01.30.25

Thune Joins Guy Benson on Fox News Radio

“[W]e’re going to push the envelope as far as we can… we saw the Democrats do that in the last couple of years when they had unified control of the government, they passed expansive legislation.”

January 30, 2025

Click here to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined Guy Benson on Fox News Radio.

On the tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C.:

“[I]t was a tragic accident. And on a day like today, all you can do is pray for those who were on the plane and their loved ones, as well as the first responders who have worked through the night in frigid waters searching for survivors. And so my wife Kimberley and I are keeping all those in our prayers, and we’ve been in touch with the relevant agencies. Obviously, we need to figure out how and why it happened, and then make sure it never happens again.”

[…]

“[W]e will get a readout, and there will be a full investigation, FAA, NTSB, there already have been some preliminary readouts from that. And we’re… collecting and getting more information about it. But you know, obviously, if there are things that need to be fixed or changed that Congress is responsible for taking action on, we’ll certainly do that. This is something that we just absolutely have to prevent from ever happening again in the future. And but we, until the investigation is complete, won’t know fully what the facts were and what the contributing factors were, but soon as we know that, there will be a plan of action and, you know, whoever needs to be involved with that will be… it’s something that we can never have happen again.”

On confirming President Trump’s nominees:

“[T]hey’re each receiving a fair process in the Senate. And I will say that all of them seem to be doing very well at their hearings. And I think in the personal meetings that have been held as well, that there has been, you know, pretty good readouts from our members. I mean… without handicapping it, I think these noms have a path to getting across the finish line, but it is a process. And what I’ve assured them along the way is that they would have a fair process, an opportunity to make their case and to answer the hard questions, which inevitably are going to come.”

[…]

“But they can make it hard. I mean, they can force these nominations to drag out, particularly at the cabinet level, those are 30 hours on the floor. You’ve got to have two votes, a cloture vote to proceed to it, and then ultimately a vote on finally confirming that person. And for whatever reason… the Democrats have dug in on some of these, and certainly some that are very well qualified. I mean, John Ratcliffe last week, they stalled on, they drug it out. He, you know, was up for CIA, came out of the committee 14-3, highly qualified, obviously, and with big bipartisan support, and they decided to block it on the floor. So we’ve been pushing, we drove through the weekend.”

On budget reconciliation:

“[T]he numbers that I always tell people you have to keep in mind are 218 and 51. And what we do in the Senate, obviously, is shaped by what ultimately can pass in the House. And so we’ve been trying to work closely, coordinate with Speaker Johnson and his team about what's achievable, what’s doable. And, you know, they have slightly different views about how to get to the finish line. We all have the same destination in sight, and now it’s just a function of, you know, how best to get there. But… I was the advocate, initial advocate, for the two-bill strategy, and I still think that makes a lot of sense, but I’m also realistic enough to know that it’s going to be whatever can get 218 in the House. And so we’re very, you know, cognizant of the speaker… what his views are on this, and what they think they can pass there, and then whatever can get 51 in the Senate. At the end of the day, those are the numbers that really matter.”

[…]

“[T]he Senate was created uniquely, differently from the House by the Founders to be the place where it requires deliberation and bipartisanship, which is why, on most things, it takes 60 votes in the Senate, which I think a lot of people, you know, most Americans, they think, ‘Well, 51, you can do anything.’ In the Senate, you can’t. It takes 60 with one exception, and that’s budget reconciliation, which you have as a tool available to you when you have unified control of the government – House, Senate, and White House. So… this is a rare and unique opportunity to accomplish parts of our agenda with 51 votes. But that, too, is tempered by, you know, the restrictions that are applied to that particular procedure.

“And the parliamentarian in the Senate is essentially the referee, calls the balls and the strikes about what you can and can’t do with respect to this process. So as we think through it and work through it, it’s always a back-and-forth and a conversation with the parliamentarian… we’re going to push the envelope as far as we can… we saw the Democrats do that in the last couple of years when they had unified control of the government, they passed expansive legislation.”