Northeast South Dakota News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed reporters at a bicameral press conference in Washington, D.C., alongside other Republican leaders, regarding the first day of a government shutdown. Thune criticized Senate Democrats for what he described as their role in causing the shutdown.

During his remarks, Thune thanked House colleagues for sending a clean continuing resolution to the Senate. He stated: “Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker and our House colleagues, for doing the work. You sent us a clean continuing resolution.”

Thune placed responsibility for the shutdown on Democratic leadership, saying: “Unfortunately, we are here this morning in a government shutdown that Democrats wanted. Chuck Schumer, at the behest of a bunch of liberal, far-left activist groups, has walked his Democrat colleagues into a boxed canyon. There’s no way out, folks, there’s no way out. This could have been avoided. It’s totally [avoidable]. And everybody is now asking the question, how does this end?”

He outlined that the solution is for Senate Democrats to approve the House-passed bill: “Well, it ends when the Senate Democrats pick this bill up, passed by the House of Representatives, and vote for it. It’s on the floor of the Senate. We’re going to vote later this morning on this, 24 pages. Does this look partisan? Does this look dirty to you? Twenty-four pages to fund the government. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.”

Thune referenced previous instances where similar measures were adopted: “This is something, as the speaker noted, that 13 times in the past Senate Democrats have done when they were in the majority and Joe Biden was in the White House.”

He emphasized bipartisan support for ending the shutdown: “The president, House Republicans, Senate Republicans – we’re all united on this. And what’s interesting now is some of the Democrats are joining us. Our vote last night was a bipartisan vote. There were three Democrats that came over and voted with us because they know this strategy is a losing one, and it hurts the American people.”

Thune concluded by calling for an end to political divisions and urging action to reopen government services: “It’s not about who wins or who loses or who gets blamed in all this. It’s about the American people. And they have taken the American people hostage in a way that they think benefits them politically, but at the consequence and the cost of what’s going to happen to the American families if this government shutdown continues.

“And so I’m glad to be here with our … Republican colleagues.

“Our Democrat colleagues in the House have been around here the last few days, I guess, flailing around, celebrating – celebrating – the fact that they voted to shut down the government.

“How ironic.

“This can all end today, folks.

“It needs to end today.

“We will continue to work together with our House counterparts, with the president of the United States, to get this government open again on behalf of the American people.”