Senate Majority Leader John Thune has a reputation for being rather restrained and soft-spoken, but on Wednesday, he unleashed a blistering floor speech, lashing out at the Democrats and their shutdown shenanigans. Thune was visibly and audibly frustrated as he laid bare what many Republicans feel as the Schumer Shutdown drags into its fifth week.
The normally cool-tempered Thune was visibly and audibly furious as he stared down Senate Democrats across the aisle. His voice rose as he accused them of deliberately prolonging the shutdown for political gain while pretending to care about the Americans who are now suffering the consequences.
“And we’ve tried to do that thirteen times, and you voted no thirteen times,” Thune thundered, glaring directly at the Democratic side of the chamber.
The South Dakota Republican wasn’t exaggerating. Over the past month, Senate Republicans have repeatedly introduced stopgap measures to reopen key portions of the government — funding for nutrition programs, veterans’ services, and federal worker paychecks among them. Democrats, marching in lockstep with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have blocked every single one.
“This isn’t a political game,” Thune said. “These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about.”
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His tone alternated between fury and disbelief as he described the mounting toll on ordinary Americans. “And you all have just figured out, twenty-nine days in, that, oh, there might be some consequences,” he said, cutting through the pretense that Democrats were unaware of the damage the shutdown is doing.
“There are people running out of money,” he warned. “Yeah, we’re twenty-nine days in, and they’ve done their best to make sure that a lot of these programs are funded. But at some point, the government runs out of money.”
Thune then turned sharply toward the Republican benches, motioning emphatically. “Thirteen times,” he said, “people over here voted to fund SNAP. Thirteen times, they voted to fund WIC.”
But any levity was brief. Thune’s next words cut to the heart of his accusation. “Well, you know what Democrats are doing here?” he asked rhetorically, pausing just long enough for the silence to hang in the chamber. “They’re making plans to keep the shutdown going.”
I worked for Sen. Thune for three years and I never once heard him raise his voice or get this angry.
Democrats picked the wrong Senate Majority Leader to play political games with. pic.twitter.com/F6Xt7lX6kH
— Erin Maguire (@ErinMMaguire) October 29, 2025
“I worked for Sen. Thune for three years and I never once heard him raise his voice or get this angry,” Republican strategist Erin Maguire said in a post on X. “Democrats picked the wrong Senate Majority Leader to play political games with.”
As the shutdown grinds toward its fifth week, Thune’s outburst captured the exasperation of Republicans who’ve watched Democrats reject every attempt to fund the government — all so they can blame President Trump and the GOP for the crisis.
And the ironic thing is that it hasn’t worked. Thune’s outburst may not sway the Democrats, but recent polling shows that the public isn’t blaming the GOP the way Democrats hoped it might.
Thune’s fiery speech underscored a growing sense among Senate Republicans that Schumer and his caucus have no intention of compromising. Their strategy, as Thune laid bare, appears to be simple: maximize pain for ordinary Americans, then weaponize that suffering for political advantage. Thune’s indignation was palpable, his message unmistakable: the party that claims to “care” about working families is the same one keeping them hostage for leverage.
If Schumer thought Republicans would fold, Thune’s outburst sent the message that they’re done playing nice.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is still ongoing, and polls are now showing Americans are increasingly blaming the Democrats for this mess, and Democrats are on the verge of caving.
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