Morning Wire - Fast-Tracking Trump’s Agenda with John Thune

Episode Date: May 4, 2025

Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan and Senate Majority Leader John Thune discuss the Senate’s pivotal role in executing Trump’s sweeping agenda, including the ambitious ‘big beautiful’ budget package. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senate Republicans have been working with President Trump to reshape the federal government, fast-tracking his appointees and moving to lock in his tax cuts with the big, beautiful budget bill. Heading up the effort is Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota. Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret O'Lahan recently sat down with Leader Thune to discuss what actions Senate Republicans are taking on everything from the economy to illegal immigration and national security. For this episode, we bring you that full interview. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Sunday, May 4th, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

Well, Leader Thune, we're so glad to sit down with you today. Can you share with us of these first 100 days in the Trump administration? How are you feeling about where our country is at? Well, I think the president has brought a brand new style leadership that actually focuses on fixing problems that our country has, which is a refreshing relief after the last four years of the Biden administration. And you can start, obviously, with the Biden border policy and how the open border policy, the previous administration,

and created so many problems for our country. And so when Trump came in, he immediately took leadership on that issue, and you seem dramatic, and I say dramatic, hugely consequential drop in the number of people coming across the border illegally. So I think it's been an incredibly successful, eventful and consequential first hundred days. And I'm looking forward to what's ahead. I think that the president's agenda is the one the American people wants to see accomplished. They want us to be good partners with him. And I think in the end, if we can succeed on the things the president

campaigned on, the American people voted for, they're going to, they're going to continue to see Republicans in the majorities in the House and the Senate and a Republican in the White House. Right. And what role do you think the Senate has played in these 100 first days that you believe are so successful? Well, I think, you know, as you know, the Senate under the Constitution has the power of confirmation. And so there are a lot of all the executive branch nominees, the presence nominees for cabinet level positions all come to the United States Center for confirmation. So people don't realize this, but the Senate spends about two-thirds of its time on personnel, because in addition to all the executive branch positions, which there are about 1,100, then you've got all the judiciary, all the judges on top of that. So I think getting his team in place, helping move quickly, we confirmed his cabinet at the fastest rate in 20 years. We kept the Senate in session for 10 consecutive weeks for the first time in 15 years. And we hit 200 votes in the Senate for the first time at this point going back to the Reagan administration. So we're here. We're doing the work. There's a lot more to do. And obviously making sure that all those key positions are filled

in the administration is a big part of that. But then we've got to start delivering on the legislative agenda. And that's where you get into energy independence. It's where you get into rebuilding the military, securing the border, providing tax relief for the American people, and reducing spending and getting our country on a more sustainable fiscal path. Those are the things that we, the president campaigned on, and we need to deliver on for the American people. Now let's talk more about those Senate confirmations. What would you say, or who would you say was the biggest obstacle to get some of those nominees through? Well, you know, it depended on the nominee. We had different issues and individuals that we were working with.

But in the end, in the Senate, and fortunately on the executive calendar, these nominations are at 51 votes in the Senate. Most consequential legislation, the Senate takes 60. But at 51, we just had to make sure that we had, you know, we had 53 Republicans. We had to have at least 50 of them. And then with Vice President Vance in the chair,

we can get to 51. And we had that circumstance a couple of times, at least on a couple of the nominees. But each one was slightly, different and different, you know, things that they were responding to. But at the end of the day, we got them all in. And I think it's important in any administration, when a president wins an election, especially as decisively as President Trump on this last election in November, they deserve a lot of deference when it comes to the people that they want in those various

agencies and departments delivering on his agenda. So we work to get them all through. And, you know, knock on wood, so far, I've been very successful with that. We've got a long ways to go. Right. And I know President Trump and Vice President Vance even made some calls to help with those nominations. How helpful was that? Well, the vice president was great. I mean, he talked on several times. We had strategies on each of these and people that, you know, some of our senators needed to hear from. And Vice President Vance was very helpful in making calls. And I think developed a high level of trust and confidence with Republican senators. And obviously he had been here and knew a lot of. him to start with, which is an advantage. But I also think that he was very committed to helping the president get these folks confirmed and was willing to do whatever we needed him to do. And so there were, you know, a number of times where we had him engaging in conversations. We had other senators talking to senators. And of course, the president at the end of the day, ultimately is the

