social Security."
Searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo returned no relevant results from credible media outlets about such a quote, which would have been widely reported if Johnson had truly said it in a public session. Snopes reached out to Johnson for comment and will update this article if we hear back.
A reverse image Google search only found results featuring other social media users sharing the same image. A reverse image search on TinEye revealed the earliest known use of the image in October 2022 as part a Tumblr page titled "Liberal Effects."
We also reviewed the video and transcripts of recent Senate sessions attended by Johnson in which Social Security was discussed and found no instance in which Johnson uttered the phrase shared in the claim.
In addition, a search of Johnson's social media pages on X and Instagram revealed no such comment.
Johnson's history of trying to reform Social Security is well documented. He has publicly called the program a "Ponzi scheme" and accused it of overpayment and widespread fraud.
In August 2022, outlets reported on Johnson's appearance on the conservative "The Regular Joe Show" radio show in which he suggested Social Security be reclassified as discretionary spending so it would be subject to review by Congress during the budgeting process each year.
Previously reported by Snopes, Johnson's full quote from "The Regular Joe Show" was:
Defense spending has always been discretionary. VA spending is discretionary. What's mandatory are things like Social Security and Medicare. If you qualify for the entitlement you just get it no matter what the cost. And our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, of our federal spending, is all mandatory spending. It's on automatic pilot. It never ... you just don't do proper oversight. You don't get in there and fix the programs going bankrupt. It's just on automatic pilot.
What we ought to be doing is we ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so that it's all evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken that are going to be going bankrupt.
Responding to criticisms following reports of this interview and assertions that he wanted to defund Social Security, Medicare and Veterans Affairs, Johnson posted to X in September 2022:
Democrats may have broken a record for the number of lies told about me in one day.
I want to save Social Security, Medicare and Veterans benefits.
The greatest threat to these programs is the massive, out-of-control deficit spending enacted by Biden and Dems in congress.
They can't defend the disastrous and destructive results of their failed policies, so all they have are false attacks, character assassination and the politics of personal destruction.
The American people suffer because of it.
Sources
C-SPAN. "Senate Budget Committee Examines Social Security Solvency." C-SPAN.Org, C-SPAN, 25 Mar. 2026, https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/senate-budget-committee-examines-social-security-solvency/676234. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
---. "Stakeholders Testify on Medicaid and Health Care Costs." C-SPAN.Org, C-SPAN, 4 Aug. 2026, https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/stakeholders-testify-on-medicaid-and-health-care-costs/683669. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
---. "Stakeholders Testify on Social Security Solvency." C-SPAN.Org, C-SPAN, 5 Aug. 2026, https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/stakeholders-testify-on-social-security-solvency/683716. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
"Chairmen Rick Scott and Ron Johnson Pen Letter to Social Security Administration on Steps to Stop Fraud and Protect Benefits for Aging Americans | United States Senate Special Committee on Aging." Senate.Gov, Senate Committee On Aging, 8 Apr. 2025, https://www.aging.senate.gov/press-releases/chairmen-rick-scott-and-ron-johnson-pen-letter-to-social-security-administration-on-steps-to-stop-fraud-and-protect-benefits-for-aging-americans. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
"Congressional Chronicle - Members of Congress, Hearings and More | C-SPAN.Org | C-SPAN.Org." C-Span.Org, 2026, https://www.c-span.org/congress/?chamber=senate&date=2024-12-18. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
"ContentKeeper." Tumblr.Com, 2026, https://liberaleffects.tumblr.com/post/698410562514829312/the-gop-keep-trying-different-excuses-to-end. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Forbes Breaking News. "Ron Johnson Leads Senate Budget Committee Hearing on Social Security." YouTube, 25 Mar. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5NSCCpl_YA. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
---. "'We Need to Agree on Common Facts': Ron Johnson Demands Congress Fix Deficit Before SS Insolvency." YouTube, 7 Aug. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk9dJGl5VwM. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Glauber, Bill. "Ron Johnson Calls for Subjecting Medicare and Social Security to Annual Budget Talks." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2022.
Heartland Signal. "Ron Johnson Argues for Eliminating Entitlements." YouTube, 3 Aug. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrfFtz9HI98. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
"In Their Words: Republicans Want to Gut Your Social Security." SenateDems, The Senate Democratic Caucus, 14 Aug. 2026, https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-their-words-republicans-want-to-gut-your-social-security. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Kasprak, Alex. "Did These GOP Politicians Propose or Endorse 'Sunsetting' Social Security and Medicare?" Snopes, Snopes.com, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/02/09/gop-sunsetting-social-security-medicare/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
migrator. "US Sen. Ron Johnson Stands by Medicare, Social Security Remarks After Being Called out by President Joe Biden." WPR, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.wpr.org/politics/us-sen-ron-johnson-stands-medicare-social-security-remarks-after-being-called-out-president-joe. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
"Sen. Johnson Suggests Ending Medicare, Social Security as Mandatory Spending Programs." Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/03/ron-johnson-medicare-social-security/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
smw. "Chairmen Ron Johnson and Rick Scott Write to Social Security Administration on Steps to Stop Fraud and Protect Benefits for Aging Americans." U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, 8 Apr. 2025, https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/2025/04/08/2025-4-chairmen-ron-johnson-and-rick-scott-write-to-social-security-administration-on-steps-to-stop-fraud-and-protect-benefits-for-aging-americans/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Swales, Vanessa. "Ron Johnson Again Calls Social Security a Ponzi Scheme." PolitiFact, 5 May 2023, https://politifact.com/factchecks/2023/may/05/ron-johnson/sen-ron-johnson-again-says-social-security-is-a-po/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
Vakil, Keya. "'Completely out of Touch': Ron Johnson's Threats to Social Security and Medicare Put Wisconsin Seniors in Jeopardy." UpNorthNewsWI, Up North News, 14 Sept. 2022, https://upnorthnewswi.com/news/politics/ron-johnsons-social-security-medicare-wisconsin-seniors-jeopardy/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.
By Joey Esposito
Joey Esposito has written for a variety of entertainment publications. He's into music, video games ... and birds.
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