U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) appeared with Bret Baier on Fox News on Mar. 17 to discuss several legislative priorities, including election security, the legislative filibuster, Department of Homeland Security funding, and foreign policy.
Thune’s comments come as debates continue in Congress over voting requirements and government funding. The senator represents South Dakota and is involved in community outreach, public events, and support for veterans, according to the official website.
Addressing the SAVE America Act, Thune said, “if you look at the substance of the policy, this is about safe and secure elections in this country and making sure that … we have an election process that is actually with the right people, not … the illegals who are in this country, have an opportunity to vote. We want to make sure that if you’re in this country, you have to be a citizen of this country, actually, to exercise and cast your vote.” He added that requiring citizenship for voter registration and identification at polling places should be law for federal elections.
On the legislative filibuster, Thune said it remains a strong position among Senate Republicans: “On the legislative filibuster right now … it’s a … very deeply held view by a lot of Senate Republicans, that if the Democrats want to go there, if at some point they decide they want to steal the car, fine, but we’re not going to hand them the keys to do it…”
Discussing Department of Homeland Security funding negotiations with Democrats, Thune said reforms had been negotiated but disagreements remain: “The Democrats are defending a position that not only were their reforms in the initial bill…but since then…the White House has negotiated a number of subsequent reforms…” He criticized holding up funding for agencies such as TSA and FEMA.
Regarding President Trump’s foreign policy agenda toward Iran’s nuclear program and regional threats, Thune said: “The president was absolutely right to recognize the threat that Iran’s nuclear program posed…The president’s taking the right steps. This is long overdue.”
Thune serves as Senate Republican Whip and holds committee positions including Finance; Agriculture; Nutrition and Forestry; Commerce; Science; and Transportation according to his official website. He advocates for policies on agriculture, energy and economic development through legislative initiatives according to his official website.
As debates continue over these issues in Congress, Thune reiterated his commitment: “In the end, this is about really having a debate about the substance. And the substance of this bill is whether or not people who are in this country illegally…ought to be able to vote in American elections.”
