{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/thune-democrats-break-all-the-wrong-records/", "Thune: Democrats Break All the Wrong Records", "2026-06-16", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as delivered):\n\n\u201cMr. President, I don\u2019t think at this point there are too many people who think Democrats were actually interested in reforms of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\n\n\u201cBecause it was pretty clear from their actions that they were not.\n\n\u201cIf you\u2019re interested in getting reforms, you don\u2019t say no when you\u2019re repeatedly offered a robust reform package.\n\n\u201cEven if you can\u2019t get every single thing you want.\n\n\u201cBut Democrats, of course, said no \u2013 again and again and again.\n\n\u201cAnd eventually they just walked away completely.\n\n\u201cAnd refused to provide even a dollar of funding for Border Patrol or ICE.\n\n\u201cClearly, they decided that having a political issue for November was more important than reforms.\n\n\u201cAnd, Mr. President, you certainly don\u2019t have to take my word for it.\n\n\u201cBecause the Democrat leader came out last week and admitted that the decisions he and his party have made this Congress have been about one thing, and that\u2019s improving Democrats\u2019 prospects in November.\n\n\u201cThis is a quote: \u2018We made a lot of strategic decisions that got us to this place \u2014 it didn\u2019t happen by accident,\u2019 the Democrat leader said, referring to his view of his party\u2019s position.\n\n\u201cAnd you know what he ticked off as some of the most strategic decisions, Mr. President?\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 two record-breaking government shutdowns.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cDemocrats shut down the government \u2013 twice \u2013 to try to improve their chances in November.\n\n\u201cNot to help hardworking Americans. Not to get reforms at ICE and Border Patrol.\n\n\u201cNo.\n\n\u201cTo improve their chances in November.\n\n\u201cMr. President, let\u2019s just run down some of the consequences of Democrats\u2019 choices.\n\n\u201cThe disastrous situation at U.S. airports that resulted from Democrats\u2019 decision to cut off funding for air traffic controllers, for one.\n\n\u201cThere are the incredible lines that Americans faced at TSA in the middle of that shutdown.\n\n\u201cThe TSA officers who have left in droves thanks to Democrats\u2019 decision to force them to work without pay for quite literally months this fiscal year.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s the strain Democrats\u2019 actions placed on our national security agencies \u2013 and the people entrusted with protecting our nation.\n\n\u201cAnd then there were the government workers lining up at food banks, charging necessary expenses on credit cards, and wondering if they would be evicted from their homes because they couldn\u2019t afford to pay next month\u2019s rent.\n\n\u201cThe damage Democrats have caused has been immense.\n\n\u201cAnd for what?\n\n\u201cFor what, Mr. President?\n\n\u201cTo improve their chances in November.\n\n\u201cWell, Mr. President, Democrats would like you to believe they\u2019re the party of the little guy \u2013 of everyday American workers.\n\n\u201cBut a better insight into their real attitude might be gained by the Democrat leader\u2019s statement earlier in Democrats\u2019 first government shutdown, when he said this, and I quote:\n\n\u201c\u2018Every day gets better for us\u2019 \u2013 the \u2018us,\u2019 of course, being Democrats.\n\n\u201c\u2018Every day gets better for us.\u2019\n\n\u201cWell, Mr. President, when the Democrat leader made this statement, military families were on the verge of missing pay.\n\n\u201cSo were a lot of civilian government employees \u2013 like the Capitol Police officers who stand on guard for us around this building.\n\n\u201cPeople were wondering how they\u2019d cover their rent. Their food. Their commuting costs. Their electric bills.\n\n\u201cBut none of that was on the Democrat leader\u2019s mind.\n\n\u201cAll he could think about was whether the shutdown was good for Democrats\u2019 polling.\n\n\u201cAnd then there\u2019s the article that came out last week about what House Democrats\u2019 first bill would be should they take the majority in November.\n\n\u201cDemocrat leadership, of course, has been trying to push the narrative that Democrats\u2019 big interest is in making life more affordable for everyday Americans.\n\n\u201cBut as last week\u2019s article made clear, it turns out that House Democrats are by no means agreed that affordability should be at the top of their priority list.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re interested in other issues, like a reboot of their proposed federal election takeover, or simply trying to undo anything President Trump has done \u2013 presumably simply because President Trump has done it.\n\n\u201cI wonder if they would try to undo the tax relief Republicans passed for working families \u2013 which every single Democrat voted against.\n\n\u201cHard to know.\n\n\u201cBut as the Democrat leader made clear last week, Mr. President, one thing\u2019s for sure: it\u2019s not the American people who are top of mind for Senate Democrats \u2013 it\u2019s their election prospects in November.\u201d", 1, "2026-06-18T06:41:00Z", "2026-06-18T06:43:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/thune-democrats-break-all-the-wrong-records/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7231540512293577, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}