President Trump secured a major victory last week with the House's passage of the "Big, Beautiful Bill," but one Republican senator is threatening to torpedo the whole thing.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R) is drumming up opposition to Trump's sprawling package of tax cuts, citing increased deficits. Another fair-weather Trump ally, Rand Paul (R-KY), is voicing objections as well, calling the spending cuts "wimpy and anemic."

GOP senator slams Trump's bill

Republicans are moving the bill through budget reconciliation, which is a wonky process that requires only a simple majority in the Senate. With 53 Republicans in the chamber, Trump can afford only a few defections and still get the bill passed.

“I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit,” Johnson warned in an interview with CNN's State of the Union.

According to Johnson, this is a do-or-die moment to cut back federal spending, but he also claimed the cuts he wants to make would somehow not be felt by the American people.

“This is our moment. We have witnessed an unprecedented level of increased spending, 58% since 2019, other than World War II. This is our only chance to reset that to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending,” Johnson said. “Again, I think you can do it, and the spending that we would eliminate, people wouldn’t even notice.”

Passed House

The "Big, Beautiful Bill" passed the House with only two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, voting no, and one, Andy Harris, of Maryland, voting "present."

The bill renews Trump's first-term tax cuts, secures his promised tax cuts on tip income and overtime pay, and funds billions of dollars for his mass deportations.

While the Senate is expected to make changes, Johnson is one of the only senators talking about sinking the bill completely in its current form.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has set a goal of July 4 to have the bill passed.

Trump agenda at risk

After some intense and tricky negotiating, the House agreed on a compromise between deficit hawks who demanded deeper Medicaid cuts, and moderate Republicans who pushed for higher state and local tax breaks for their high-income residents.

Trump has slammed "grandstanders" who held up the bill in the House, and Trump could do the same to Senators who endanger his second-term plans.

The reforms packaged into the Big, Beautiful Bill are popular. The bill is crucial to delivering on Trump's promised immigration crackdown and broad tax relief. At the very least, if the 2017 tax cuts are not extended, the average American is going to end up paying more to the government.

While Johnson's concerns are understandable, this may be a matter of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. Trump's bill may be imperfect, but if it does not get through, the GOP's fragile hold on Congress will be placed in jeopardy - and the historic opportunity of Trump's second term could be squandered.