person who is most influential in trying to get folks to support and vote for his agenda. And so, as you said, it was a team effort, and we're all kind of, I guess, part of that team. Right. And in your view, what is the most important issue that the Senate should be backing the president on right now? Well, I think right now, the big reconciliation bill that we're in the process of moving and hopefully we'll move in the next several weeks is going to be really key to the president's agenda. I mean, if you look at all the things he campaigned on, and I always put, you know, I think there is no, if you don't get national, security right the rest of the conversation. So I think the president's agenda on national security is important. There wasn't a single year in the Biden administration where their commitment to the military kept up even with a rate of inflation. So we've fallen behind in a lot of areas. And President

Trump recognizes that, recognizes that we live in a dangerous world. And we've got to be able to defend America and American interests. And so that's a priority. And the border security, I would argue, is right up there with that because that's also, in my view, a national security issue. And then I think on the economy, it's getting read of burdensome Biden regulations, extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, and then creating an energy policy that makes America energy dump. I think those are all issues that feed into a strong economy that creates better-paying jobs and makes the lives of Americans more prosperous. So multifaceted.

And I think the president, too, just taking control of, what I would call an out-of-control, ideological, woke agenda that the Biden administration had implemented and bringing just kind of old-fashioned common sense back to our government. I think he's restored that. I think the American people welcome that. The far left doesn't, and they're going to be very loud and very vocal, and they're making everything very hard in the Senate. I mean, we've got nothing as easy these days because they are blocking and obstructing

and delaying the things that we're trying to get done here. But I think they represent a small minority of the American population. I think the majority of Americans are glad that we've got a president now who understands that, for example, you shouldn't have biological males competing against, you know, girls and women's sports. I mean, those are the types of just, I think, common sense issues that really resonate with the American people and they're why they've, and one of the big reasons they supported the president last fall. Right. So many things I could touch on in what you just said, but I'd like to start with the far left Democrats in Congress right now.

Can you speak to the Lake and Riley Act and how Democrats handled this legislation coming in front of them as well as, I believe there was legislation protecting women from men in their spaces or sports? Right. Do you believe that Democrats actually support allowing men in women's spaces and they want young women like Lake and Riley to be in such difficult situations? Or are they just pushing these beliefs because this is the standards of their policy? Well, I think they, I think for some of them, they, their hardcore political base believes this. And so even if they don't agree with it, you know, the, the energy, the activism, the money in the Democrat Party right now is in the far left. And I think there are parties searching for an identity. I think they're floundering right now.

They don't know. All they know is they hate the president. And so you've got Trump derangement syndrome on full display among Democrats in the country today. But, you know, you look at even the things that they block. They used the filibuster, which, interestingly enough, they were really ready to get rid of. If they had gotten the majority, they were going to get rid of it in a New York minute. They use it to block a vote, even getting a vote, on preventing biological males from competing against girls and girls' sports. I mean, they literally didn't even allow us to get on that bill.

They blocked through the use of the filibuster legislation that would have ensured that babies born after a botched abortion would be protected under the laws of this country. I mean, that's how far out of the mainstream and how far out of step they are with, with, I think, core American values. And that's why I think the president was so successful. And I think, again, it's just, it's a basic level of common sense. I had a professor in business school at the University of South Dakota used to say there are certain things that are just intuitively obvious. And some of these things are intuitively obvious.

And the Democrats can't seem to acknowledge that. So Lincoln Riley, we did get cooperation, that there were some Democrats who voted for it. And that was at least something where I think they recognized they were so far out of step that they actually realized that they needed to put up a vote that actually recognized that people who had been harmed in this country by illegal immigrants that those people needed to be prosecuted under the laws of this country.

