Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), typically known for his calm, measured demeanor, erupted in frustration on the Senate floor Wednesday, accusing Democrats of prolonging the government shutdown and using social welfare programs as political leverage. -Thune’s rare display of anger came during a heated exchange over legislation to temporarily fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food aid to low-income families.
Democrats, led by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), pushed for a standalone bill to keep SNAP benefits flowing as the shutdown approached its 30th day.
Thune fired back, noting that Republicans had already voted 13 times to reopen the government, only to be blocked by Senate Democrats.
“Let me just point out, if I might, that we are 29 days into a Democrat shutdown,” Thune said, his voice rising. “SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country. And we’ve tried to do that 13 times. You voted no 13 times.”
As Democrats pressed for an immediate vote, Thune grew visibly exasperated, turning toward the Democratic side of the chamber.
“You all just figured out, 29 days in, that, oh, there might be some consequences? There are people who’ll run out of money? Yeah, we’re 29 days in,” he said, slapping the lectern for emphasis. “At some point, the government runs out of money. My aching back. You finally realize this thing has consequences.”
The exchange underscored the deepening frustration among Senate Republicans, who argue that Democrats are deliberately stalling a reopening of the government to extract concessions on unrelated spending priorities, including renewed subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
“This isn’t a political game,” Thune said. “These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about.”
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The impasse comes as millions of SNAP recipients face the prospect of missing benefits at the end of the month.
Both parties have introduced competing bills to address the program’s funding lapse. Luján’s Democratic-backed measure focuses solely on SNAP, while Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has proposed a broader Republican bill that includes funding for both food aid and military pay.
Thune, however, dismissed both standalone efforts as distractions from the larger issue — Democrats’ refusal to approve a continuing resolution that would reopen the government in full.
“We don’t need one-off fixes,” Thune told reporters after his floor speech.
“We need to pass a clean, bipartisan bill and get people back to work.”
Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have insisted they will not back the GOP’s proposed continuing resolution unless it includes a long-term extension of healthcare subsidies. Republicans have accused them of holding the government “hostage” to force through a partisan health care agenda.
Behind the scenes, there are signs of movement. Thune told reporters earlier Wednesday that bipartisan talks had “ticked up significantly” and that discussions with key Democrats were “constructive.” Asked when he would personally step into negotiations, Thune replied, “It will happen pretty soon.”
Still, Thune’s eruption on the floor reflects mounting impatience within the GOP. Normally even-tempered, the senator apologized afterward for his outburst but said Democrats’ tactics had left him no choice.
“Sorry, I channeled a little bit of anger there,” he told reporters. “But it’s a high level of frustration. They realize this is a losing argument. They’re trying to buy time — and every day they delay makes things worse.”
The government shutdown, now nearing its fifth week, has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers and frozen pay for millions more. Essential programs such as food assistance and housing vouchers are operating on borrowed funds.
The White House has also applied pressure, with President Donald Trump declaring earlier this week that “Schumer and Senate Democrats are holding the entire government hostage.”
“You can call it the Schumer shutdown or the Democrats’ shutdown,” Trump said during a Rose Garden event on Tuesday. “They’re doing the wrong thing, and the public knows it.”
CHUCK SCHUMER CALLS FOR “FORCEFUL UPRISING” AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — YES, REALLY
The same man who spent the past four years weaponizing the justice system, cheering lawfare, hoaxes, and political prosecutions… is now crying “tyranny.”
In a wild rant, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Americans to literally “forcefully rise up” against the Trump administration:
Schumer: “It is now just a hallmark of tyrannical, autocratic dictatorship societies that they use the prosecutorial department as a political weapon. It is a disgrace and every American… should be forcefully rising up against this.”
You can’t make this up.The party that:
Launched two fake impeachments
Spied on a sitting president
Censored citizens on social media
Jailed political opponents
And shut down the government to fund healthcare for illegal aliens
is now pretending to be the victim of “authoritarianism.”
Schumer doesn’t want accountability — he wants an uprising because Trump is finally draining the swamp and enforcing the law equally.
If a Republican said what Schumer just did, the FBI would already be knocking on their door.
The Democratic Party has become a criminal enterprise, and Chuck Schumer just gave America the proof — on camera.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Commits Ultimate Betrayal Of President Donald Trump – PRIMARY This RINO
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced that he will support his fellow libertarian-leaning colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), in his upcoming primary race against a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump.Trump threw his support last week behind Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and outspoken loyalist, after calling for a 2026 primary challenge to Massie. The congressman has repeatedly pressed the administration to release all remaining files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, Fox News reported.
Tens of thousands of pages of Epstein files have been released, however.Massie has frequently broken with Trump and GOP leadership on key issues, including voting against the president’s summer spending bill and asserting that Trump must obtain congressional authorization before engaging in military action.
Paul, who has taken similar positions, also opposed the spending measure in the Senate and has criticized the administration for conducting military strikes without approval from Congress.
Paul is now endorsing Massie’s re-election campaign and is committed to helping him retain his House seat.
“Thomas Massie is going to win,” Paul told POLITICO. “I’m going to help him. I’m going to be with him every step of the way.”
Paul described Massie as an “independent voice” within the Republican Party, noting his frequent breaks with GOP leadership. However, he emphasized that both he and Massie still back President Trump’s agenda “significantly more” than many other Republicans who have sought to align themselves closely with the president.
“The people who’ve gotten close to him who want regime change in Venezuela and want to send more advanced weaponry to Ukraine, those are the interventionists from the interventionist wing of the party who have never been the ones really closely allied,” Paul said. “These are the people who have always opposed Donald Trump.”
Paul said he and Massie will continue to push for “enumerated powers” as well as “balanced budgets, low taxes and less foreign war.”
The Kentucky senator warned that Trump’s decision to single out Massie should concern all Republican lawmakers, emphasizing that taking positions contrary to the president’s agenda could carry political repercussions.
“It’s a warning sign,” he said. “‘Oppose me or any of my policies, and I’ll come after you.’ And I don’t think that’s good for the Republican Party, nor do I think it’s good for the country.”
The senator added that he is frustrated with being treated as the Republican Party’s “whipping boy,” saying many of his colleagues rely on him “to do their job for them” when they are unwilling to tell Trump that his nominees lack sufficient support in the Senate, Fox News reported.
“They say, ‘Oh, well, you’re not afraid of the president. You go tell him his nominee can’t make it,’” Paul said. “So, I’m just tired of always being the whipping boy. I’m tired of [being] the only one that has any guts to stand up and tell the president the truth.”
Paul has also faced criticism from President Trump in recent months but has continued to stand his ground. Most recently, he has spoken out against the administration’s military strikes on boats it claims—based on intelligence—were carrying narco-terrorists.
The senator expressed concern over the lack of due process and the potential for innocent people to be killed in such operations. He pointed to Coast Guard data indicating that a significant percentage of vessels boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking turn out to be innocent.
Earlier this week, Paul disclosed that he had not been invited to a White House luncheon with other Republican senators, reportedly due to his ongoing disagreements with President Trump. He noted, however, that he already had a “Liberty Caucus Lunch” scheduled with Rep. Thomas Massie at the same time.
Paul recently campaigned alongside Massie and said he intends to join him again on the campaign trail in the near future, Fox added.