Thune Joins the Ruthless Podcast

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined the Ruthless podcast.

On Republicans' message heading into 2026:

"It's safer streets, more money in your pocket, and … new opportunities for a better life. And those are all things that I think that we're focusing on, it's those bread and butter issues that the American people … care the most about.

"Most elections, in my view, tend to be kind of economic elections. And I think … is my … neighborhood safe? Is my community safe? Is my country safe? … I think that safety and security are major issues. And I think the work that we've done to close the border, the work we've done on national security, to get more funding into the areas that make sure that the country is secure and safe and ready to deal with what is the … threat matrix that is out there in a very dangerous world.

"And … on the economic front … the things we're doing in the area of tax and regulatory policy, energy policy, will create better-paying jobs, better opportunities, and an expanding economy … The tax stuff that we've done is more money in the pockets of the American people … The average family in this country, at least in my state's, about $2,500 less in taxes that they're going to pay next year because we extended the tax relief from 2017. If that expired, everybody was going to be looking at a new huge tax increase …

"People are … looking for new and better opportunities to get ahead, and we want to do everything we can to make that possible for them. Part of it is creating those better-paying jobs, better benefits, and obviously having … a kind of economic activity out there that allows companies to invest and grow and expand. And I think the types of policies that we've put in place on the regulatory front, the energy front, the tax front, provide those types of incentives."

On securing permanent tax relief for Americans:

"I think most Americans … trust this president and his team to handle [the issue of affordability] and to handle it effectively. I do think that … the challenge going forward is demonstrating to the American people that [Republicans' tax provisions] … avoided a catastrophe. You don't get a lot of credit for avoiding a catastrophe, but there were things in [the Working Families Tax Cuts], like no tax on tips … no tax on overtime … reduced taxes on Social Security, on recipients or seniors … [increasing] the child tax credit, indexed it for inflation, made it permanent.

"There are areas out there in which people are actually going to see lower tax bills overall. Yes, we did extend the 2017 [tax] law, made it permanent, which had lower rates, doubling the child tax credit, near doubling of the standard deduction - all important features to protect them from that tax increase …

"The other things we did on the business side to create those incentives for business … the bonus depreciation, interest deductibility, R&D expensing, 199A for small business deduction - those are all things that I think are going to unleash a lot of investment in this country. You're starting to see evidence of that … If you talk to business leaders, CEOs, both small and large businesses, everybody … sees that … [and] this country's being well-positioned … We want to make sure we do everything we can to create conditions that are favorable for growth."

On Democrats' historic obstruction:

"One of the reasons we've been in so many days, so many hours, cast more votes than any Senate in history, is because the Democrats are forcing us to do everything the long way and the hard way and dragging it out. And it's unfortunate, because some of these things, they're basic functions of government - and funding the government is one of them - that you ought to be able to figure out and agree on. But [Democrats] really dug in on that and … unfortunately drug the country through the longest government shutdown in history."

[…]

"Unanimous consent is a key feature of the Senate. It takes consent to almost do anything, and [Democrats], instead of doing it that way on these routine nominees - and I wouldn't call them low-level nominees, but they're not your Cabinet-level folks - and they … forced us to use the time, burn the clock, cast the votes, and so we've racked up a lot of votes. And it's … a sign of the times. It's unfortunate in a lot of ways, because I think it gets harder and harder to do the big things in a bipartisan way. But even when routine things are hard to get bipartisan support for, we're in a whole different place than we've been before."

On Democrats prioritizing their far-left base:

"It's kind of mind-blowing … That [far-left] wing is where the energy, the money, the activism … in the party is right now, it's the progressive wing … They're very unforgiving, and they want nothing more than confrontation with Trump on every issue.

"It doesn't matter how basic the issue is or how fundamental it is to actually governing the country, [Democrats] just want to fight on everything. And it's unfortunate because … these relationships that you work to carve out and to build through the years to be able to do bipartisan things, it's getting increasingly difficult to accomplish that. I'm still hopeful. And there are a few things I think that can actually be candidates for bipartisanship, but we'll see."

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