John Thune Takes Victory Lap Of GOP's 'Accomplishments' Since Trump Took Office

15 hours ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about Republicans' 'accomplishments' since President Trump began his second term.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. President, Senators have been seeing a lot of each other lately.

00:03In fact, too much, some might say.

00:07The Senate is hopefully about to wrap up its 10th consecutive week in session,

00:12the Senate's longest in-session stretch in over 15 years.

00:18Ten weeks that include late nights, weekend work, and even an all-night session.

00:25And we have a lot of accomplishments to report back to our constituents

00:28when we're back in our states next week.

00:31The Senate has confirmed 21 members of President Trump's Cabinet,

00:35and we've done it at the fastest pace since 2001.

00:39That's right, the Senate has gotten through hearings, markups, and floor votes

00:44on 21 Cabinet nominees at a record pace.

00:48As a result, President Trump has more of his Cabinet in place today

00:51than any president since George W. Bush.

00:55And we've also confirmed a lot of sub-Cabinet officials and a new FBI director.

01:02And Senate committees are continuing to hold hearings

01:04and send more of the president's nominees to the floor for a vote.

01:07Mr. President, the Senate Republican majority has also been working

01:12to execute our legislative agenda.

01:15And at the top of the priority list is securing the border.

01:18The first bill we sent to President Trump's desk was the Lake and Riley Act,

01:22which ensures that criminal, illegal immigrants are detained

01:25when they're arrested for certain crimes and not returned to America's streets.

01:31Senator Britt led the debate on this bill on the floor.

01:34And we had an amendment process that made this bill stronger

01:37by adding Senator Ernst's bill, Sarah's Law,

01:40and elements of Senator Budd's bill, the Police Act.

01:43Senate Republicans also passed a budget resolution

01:46to unlock the process to provide resources to carry out President Trump's border agenda.

01:51We've already seen border crossings plummet

01:54in response to President Trump's border security measures.

01:58Criminal, illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported from cities around the country.

02:03But to continue these efforts and maintain a secure border

02:06will require additional resources.

02:09And we're determined to deliver them.

02:12We're also working to address the fentanyl crisis by passing the HALT Fentanyl Act.

02:17The HALT Fentanyl Act will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.

02:23We'll provide law enforcement with a critical tool to go after the people

02:27who are bringing this poison into our country and killing Americans.

02:31And I expect that we'll pass this bill soon.

02:34Mr. President, Senate Republicans are also working to eliminate

02:38some of the Biden administration's burdensome regulations.

02:41As part of our promise to unleash American energy,

02:44we passed Senator Hoeven's resolution to block the Biden natural gas tax.

02:50And we also passed Senator Kennedy's resolution overturning a rule

02:54that would have stifled energy development in America's waters.

02:59To promote financial freedom, we passed resolutions from Senators Ricketts and Cruz

03:04to protect America's financial privacy.

03:08And there will be more regulatory relief to come.

03:12Mr. President, it's been a busy couple of months.

03:15And we've gotten a lot done.

03:18And we could have done even more if Democrats hadn't repeatedly chosen to use the filibuster.

03:24That's right.

03:26A few short months ago, when Democrats were in the majority,

03:30they were making plans to destroy the filibuster.

03:34Now they've been in the minority for 10 weeks.

03:36They've already used the filibuster three times.

03:39And what are the bills that they blocked?

03:42Well, first, there was the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,

03:47a bill that simply requires doctors to give a baby born alive after a failed abortion

03:52the same medical care that any other baby would receive.

03:56Then there was the ICC sanctions bill,

04:00which would have supported our ally Israel and protected American service members abroad.

04:06And then just last week, every Democrat joined a filibuster against Senator Tuberville's bill

04:13to keep biological men out of women's and girls' sports.

04:20And now Democrats are threatening yet a fourth filibuster,

04:25this time to shut down the federal government tomorrow.

04:30I have to say, it's funny how Democrats' opposition to the filibuster changes with the prevailing winds.

04:37Mr. President, I promised last year that 2025 would be a busy year.

04:43And these past 10 weeks are just the beginning.

04:48Republicans are working to deliver for the American people.

04:53We are just getting started.

04:55Mr. President, I yield the floor.

John Thune Takes Victory Lap Of GOP's 'Accomplishments' Since Trump Took Office

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