U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the media following a speech by the president of the United States, emphasizing bipartisan efforts and outlining legislative priorities for the coming months.
Thune commented on the president’s recent address, stating, “We heard what I think was a very effective and powerful speech last night from the president of the United States.
“I thought it was really, really effective, both in terms of tone and then in terms of substance.
“And I think he highlighted some of the accomplishments that we’ve had working with him – Republican House, Republican Senate, in the majorities – and was able to go through some of the things that we’ve done.
“From securing the border to providing monumental, historic tax relief to the American people and to making sure that our national security interests are met so that we can maintain a safe country.
“And obviously, a lot of his focus was on safer streets, more money in your pocket, and new opportunities to get ahead for working families.
“So, good evening, but obviously a lot more to do.
“And he actually laid out sort of an agenda, which we look forward to working on.”
Thune noted that addressing housing affordability is among their immediate goals. “One of the things that will be immediately on that agenda is a housing bill, which gets at the heart of the affordability issue, particularly for younger Americans. And we’ve got a bill that’s out of the Senate Banking Committee that we hope to get teed up for consideration. We’ll try and get on that this week, or at least set up a vote to get on it next week, and I think … that would be a very substantial issue that we can deal with.”
He also identified energy costs as central to broader affordability concerns: “I also think that, you know, the issue of energy is a big factor in the cost of everything when you’re talking about the affordability issue, and we’ve got some ideas and proposals to deal with that.”
Thune discussed technology policy as another area for possible legislation: “I think technology and innovation is also something, artificial intelligence, I think there’s a path forward perhaps on some legislation to deal with that. We just heard from some folks who are experts in that field.”
He reiterated key Republican priorities: “But there’s just a lot of work to do. And obviously our focus, as I said, is going to be safer streets, more money in people’s pockets, and new opportunities for working families to get ahead. And those are the things in the next few weeks and months that we’ll be focused on.”
Thune called for bipartisan cooperation: “And we would hope, at least, that there would be some Democrats who would be willing to work with us. These are not, you know, partisan issues – nor is the issue of dealing with waste, fraud, and abuse in our government. That’s also something I think that is a real opportunity for us to address, and all of those ought to have bipartisan support.
“These are not partisan issues,” Thune continued. “And I’m hoping that there are some Democrats who want to do what is in the best interest of the American people and get away from kind of what we saw last week, which was essentially sort of two Americas when you observe what was happening in that chamber and the way the Democrats were reacting to what the president had to say.
“Whoever the president is – Democrat or Republican – you ought to have people who want to do what’s in the best interest of the American people,” he concluded. “And I hope there’s still some Democrats around who want to do that.”
As Senate Majority Leader representing South Dakota [source], Thune has prioritized agriculture policy initiatives along with energy policy reforms [source]. He also serves as Senate Republican Whip while holding committee positions including Finance; Agriculture; Nutrition and Forestry; Commerce; Science; and Transportation [source]. In addition to legislative duties focused on economic development [source], Thune engages regularly with constituents through community outreach events supporting veterans [source].
