Senator John Thune, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, made appearances on CNBC's Squawk Box with Joe Kernen and on ABC News with Linsey Davis to discuss the ongoing government shutdown and related political standoffs. Emphasizing congressional responsibility, Thune criticized Democrats for what he perceives as playing political games rather than taking actionable steps toward reopening the government. "The only thing standing between the government being opened up again and us having a conversation about this is five Democrats coming forward and doing the right thing for the country," Thune stated in the recent interview.
Thune took aim at Democratic leaders for their alleged hypocrisy, specifically taking to task Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for enjoying the political brawl, rather than working towards a resolution. He argues that there is a bill, already passed by the House, that awaits Senate approval which could, end the shutdown impasse. “We’ve got a bill … that’s passed the House, that’s sitting at the desk in the Senate, that we could pass today, put it on the president’s desk, he would sign it into law, and this shutdown, whole fiasco, ends, and people can get back to work, and we can start paying the federal employees who are starting to miss paychecks,” Senator Thune told CNBC's Squawk Box in a bid to apply pressure on the Democratic opposition, as reported by the press release.
Senator Thune also addressed the direct impacts that the shutdown has on various federal employees and their families, outlining the reality that many who serve the nation, including air traffic controllers and Border Patrol agents, aren’t receiving paychecks during this period. In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he said the current situation is being driven largely by politics, noting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as a major moment for the Democrats. He stressed the need to reopen the government and return to normal operations as soon as possible.
Another contentious issue Thune touched upon was healthcare, particularly criticizing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) for being "inflationary" and contributing to the rise in healthcare costs. "Obamacare, at its core, is inflationary. It’s been driving up costs … The fundamental problem here is the underlying program … needs to be reformed, and the president wants to do that. The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and give people health insurance that is higher quality and more affordable, but you’ve got Obamacare now embedded for the last 15 years," he claimed on ABC News. He further argued for the need to address rising healthcare costs and for Obamacare to undergo significant reform, although expressing the President's willingness to sit down and work on solutions to improve quality and affordability, according to the same press release.
