Rushmore State News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the Senate on the sixth day of the ongoing government shutdown, attributing responsibility for the impasse to Democratic lawmakers. Thune stated, “We’re now in day six of the Democrats’ government shutdown,” and questioned what Democrats hoped to achieve by continuing the closure.

He suggested that Democrats might be appealing to “far-left interest groups” but doubted that their actions resonated with “everyday, hardworking Americans.” Thune referenced a Reuters report highlighting how the shutdown threatens food assistance programs for low-income Americans, specifically mentioning the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). He noted that while efforts are being made to keep WIC operational, funding is running low and will not be replenished until an agreement is reached.

Thune asserted, “Democrats own this. They own any lapse in funding for critical food aid programs, just as they own every other negative effect of this shutdown.” He emphasized that Republicans had proposed a “clean, nonpartisan funding extension,” which he said was similar to measures previously supported by Democrats during the Biden administration.

To support his position, Thune cited statements from outside observers. The president of the Teamsters union was quoted as saying: “‘A shutdown will hurt working people. Period. … Senators should … pass the House-passed clean, short term funding bill.’” Additionally, Thune referred to a journalist’s assessment: “‘In a vacuum, this CR would get almost every [Democratic] vote. It just would. This is a clean CR that has no partisan riders, extends a bunch of programs that are [Democratic] priorities. … it’s clean.’”

Thune argued that Democratic opposition stems from resistance to President Trump’s election and pressure from their political base: “The reason that they refuse to accept it is that Democrats still cannot get over the fact that the American people elected President Trump.”

He concluded by noting that three Democratic senators had voted with Republicans to reopen the government and called on more Democrats to support passage of what he described as a clean continuing resolution (CR): “And for the sake of the American people, I hope at least a few more Democrats will join us to pass this clean, nonpartisan CR and let the Senate get back to work.”