By Josiah Ryan 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) on Thursday promoted his plan to shrink the federal government by putting a hold on new hiring. 

"I think we need to do a federal hiring freeze, through attrition," Johnson told Channel 12 News, an ABC affiliate station. "You don't have to fire anybody, just don't hire as people retire."

"The way to limit the growth of government is don't add new employees," added Johnson who said he plans to actively pursue the idea when returns to Washington after the August recess.

Johnson, who is among the most conservative members of the Senate, also defended his decision to vote against the debt-ceiling deal earlier this month on grounds that it did not slash enough in spending.

"What I object to about this debt-ceiling agreement, it gave Americans a false sense that Washington was actually fixing the problem," Johnson said. "They're not."

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