It was a busy 2025 for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who took the reins from Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell in November 2024.
The Daily Wire’s Washington Bureau Chief Tim Rice spoke with the Republican leader for Thursday’s episode of “Morning Wire” and reflected on what the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has looked like in the upper congressional chamber. Thune also looked ahead to the big debate on Capitol Hill around health insurance, as some Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire on Wednesday.
As the Obamacare issue looms, Thune gave some insight into what he would be looking for in a health care plan.
“What we do believe makes sense is a model that a creates for an expansion of health savings accounts and putting the money back in the pockets of people in this country, incentivizing them to buy the insurance that makes sense for them, rather than buying the insurance the government tells ’em they have to buy,” Thune said.
“And so they get a better rate, lower premium and better access to coverage. And I think those are things, those are elements of healthcare policy that we think makes sense, and none of which were included in what the Democrats voted on last week or what the Democrats in the House are trying to get done over there now,” he continued.
The health care debate focuses on whether the Obamacare subsidies should continue to keep premiums down. The lengthy federal government shutdown in the fall centered around the Obamacare debate, and it could strike Washington once again as they if lawmakers do not pass a bill to continue funding the government after January 30. Many conservatives argue that the program was unsustainable to begin with.
Thune said that 2025 was a “very productive” thanks to President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was passed by Congress and signed into law in July.
“In fact, the president’s agenda, for the most part, was all accomplished in that ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’ Whether it’s national security or the border, energy, tax policy, school choice have been a priority for the movement for a long time, newborn accounts, childcare,” Thune said, also noting the farm bill and “the biggest spending reduction literally in history.”
However, he noted that being able to get the bill passed and to the president’s desk in July “was a Herculean task.”
“If you’d spread that out, you know, these things over a long period of time, like we would normally do, then it would look like a lot of stuff,” Thune continued. He also highlighted different Trump administration nominees making their way through the chamber, as well as cutting red tape, especially on energy.
“So it’s been busy, just in terms of volume of votes and time, and then in session and all that too. But I think also, I would argue very productive. But doing it all in one big, a lot of that one big package, then it gets the peanut gallery going, like, ‘Why aren’t you guys doing anything this week?’” the Republican said.
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The majority leader also addressed national security concerns, as well as threats abroad, like the recent antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi Beach, Australia.
“His investment in securing the border, working with us, his investment in America’s national security and projecting a policy of peace through strength around the world are all things that contribute to keeping people in this country safe,” the Republican said regarding Trump’s agenda on public safety.
“But when you see things like what happened in Australia, or even things that some of these horrible incidents here in the United States, they’re really tragic,” he said.
“I think that the best thing we can do is try to put in place the things that our law enforcement needs, that our military needs to deter bad behavior. And then, of course, obviously, when it happens make sure that people are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And I think the president’s focus on law enforcement and on security is in a clear-eyed way, focused on that,” the majority leader later continued.
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