Northeast South Dakota News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the media following a Senate vote that resulted in a government shutdown. Thune criticized Senate Democrats for their decision, stating that they opposed what he described as a "clean, nonpartisan funding bill."

Thune said, "The Democrat caucus here in town, in the Senate, has chosen to shut down the government over a clean, nonpartisan funding bill." He emphasized that Republicans did not include any new policies or partisan additions to the proposed legislation. "We didn’t ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies. We didn’t add partisan riders. We simply asked Democrats to extend existing funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started," Thune explained.

According to Thune, Democratic opposition was influenced by certain groups and members within their party who sought confrontation with the president. "Why? Because far-left interest groups and far-left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president. And so Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats’ partisan interests," he said.

He also referenced advocacy organizations and expressed concern for those affected by the shutdown: "I hope it will be some comfort for Americans dealing with shuttered government services to know that MoveOn.org and other far-left organizations are happy with this vote."

Thune called on Democratic senators to reconsider their stance: "Democrats may have chosen to shut down the government tonight, but we can reopen it tomorrow. All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to pass the clean, nonpartisan funding bill that’s in front of us."

He concluded by urging lawmakers to resume bipartisan efforts and fulfill their responsibilities. "And I hope – I really hope – that some of them will join us to reopen the government, resume bipartisan appropriations work, and get back to the business of the American people," Thune stated.

Reflecting on public opinion and recent commentary about media coverage, Thune remarked: "Great irony in this discussion tonight that the Democrat leader was characterizing The New York Times as a biased poll, but I think it’s where the majority of the American people are. They don’t want all the side shows. They don’t want hostage-taking. They want their elected representatives to get down and do the work that they sent us here to do, and part of that is getting this appropriations process back on track – something that we should have done a long time ago."