SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
john thune
New GOP Senate Leader Is a Former Lobbyist Who Has Taken Aim at Social Security
Sen. John Thune "has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," warned one defender of the nation's most effective anti-poverty program.
Nov 13, 2024
Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota—a former corporate lobbyist and close ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell—as the leader of their conference for the upcoming term, when the GOP will have a 53-seat majority.
Republican lawmakers chose Thune over Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who was favored by allies of President-elect Donald Trump.
"Senators have received angry phone calls from constituents demanding to know how their representatives plan to vote, following MAGA world's embrace of Scott," The Washington Postreported. The leadership election was conducted via secret ballot.
In a statement Wednesday, Thune said he is "extremely honored to have earned the support" of the Senate GOP conference and stressed that "this Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda."
"Our work starts today," Thune added.
"It's a new day in the United States Senate."
After being elected Senate Republican Leader, Sen. John Thune says, “We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda.” https://t.co/sMMVVx2PxT pic.twitter.com/GylMysaA3V
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2024
Before winning election to the Senate in 2004, Thune worked as a lobbyist for several sectors including the railroad industry. The Leverreported last year that as part of his lobbying work for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad, Thune "helped the company procure a $230 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration."
"In 2015, Thune reprised his advocacy for the rail industry, leading an effort to repeal an Obama administration regulation requiring improved, electronic braking systems on some hazmat trains," the outlet added. "The following year, he received the first-ever 'Railroad Achievement Award' presented by the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main lobbying group."
Thune is also "one of the biggest recipients of oil and gas money in Congress," the youth-led Sunrise Movementnoted Wednesday following his election as leader of the incoming GOP Senate.
Over the course of his Senate career, Thune has received more than $1.16 million in campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry, according to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.
Thune's top contributor between 2019 and 2024 was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the right-wing pro-Israel lobbying group.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security."
Thune will take the reins of the Senate GOP conference as the party readies another round of tax cuts for the rich and large corporations—one of Trump's top priorities. Thune is a leading advocate of repealing the estate tax, a move that would benefit a small number of wealthy Americans.
Congress is also barreling toward another potentially damaging fight over the debt ceiling, which is set to be reinstated on January 2, 2025.
Thune has previously expressed support for leveraging the debt limit—and the threat of a catastrophic default—to secure steep cuts to federal spending and possible changes to Social Security such as raising the retirement age, which would slash benefits across the board.
Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, voiced alarm over Thune's debt ceiling stance following his election as Senate Republican leader on Wednesday.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," Nancy Altman, the group's president, said in a statement.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Good Riddance': McConnell to Step Down as Senate GOP Leader
"One of the worst people to ever serve in office. He will be remembered for all the wrong things."
Feb 28, 2024
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Having secured a right-wing takeover of the U.S. federal court system in recent years, giving conservatives the power to shape the law on climate action, reproductive justice, and other key issues impacting millions of people across the country, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday he will step down from his leadership role in November.
The Kentucky Republican, who has held office since 1985 despite consistently receiving low approval ratings from voters in his state, said he plans to finish his current term, which ends in January 2027, "albeit from a different seat in the chamber."
An aide for McConnell told the Associated Press that his decision at age 82 is unrelated to his health, which has been a subject of concern in recent months following a fall last year and two incidents when the senator's face appeared to freeze while he was taking questions from reporters.
McConnell's career has been marked by frequent obstruction, with the senator nicknaming himself the "Grim Reaper" as he blocked votes on election security legislation, opposed campaign finance reform bills, blocked bipartisan background check proposals after numerous mass shootings, and delayed confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court justice pick—allowing Republicans to install their own right-wing nominee after Obama left office.
In a 2019 column at Common Dreams, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich noted that in addition to his record of obstruction, McConnell also frequently bent the rules to get his way:
This is the man who got rid of the age-old Senate rule requiring 60 Senators to agree on a Supreme Court nomination so he could ram through not one but two Supreme Court justices, including one with a likely history of sexual assault.
This is the man who rushed through the Senate, without a single hearing, a $2 trillion tax cut for big corporations and wealthy Americans—a tax cut that raised the government debt by almost the same amount, generated no new investment, failed to raise wages, but gave the stock market a temporary sugar high because most corporations used the tax savings to buy back their own shares of stock.
