Rushmore State News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) appeared on Fox News Radio with Guy Benson to discuss recent political developments, including the ongoing government funding negotiations and concerns about federal agency oversight.

Thune criticized Democratic lawmakers for opposing a continuing resolution he described as "clean" and without partisan priorities. He said, "[Democrats are] voting against a clean, nonpartisan, … continuing resolution that has no policy riders, no … partisan priorities for Republicans. It’s simply a funding resolution. And in lieu of that, they have offered up this gargantuan … counter proposal … that has … $1.5 trillion in new spending, … [and] free health care for noncitizens."

He also questioned the direction of the Democratic Party: "It is … hard to figure out where [Democrats] are. They’re in search of an identity. They don’t really have a leader. And as a consequence, it’s the tail wagging the dog."

Addressing potential consequences of a government shutdown, Thune pointed to external influences on Democratic lawmakers: "It’s all these outside left-wing groups and personalities in the state of New York who seem to be influencing the behavior of [Democrats] who ought to know better. And so I’m hoping eventually that the adults will come back and we’ll be able to keep the government funded and avoid all the adverse consequences that come with a shutdown, but at least at the moment, they seem really dug in."

Thune attributed Democrats' actions to opposition toward President Biden: "It is purely and simply their absolute hatred for the president and … desire to fight him on everything that he’s trying to get done, even if it includes taking a hostage like the federal government."

On another topic during his interview, Thune expressed concern over reports about FBI surveillance targeting Republican senators during President Biden's administration: "That revelation, in and of itself, ought to send chills up every American’s spine, because that is an egregious violation of American liberty, privacy, and I just think that we have to do everything necessary to get to the bottom of it and to hold people accountable. There’s just no two ways around it … you don’t find many times in American history where something like that’s been done, if ever, and we … can’t let this go. We have to make sure that there is accountability."

He emphasized congressional involvement in investigating these allegations: “Congress needs to be involved. There were … eight United States senators who were among those … on whom they were snooping. And I think that the Senate Judiciary Committee obviously is … the forefront of that, the tip of the spear, if you will … There ought to be oversight of any relevant committee of the Congress that has any sort of jurisdiction over the agency or the way in which it was done … there’s probably some Commerce Committee jurisdiction there because of the way that they used telecom devices, … including securing from Verizon, for example, these records.

“Those are all things that just violate so many laws and I think there needs to be the necessary oversight, to include not just the Justice Department, but the Congress as well.”