MILWAUKEE — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said the return of mask and vaccine mandates is "alarming."

Speaking to Moms for Liberty ahead of the Republican presidential debate, Johnson described the mandates as ineffective and promised to continue fighting them.

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"It's alarming that the mandates are kicking in again," he said. "It's like, OK, we noticed masks didn't work, particularly for children. We always knew they didn't work for kids."

Morris Brown College in Atlanta has reinstated a mask mandate, while Rutgers University in New Jersey continues to enforce both a vaccine mandate and a mask mandate nearly four years after the first COVID-19 case emerged in China.

"Masks might have some marginal impact. We can't deny that fact," Johnson said. "N-95 masks can have some marginal benefits — but not to deny people freedom."

Johnson was always highly suspicious of the federal vaccine mandate and has advocated for those who have suffered an injury from the COVID-19 vaccines. He has attributed those positions to helping him win reelection last year.

The Wisconsin senator has also called on the Biden administration to admit its pandemic policies were a failure.

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Though he praised the work of doctors at the individual level, Johnson said the pharmaceutical industry has run rampant across much of society.

"This is the capture of our not only our federal health agencies but also media, both social media and mainstream media, by Big Pharma," he said.