Western South Dakota News

U.S. Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, addressed the Senate Republican leadership press conference to discuss plans for an assertive schedule in 2025. The aim is to confirm President Trump's nominees and advance his legislative agenda through Congress. Thune contrasted this plan with the current Democratic management of the Senate, which he claims has left significant work unaddressed.

Thune outlined the outcomes of a recent issues conference with Republican senators: "As most of you know, last week we held an issues conference with Republican senators where we talked about the path forward, we talked about confirming President Trump's nominees so that they can hit the ground running and begin to implement his agenda, and we talked about our legislative agenda for next year as well."

He emphasized Republican unity in supporting President Trump's nominees and addressing key national issues such as the economy, energy, national security, and border concerns. "And the one thing I can tell you coming out of that conference is Republicans are united around making sure that President Trump's nominees are put in place and ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work," Thune stated.

The senator criticized Senate Democrats for not addressing several important legislative matters. He mentioned unfinished business including the National Defense Authorization bill, spending bills, the expired Farm Bill, Water Resources Development Act, and disaster assistance.

Thune highlighted a planned shift in how Senate operations will be conducted: "But the one thing I can tell you about next year is it is going to be different. The American people, I will tell you, this is not – the way the Senate operates today is not the way it's going to be operating in the future."

He concluded by expressing determination to address these challenges: "And if the Democrats and Senator Schumer in the last waning weeks of this year aren't going to do it, we will take it up, and we will take the pileup that they've left us and deal with it next year."