While former Republican President Donald Trump "defaced and defiled the presidency," said Reich on Wednesday, "no person has done more in living memory to undermine the functioning of the U.S. government" than McConnell.
Despite his disagreements with Trump and his opposition to the former president's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, McConnell voted to acquit the former president on the charge of inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021. The Republican leader had admitted that Trump "provoked" the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali pronounced McConnell "one of the worst people to ever serve in office."
Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have all been named as lawmakers who are likely to vie for the party leadership role. All three senators have announced their endorsements of Trump in the 2024 election in recent weeks.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Biden Exposed GOP Plan to Cut Social Security. Now, He Should Release a Plan to Expand Social Security.
The president should challenge the GOP to release its own plan for Social Security and hold a vote. Let the American people see, in the light of day, what each party stands for.
Feb 08, 2023
Last night, President Joe Biden called out Congressional Republicans for their plans to cut Social Security and Medicare. Several Republicans erupted in outrage, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yelled “liar.” In response, Biden said “I enjoy conversion…as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” and urged the entire room to “stand up for seniors.” Many Republicans in the room, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy, stood up and applauded.
This was a masterful moment of stagecraft from President Biden. But no one should mistake it for any real commitment from Republicans to back off their deeply held desire to cut Social Security and Medicare. Fortunately, Biden himself doesn’t appear to be making any such mistake.
After the speech, Biden tweeted “Look: I welcome all converts. But now, let’s see your budget.” Similarly, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday afternoon that McCarthy “says he wants cuts, where? He hasn't named a single place where he wants them. Is it going to be Social Security or Medicare? Don't just say no, prove it. Show us your plan."
Biden and Schumer are right. Republicans have a long history of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. Republican leaders keep saying — often to their donors behind closed doors — that they want to do it. Most recently, former Vice President Mike Pence told a closed door conference that he wants to “replace the New Deal with a better deal” by privatizing Social Security, handing our earned benefits over to Wall Street.
Pence was only the latest in a long line of Republicans with plans to cut Social Security and Medicare. Last year, the Republican Study Committee, which counts about 75 percent of House Republicans as members, released a budget that would raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare to 70, decimate middle class Social Security benefits, and voucherize Medicare. These are the very same House Republicans who erupted in outrage last night!
The story is no different in the Senate, where Senator John Thune (R-SD), the second highest ranking Republican in the Senate, has said that he wants to use the debt limit to force cuts to Social Security and other programs. Thune specifically endorsed raising the retirement age.
Thune’s colleagues have plans of their own. Last year, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) released a plan to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years. Scott recently compared spending on the programs to “alcoholism.” Not to be outdone, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) wants to turn Social Security and Medicare into discretionary spending, putting them in jeopardy every year, and says that Social Security was “set up improperly.”
Yet despite all these plans, Republicans realize that cutting Social Security and Medicare is incredibly unpopular, even with their own voters. That’s why, when Biden put them on the spot, they had no choice but to stand and applaud for protecting benefits. And it’s why they’re so desperate to go behind closed doors and force Democrats to cut benefits, so that the public can’t see which party’s fingerprints are on the cuts.
Two bills, the TRUST Act and the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act, would do just that. Both of these bills would create fast-tracked commissions to cut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors. They are designed to give politicians cover to enact unpopular benefit cuts and claim they had no choice.
The Biden Administration has rightfully called these bills “death panels” for Social Security and Medicare. Democrats must stand strong and refuse to go behind closed doors with Republicans. They must continue to make it clear, as Biden did last night, that only a clean increase in the debt limit with no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other program is acceptable.
Additionally, Democrats should follow the lead of Biden and Schumer by continuing to demand Republicans release their specific budget plan. Until Republicans release a budget that doesn’t cut a single penny from current or future Social Security and Medicare benefits, their claims that the programs are “off the table” are empty words. Furthermore, every member of Congress — Republicans and Democrats alike — should take the pledge to never cut Social Security and Medicare under any circumstances.
Democrats should make it clear to the American people which party supports Social Security by holding a vote on expanding, never cutting, Social Security’s modest benefits. Democratic legislators have already authored several plans to do just that. President Biden ran on a similar plan. Now, he should release an official White House plan that expands Social Security with no cuts and requires the wealthiest to pay their fair share.
Then, Biden should challenge Republicans to release their own plan for Social Security and hold a vote. Let the American people see, in the light of day, the plan that each party has for the future of our earned benefits.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular