Senate Majority Leader John Thune Tries to Package Trump’s Agenda as Independence Ahead of Midterms
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune is crisscrossing the Midwest, presenting himself as a guardian of Senate autonomy while helping push President Trump’s agenda as the 2025 midterm elections near.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune spent Friday in a strip-mall bar and grill near Sioux City, Iowa, holding a roundtable with local business owners as part of his last-ditch campaign push before the 2025 midterms. The appearance came after President Trump’s rally in the same town and was designed to boost Republican Senate candidates such as Rep. Ashley Hinson.
Thune said the Republican conference has to somehow reconcile advancing the president’s agenda with preserving the Senate’s independent role. “Nothing's a guarantee. There are no layups,” he told CBS News, while arguing that immediate problems like high gas prices should be seen through the longer-term economic conditions the party claims credit for creating.
Colleagues described Thune as a steady, conservative operator who prefers to work behind the scenes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called him a “good and decent American” who loves his country. Under Thune’s leadership, the Senate has passed major Trump initiatives on taxes, border security and defense, along with bipartisan measures on housing, stablecoins, revenge-porn legislation and fentanyl control.
The war in Iran and rising energy costs have become central issues in the campaign. While most Senate Republicans have kept backing the president’s approach to the conflict, a few have expressed concern. Thune warned that voters will decide whether the party can persuade them of the long-term benefits of its agenda and keep the majority.
Thune also defended the Senate’s filibuster, saying it is vital to preserve the chamber’s separate role. “Unfortunately, today there are a lot of people out there who would like to see the Senate turn into a copy of the House of Representatives,” he said.
Within the party, some members criticize Thune for being too cautious and too eager to protect the institution instead of confronting Trump’s drive for speed, while others praise his ability to keep the conference unified. The South Dakota Republican Party recently rejected a resolution to censure him over the SAVE America election-reform bill.
As the election approaches, Thune remains focused on helping Republican candidates run their own campaigns, acknowledging that President Trump will be a factor in every race but emphasizing the need for candidates to present their own messages.
“We do things differently, which frustrates people, the president, for example, who wants to get his agenda done quickly. That's not the nature of the beast in the Senate,” Thune told CBS News.
The outcome of the midterms will determine whether Thune keeps the confidence of his colleagues and the president, and whether the Senate remains under Republican control.