Western South Dakota News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared on Fox News' America's Newsroom to discuss several key topics, including the confirmation of President Trump's nominees, budget reconciliation, government modernization, and tax credits for electric vehicles.

Regarding the swift confirmation of nominees, Thune acknowledged the challenges posed by opposition: “Well, we’ve tried to manage the clock, Dana, and you’re right, it’s hard. And particularly when you’ve got a lot of Democrat resistance... But we’ve figured out ways to manage the clock in a way that I think maximizes the ability for the president to get his team in place as quickly as possible.”

On budget reconciliation efforts between the House and Senate, Thune emphasized their shared goals: “[The House and the Senate] have the same end result, end goal. I mean, we want to get to the same destination... these efforts are going to merge.” He highlighted crucial numbers needed for legislative success: “the two numbers that are most important... 218 and 51.”

Thune also discussed modernizing federal government systems: “There are so many systems in our federal government that are antiquated... modernizing our federal government... this is a long overdue process.” He suggested external expertise might be required: “It’s going to take somebody... like Elon Musk.”

Lastly, on removing tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs), Thune argued against them based on their lack of contribution to highway funding through gas taxes: “EVs don’t pay the gas tax... And … the tax credit is something that… was an ill-advised thing in the first place.” He noted regional challenges with EVs: “in a cold weather climate with long distances, EVs just don’t make sense.”