Milwaukee City Wire

Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, posted a series of statements on his X (formerly Twitter) account on October 6 and 7, 2025. The tweets addressed surveillance concerns involving U.S. Senators and outlined his response to the ongoing government shutdown.

On October 6, Johnson alleged that he and other Republican senators were subject to surveillance by federal agencies. He wrote, "I was just briefed by @FBIDDBongino that the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept obtained call logs from eight U.S. Senators — including myself. We were surveilled simply for being Republicans. This does not surprise me, but it should shock every American. What the Biden Administration has https://t.co/hv6cJpxlSl".

Earlier that day, Johnson had shared a link without further comment: https://t.co/xzhAVL7JEc (October 6).

On October 7, Johnson discussed his salary during the government shutdown: "Since the U.S. Constitution requires that I receive pay, even during a shutdown, I’ll be donating my paychecks to The Joseph Project. Every day the shutdown continues, the check gets a little bigger – compliments of Chuck Schumer."

Senator Johnson has served as Wisconsin's senator since first winning election in 2010 against Russ Feingold with 51.9% of the vote compared to Feingold’s 47%. He won re-election in 2016 against Feingold again with a margin of 50.2% to 46.8%, and secured another term in 2022 by defeating Mandela Barnes with 50.4% of the vote to Barnes' 49.4%.

The claims regarding surveillance referenced by Senator Johnson come amid broader national debates about oversight and accountability within federal law enforcement agencies.