Majority Leader | Press Release | Press Releases | THE NE...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMPress Releases10.14.25Thune Joins Harris Faulkner on Fox News“[Republicans] are trying to open up the government. The Democrats are not. They are playing politics. It needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.” Click here to watch the video.WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined Harris Faulkner on Fox News.On the Gaza peace deal:“It’s historic … it is really an epic development, Harris. You think about thousands of years of history and the warring that’s been going on in that region and more recently … the terrible attacks from a couple of years ago …“What the president has been able to achieve here is nothing short of remarkable, and he builds on the success of the Abraham Accords from his first term in office. But this truly is historic. [President Trump]deserves a tremendous amount of credit, and his team, who worked diligently and successfully to broker this deal.” […]“[Democrats] don’t want to give [President Trump] credit for anything. This is historic – an achievement … that will mark his administration … It’s something that is achieved when you try to make sure that your policy is one of peace through strength, Harris. That’s the policy of this administration. It’s been on display. And one of the reasons this was possible is because of the action the president took in Iran, and that enabled a lot of this to happen … “The president, and his team, is intent on ensuring that they are trying to bring about peaceful outcomes in some of these war-torn areas of the world and to save lives. And this is going to save hundreds and thousands of lives in that area.”On Democrats’ shutdown hypocrisy:“There is nothing to negotiate. This is a straightforward proposition, something that [Democrats] did 13 times when Biden was in the White House and when they had the majority in the Senate, there was a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. That’s all this is. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else …“They should take this, get the government opened up again, and then we can talk about all these other issues they want to talk about. But this is an indefensible position … they are in a tough, tough spot. And I don’t know how you’re going to walk down to the floor tonight and know that there are five Democrats who can open up the government today, and vote against it again. They cannot defend that position.”On the consequences of Democrats’ shutdown:“We’re only stuck as long as a handful of Democrats decide they want to follow the leader and play politics rather than do the right thing on behalf of the American people and open up the government …“We’re going to vote again today. We have 55 of 100 United States senators voting to reopen the government. We need five more Democrats. It takes 60 to do most things in the United States Senate, and all we need is five Democrats. But their leadership is intent on pacifying and trying to appease this far-left base. [Democrats have] got this big rally coming up next Saturday, which everybody thinks they want to get behind them before they do anything to open up the government … “It’s really straightforward … This is the legislation right here. It’s 24 pages long. It is clean, it is nonpartisan. It has no policy riders, no partisan gimmicks. This is a straightforward way to open up the government. It has passed the House. It is sitting at the desk in the Senate. We can pick it up and pass it today, the president will sign it into law today, the government opens up …“All these questions about who gets paid, who doesn’t get paid, which agencies and departments are going to be prioritized, those all go by the wayside. It is that straightforward. [Republicans] are trying to open up the government. The Democrats are not. They are playing politics. It needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.”PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