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Trouver of little enterprises, like the noughtre on Amazon.ca. And you spoke about burdensome Biden-era regulations. Can you speak to

how you've taken aim at some of these and others that you might want to take aim out in the future? We have under the, there was a law passed by Congress back in the 1990s called the Congressional Review Act and enables Congress to repeal, if you will, regulations, you know, put into place by the executive branch of the government by a vote in the House and the Senate. And obviously has to be signed in law by the president. So what happened is there's what they call a look back period. And so these regulations that were put in place by the Biden administration and that are eligible for this procedure,

We have looked at a whole bunch of them, House and Senate, and we are in a systematic way just going in and repealing a lot of these crazy regulation. And so we've done several of those already in the Senate. The House is voting on more this week, and we're going to vote on two to three. We'll finish three of those this week, too. So a lot of them are just part of the Biden administration's proposal to do away with conventional energy production. They're part of the whole Green New Deal initiative, but they all. all have a cost to our economy and a cost to the American people. And so our view is if we are, if they're eligible for this particular legislative procedure, we're going to do everything we can

to get rid of them because they are costing consumers in this country more. They create more inflation for people in this country and they make it more expensive and harder to do business in America. Now, President Trump has really emphasized the importance of cleaning bad actors out of institutions and agencies like the FBI or the DOJ. What role do you think the Senate should play in helping with that? And do you think those goals have already been accomplished? I think the president, just by virtue of changes in leadership in a lot of those departments and agencies is accomplishing that objective.

And obviously, we've helped him get the right people into those positions that he wanted to see filling those positions. And so that's a part of it. I think a big part of it's on him. And I think a part of it is, too, just us fulfilling our role constitutionally to confirm the people that he wants in those key positions. I mean, we're always going to be looking, you know, Congress has an oversight role over all these departments and agencies, and, you know, it's up to us to have oversight hearings to examine how

these agencies are implementing the policies or whether they are. And, you know, you're going to have a whole new change in policies, which you've already seen when President Trump took office. And so right now it's a function of us making sure that those new policies are being implemented in a way. and having the right people in these agencies and departments to make that happen. Right. And then on the border, I know we touched on this a little bit, but how do you think you can best compliment the president's agenda or support the president's agenda when it comes to protecting our border? Well, and this reconciliation bill is coming up, there will be a generational investment in border security. And part of it is, you know, Congress and the Constitution has the power of the purse. So the president sets the policy on the border, but he also needs resources in order to make sure that that policy gets implemented.

So we will work with him through reconciliation to see that he has the number of border agents, the number of tension beds, It's all the things that make border security and continued success in terms of border security possible for him as administration. He'll set the tone. He'll set the policy. And that already has had a profound impact. I mean, you've seen 94% reduction, if you can believe that. I mean, it's staggering the success he's had already at southern border.

And that, frankly, is just a change of leadership. But he will need the tools to implement that policy going forward. And so we will work with him to see that he has those. Got it. And then final question for you, in these next 100 days, what are you most looking to accomplish? And can you give us an estimate on when we can see this big, beautiful bill across the finish line? Well, definitely the next 100 days. You know, I'm always reluctant to make hard commitments on deadlines because I tend to be somebody who likes to under promise and over-deliver. But all I can tell you is we're working aggressively. And, you know, the house is moving already. and we've been working closely hand and glove with them

on putting together a big beautiful bill that can pass not only the House with 218 votes, but we have a much stricter procedure in the Senate. There are rules that we have to comply with the House doesn't, and so we've got to work within the confines of those, but as we work through that process, our goal is to get this on the President's desk as soon as possible. And it is all the things I mentioned.

It's the border, it's national security, it's tax relief, it's spending cuts, and obviously energy. So those are the kind of the key issues that we're, and hopefully in the next hundred days you'll see some real progress there and hopefully some wins for the American people. We hope we will too. Thank you so much for sitting down with us. We really appreciate your time.

Mary Margaret, nice to be with you, thanks. That was Daily Wire White House correspondent, Mary Margaret Olahan, talking with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. And this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire. I don't know.