Republican leader of the United States Senate, successor to Mitch McConnell. He represents the last of the "Reagan Republicans" and was elected leader against MAGA base wishes. His strategy involves making Trump's legislative agenda more appealing to Reagan conservatives while staying silent on extreme presidential actions.
Thune marshalled the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" and pushed 417 presidential nominees through the Senate—more than any president's first year since Obama. He has defended Senate prerogatives, including the filibuster, against Trump's pressure to abolish it. Critics argue he has turned the Senate into a rubber stamp for the executive.
During the October 2025 government shutdown, when Russell Vought, the OMB director, threatened mass firings and withheld back pay for furloughed federal workers, Thune distanced himself from the executive: "We don't control what he's going to do."
Life is a gamble at terrible odds, if it was a bet you wouldn't take it.