Sen. Ron Johnson Shares How He Thinks American Manufacturing Will Boost US Economy

Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson shared how he thinks American manufacturing will boost jobs and consumer trust in the economy Thursday during a Daily Caller Live event, presented by the American Beverage Association.

Johnson, alongside Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist and American Beverage Association President and CEO Kevin Keane, told the Caller how the Trump administration is boosting American jobs and manufacturing. The Wisconsin senator also laid out how manufacturing plays a crucial part in bettering the American economy.

“It’s a vital role. You have to make things. There’s no doubt about it. Again, I’m an unabashed free trader. And again, when you don’t have enough workers, I see no value in trying to attract high labor content products back to the U.S.,” Johnson told the Caller. “Now you want to diversify your supply chain, and that’s part of the problem, is so much of the supply chain is focused out of China’s and that ends up being at risk. So you need to divert. Any business knows this.”

“You diversify your supply chain, but we do need, as I said, strategic products made here,” he continued. “I think it’s easy to incentivize that. But you have to make things. But in America, we ought to be doing high value added manufacturing, as much as possible.”

🚨 Daily Caller White House correspondent @reaganreese_: “What role does American manufacturing play in strengthening both jobs and consumer trust in the American economy?”@RonJohnsonWI: “You have to MAKE things…. We need strategic products made here… In America, we ought… pic.twitter.com/SKqjNP8oPE

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 24, 2025

The panelists discussed barriers to growing American manufacturing and jobs within the country. Keane pointed to taxes and regulations.

“Those are all big impediments to whether you have the resources, the confidence to invest in capital to grow your business,” Keane told the Caller. 

Johnson and Norquist also explained what metrics and points Americans can consider to know whether manufacturing and American-made policies are working for them. The senator told the Caller that Americans should look at the size of the government as the number one indicator.

“From my standpoint, the biggest metric is how big the government is. In 1930, the federal government was 3.5% of our economy, 3.5%, now… it’s approaching 24%, almost a quarter … the federal government. State and local governments add another 15%, they don’t do anything productive,” Johnson said. “They just create that friction, that really doesn’t allow Americans to utilize their freedom to dream, aspire and build and create.”

Norquist followed up Johnson’s points, adding what other equations Americans can look for.

“Government is spending plus regulatory costs,” Norquist concluded. “Sometimes, when it gets too obvious on spending and taxes, they call it a regulation and it’s not supposed to count.”