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Public disputes concerning political parties, public officials, institutions, political conduct, and governance in the United States.
Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.
6 statements on this page. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 28, 2026
6 matching statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 28, 2026
6 published statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 28, 2026
1 published statement. Dates: September 28, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: September 28, 2026
Role at the time: Senate majority leader; U.S. senator from South Dakota
Statement summary
John Thune approves the ads' message but opposes paying for them with taxpayer dollars.
“It's a great message. I like the message. But it shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Roll Call quotes Thune approving the message while opposing taxpayer payment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)The conduct under scrutiny is federal funding for Trump-promoting ads. Thune rejects that funding; liking the message does not defend the spending.
3 published statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
3 statements on this page. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
Role at the time: U.S. Senator, South Dakota
Statement summary
John Thune voted nay on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Official Senate roll call on H.Con.Res. 89, a concurrent resolution directing the President under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran. Rejected 49-50 on September 24, 2026. Fetterman was the only Democratic nay; Republicans Collins, Murkowski, Paul and Tillis voted yea; Alsobrooks did not vote.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Voted against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran, a vote to let U.S. involvement continue without congressional authorization.
Role at the time: United States Senate majority leader
Statement summary
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Congress has a role in addressing consequential risks from frontier AI and that guardrails for those models make sense, while stressing that policy should not stifle innovation.
“Guardrails there make sense to me.”
Associated Press report directly attributing Thune’s September 14 remarks to reporters about AI risks and congressional guardrails.
Role at the time: U.S. Senator, South Dakota
Statement summary
John Thune voted Nay on H.Con.Res. 86, the Senate resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 86: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Official Senate roll call on H.Con.Res. 86, directing the President under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran. Agreed to 50-48 on June 23, 2026 — the first Iran war powers resolution to pass both chambers. Republicans Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski and Paul voted yea; Fetterman was the only Democratic nay.
1 published statement. Dates: September 23, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: September 23, 2026
Role at the time: Senate majority leader
Statement summary
John Thune rejected the suggestion that Collins participated in a pay-to-play scheme, calling the allegations politically motivated.
“a political hit job”
John Thune rejected the suggestion that Collins participated in a pay-to-play scheme, calling the allegations politically motivated. Steve Abbott denied that Collins exchanged contracts for campaign money and rejected the allegation that her campaign charged for meetings.
Denies the alleged exchange; does not defend bribery.
1 published statement. Dates: September 17, 2026
1 statement on this page. Dates: September 17, 2026
Role at the time: United States Senator for South Dakota and Senate Majority Leader, answering reporters’ questions on Capitol Hill
Statement summary
Asked by a reporter on Capitol Hill how concerned he was about the president’s remarks on the Kennedy Center, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hoped they were “designed to get people to come to the table and work something out on everything related to the Kennedy Center, including the name,” and that he would be “very, very surprised if that actually happened.” Asked whether Congress would try to stop it, he said “I hope we won’t get to that point.”
“I hope it’s, you know, designed to get people to come to the table and work something out on everything related to the Kennedy Center, including the name, but you know, I mean, I’d be very, very surprised if that actually happened.”
NBC live-blog item (structured data: published 2026-09-17 18:51 UTC, modified 21:39 UTC) that quotes Thune directly after “Thune said:”. NBC’s description of the question is NBC’s own paraphrase and not Thune’s words. No video or audio of the exchange was located, so the wording is NBC’s recording; AP independently quotes the last clause and his second answer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Thune says he hopes the president’s remarks are meant to bring people to the table on “everything related to the Kennedy Center, including the name,” and that he would be “very, very surprised if that actually happened,” which discounts the likelihood of the outcome named in the remarks without rejecting or endorsing the position. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, since he offers a reading of the remarks as aimed at getting people to the table. That loses because he frames it as a hope rather than disputing how the remarks are described, and his operative point is that the outcome is unlikely, which downplays its likely consequence.
Relative to stronger federal safeguards for frontier AI, Thune explicitly endorses guardrails for consequential frontier-model risks. His emphasis on innovation limits the approach’s scope but does not reject safeguards.
A nay vote opposed the resolution directing the removal of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran, allowing U.S. military operations in the war to continue.
