Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin walked back his proposal to replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth for federal employees, claiming now that he does “not support efforts to erase” America’s history. Instead, Johnson said he was attempting to save taxpayers’ money and avoid putting the country “further in debt.”
After receiving criticism from conservatives, Johnson proposed a new amendment to his proposal that would decrease “paid leave” for federal employees in order to offset the costs of an additional federal holiday.
Last week, Johnson and fellow Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma put out a proposal as an amendment to legislation introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), which would make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
In introducing their amendment, Johnson and Lankford said they want to support emancipation with a federal holiday and believed the federal government “should eliminate a current holiday in exchange.”
“We chose Columbus Day as a holiday that is lightly celebrated, and least disruptive to Americans’ schedules,” said Johnson last week. He noted that the cost of just one federal holiday is an estimated $600 million in paid time off for federal employees.
The pair withdrew their amendment due to criticism, instead proposing a modified amendment to “achieve the same goal” of protecting taxpayers “from the fiscal burden of having to fund an 11th paid holiday for federal employees.”
“Although the substitute amendment I offered to the Juneteenth holiday bill had the desired effect of slowing down the passage of a new paid day off for federal workers, many were not happy with the proposal to swap a holiday celebrating the emancipation with Columbus Day,” Johnson said in a statement.
He continued:
Let me reiterate: I suggested Columbus Day for the swap because few Americans in the private sector get it as a paid holiday, and as a result, it is lightly celebrated, and would not be disruptive to most Americans’ schedules.
I was in no way deprecating Christopher Columbus’ achievements or expressing any value judgment regarding his place in history.
Johnson added, “I do not support efforts to erase America’s rich history — not the good, the bad or the ugly.”
The original amendment was intended to “start a discussion,” Johnson maintained, asserting that his new proposal would eliminate the number of “paid leave” days for federal employees as a way to “offset” the tax burden of the new Juneteenth federal holiday.
“Instead of eliminating a current holiday to make room for Juneteenth Day, I will be proposing to reduce the number of paid leave days federal employees receive, to offset the cost of the new holiday celebrating emancipation,” Johnson explained. “This modification both preserves Columbus Day and the dollars of hard-working taxpayers.”
Juneteenth first became a state holiday in Texas in 1980. It commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that word arrived to blacks in Texas that Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. Former slaves celebrated the news that slavery had been abolished when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston.
Though many Americans have never even heard of Juneteenth, there has been a push to make it a federal holiday in recent days in response to the nationwide riots that began after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody on May 25.
Johnson’s proposal to replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth got on the wrong side of many conservatives, who have repeatedly witnessed the Left target Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer often known as the man who “discovered” the Americas. Leftists have often attacked Columbus and Columbus Day for what some historians say was his mistreatment of native peoples.
One movement, for example, is to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day.” And on Tuesday morning, a statue of Columbus titled “Columbus’ Last Appeal to Queen Isabella” was removed from the rotunda at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
It’s part of the larger movement against traditional Western and Christian culture that has gained traction following the George Floyd incident. In a matter of months, the Left in America has come to demand the removal of many national heritage symbols, from statues of Founding Fathers to Mount Rushmore.
In some cases, state and local governments have taken down monuments deemed offensive. In other cases, vandals have simply toppled statues, sometimes with no action taken on the part of law enforcement.
Photo: AP Images
Luis Miguel is a marketer and writer whose journalistic endeavors shed light on the Deep State, the immigration crisis, and the enemies of freedom. Follow his exploits on Facebook, Twitter, Bitchute, and at luisantoniomiguel.com.