Senate Majority Leader John Thune delivered a ferocious floor speech during the 29th day of the shutdown, calling out Senate Democrats for repeatedly voting against measures to reopen the government and accusing them of using needy Americans as leverage in a partisan fight over policy and priorities.
Thune’s tone was unrestrained and pointed, targeting Democrats for what he framed as intentional choices that keep essential services and pay for critical workers in limbo. He argued that the simple fix has been on the table for weeks and that the continuing resolution passed by the House would have avoided this suffering for families and frontline staff alike.
The speech came in response to Sen. Ben Ray Lujan presenting a bill focused narrowly on SNAP and WIC, which Thune dismissed as selective and politically motivated. He warned that piecemeal funding leaves out troops, air traffic controllers, law enforcement, telehealth, and other essential services, and he accused Democrats of trying to insulate themselves from the political fallout of a shutdown.
“Let me just point out, if I might, that we are 29 days into a Democrat shutdown,” Thune said in some of his most heated remarks to date, noting that Democrats have voted against a measure to reopen the government 13 times.
“We have tried to do that 13 times, and you voted no 13 times!” Thune shouted, pointing across the chamber at Lujan. “This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we are talking about. And you all have just figured out, 29 days in, oh, that there might be some consequences?”
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“Thirteen times, people over here voted to fund SNAP. Thirteen times they voted to fund WIC,” Thune said of Republicans.
Thune said Democrats are “making plans to keep the shutdown going.”
“This bill is a cynical attempt to provide political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown for the long term,” Thune said.
Thune asserted that Republicans repeatedly backed short-term fixes that would fund nutrition programs while also reopening the rest of the government, and he framed the Democratic approach as deliberately fragmentary. He accused Senate Democrats of choosing showy, narrow bills that leave homeowners, veterans, and federal workers hanging rather than accepting a comprehensive path to reopen government operations.
He didn’t just criticize the strategy; he called for a clear moral standard, insisting that lawmakers either fund the government for everyone or explain why they prefer to fund only certain groups. Thune used blunt language to argue Democrats were avoiding responsibility for the broader consequences of the shutdown, including the human cost for families who rely on multiple forms of support.
The senator highlighted that the House passed a clean continuing resolution weeks earlier that would have avoided this piecemeal chaos, and he repeatedly challenged Democrats to stop blocking that straightforward fix. Thune said the ongoing refusal to endorse a full reopening suggests political calculations matter more to Democrats than the welfare of ordinary Americans.
Throughout the speech he emphasized the practical effects: unpaid or underfunded essential workers, delays in services, and unnecessary anxiety for families that depend on assistance. He warned that cherry-picking winners and losers in funding decisions is not governance and that it corrodes public trust when some programs are prioritized for optics while others are ignored.
Thune also called on Democrats to find courage, saying, “We just need five brave Democrats,” a direct appeal for cross-party action to end the shutdown. He framed the moment as a test of responsibility and integrity, urging colleagues to choose solutions that protect every American rather than preserve a political narrative.
In response, Sen. Lujan objected and offered counterarguments on the Senate floor, but Thune remained focused on the broader political picture and the immediate human stakes. The clash illustrated the larger fight over whether policy demands or political theater will decide which services stay funded and which face interruptions.
The speech was accompanied by pointed visuals on the chamber floor and followed by reactions from both sides, signaling that this debate will continue to be a defining issue in the weeks ahead. The Editor’s Note below underscores the partisan framing from the Republican perspective about who bears responsibility for the shutdown and the policy choices at fault.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
Watch:
Thune later said that Democrats were trying to “insulate themselves” because “Democrats don’t want the bad press of hungry Americans.” What wasn’t in Lujan’s bill, Thune observed, was pay for our troops, air traffic controllers, law enforcement officers, telehealth funding, etc.
In concluding his closing remarks, and with a picture behind him of Sen. Chris Coons saying the quiet part out loud about how Democrats were using people in need as leverage during the Schumer Shutdown, Thune declared, “We’re not going to let them pick winners and losers. It’s time to fund everybody. And the bill sitting at the desk right there does that.”
“We just need five brave Democrats,” Thune added.
Watch:
Not surprisingly, Sen. Lujan filed a Hurt Feelings Report in response to Thune telling it like it is:
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