Western South Dakota News

U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota appeared on Fox News' America's Newsroom to discuss the legislative agenda for the 119th Congress, emphasizing the swift confirmation of President Trump's nominees and advancing his policy initiatives.

Discussing the confirmation process, Thune stated, "I don’t prejudge any of these candidates. Obviously, there are questions they all have to answer. Each of them has backgrounds. They have experience. That’s all part of this process, is examining that, determining their qualifications for office, and as that process gets underway, these nominees have an opportunity to make their case in front of senators who are ultimately going to cast that vote."

Thune continued by stressing the importance of a fair process for nominees: "So I don’t think at this point – I think it’s premature, honestly, to make any conclusions about whether or not any of these candidates have any issues or problems that could be consequential. I think the important thing is we give them a fair process, they get the opportunity to make their case about why they are fit and qualified to do these important jobs."

He further added, "And obviously the president should have a lot of deference and leeway when it comes to making these appointments because these are the people that he wants to implement his agenda. So we’re going to ensure here that they get a fair process, and I think that should apply and be true for all of the nominees that he’s put up."

Regarding implementing President Trump's agenda through a two-track reconciliation process, Thune remarked: "Those are conversations that we’ve been having with our colleagues here in the Senate, obviously also with the House and with the president and his team because in order for us to be successful here, we have to be unified coming out of the gate."

He explained further about achieving legislative goals: "That is something that we have put before our conference united Republican senators as a possibility for how we deal with getting the president’s agenda done."

Thune emphasized key areas like border security and energy policies: "The key is getting the things that he campaigned on – the border, energy dominance, national security, rebuilding our military, extending the Trump tax cuts – those are all things in the end that we have to accomplish. How we get there is what we’re discussing."

In conclusion, Thune stated: "And that’s part of this process is to determine what’s the best way to achieve and see that the president’s agenda...get put into law."