John Thune Holds Briefing After Trump Endorses Ken Paxton Over John Cornyn In TX Race

[0:01] Good afternoon, everyone. The former Vice President said here recently that this is [0:09] a moment when there are no bad ideas. With all due respect to the former Vice President, [0:16] it seems to me, at least the Democrats, there's no shortage of bad ideas. And chief among [0:20] those is this idea that they're going to defund the police. That is the mantra of the Democrat [0:27] Party. It's the position of the Democrats here in Washington in the House and the Senate. [0:32] And as a consequence of that, Republicans are going to be forced to take care of the [0:36] American people. Because I think the question that most Americans, the question that's before [0:40] us is do we want to live in safety and security? And obviously the answer to that for most Americans [0:45] I think is going to be yes. And if you look at the record of success that this administration [0:53] and working with this Congress has had, in the last 12 months there was not a single illegal [0:59] immigrant released into this country. Last 12 months, not a single one. And you go back [1:05] to just two years ago, under the Biden administration, there were literally thousands being released [1:11] into the country every single day. So this is about whether or not you want to live in [1:16] a country that is safe and secure, where you support law enforcement, the important job [1:21] they do, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or whether you don't. [1:27] And Republicans do. Republicans are going to have law enforcement's back. And so this week [1:32] we're going to vote on the Secure America Act, which is a piece of legislation that will fund [1:38] ICE and CBP, not only for this year, but through the entirety of the Trump administration. Because [1:44] the Democrats have adopted a defund the police and open borders policy, which is incredibly [1:50] detrimental to this country. And we're going to ensure that that doesn't happen. So that's [1:55] what's going to be on the floor here, hopefully later this week. I expect again that the Democrats [2:00] are, we'll see what they want to do in terms of amendments. And, but I doubt you'll see many [2:06] amendments that have to do with Border Patrol or ICE and Customs Enforcement. I think most of what [2:12] you're going to see is a bunch of unrelated amendments, but we're going to stay focused [2:19] on the job, keep our foot on the grass, or foot on the gas, I should say, and ensure [2:24] that the American people are able to live in safety and security in their communities [2:28] in this country. Senator Bozeman. Or Senator Brass, sorry. [2:38] Democrats are the party of open borders and illegal immigrant criminals. And Democrats have [2:44] chained themselves, chained themselves to the defund the police movement of the radical [2:49] wing of this country. That's what we're dealing with here. Because since January, Democrats have [2:55] blocked critical funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have blocked critical [3:01] funding for Border Patrol. And if you ask most Americans, is it important to have a funded [3:06] Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Is it important to have funded Border Patrol? The answer [3:11] is clearly yes. If you want to live in a community that is secure in a country that is safe, it is [3:17] important to do those things. So Republicans are going to vote this week on the Secure America Act. And I [3:25] don't expect a single Democrat to vote for it. We're going to be the ones funding ICE, funding Border [3:31] Patrol. And you say, why are the Democrats all going to vote against it? Because the defund the police [3:36] group is really now the driving force within the Democrat Party. And Democrats in the Senate and [3:44] in the House are willing to sacrifice to give up the safety and security of our nation to illegal immigrant [3:52] criminals. [3:55] The President of the United States. Given that you've spent months trying to encourage, persuade [4:00] the President to endorse John Cornyn in the Texas primary, and given that the NRSC has invested [4:05] heavily to help Cornyn win that primary, how personally disappointed or frustrated are you [4:10] with the President's decision to endorse Kennedy Paxman today? [4:12] Well, I think you all know my position on this issue. I've made it very clear for months now. [4:19] And Senator Cornyn is a principal conservative. He is a very effective senator for the [4:25] state of Texas. And, but I don't, none of us control what the President does. He made [4:30] his decision about that. That doesn't change the way I feel. And I am certainly supportive, [4:38] I will continue to be supportive of Senator Cornyn and his reelection. [4:40] How much harder has he made it to keep the majority? How much harder has the President's [4:43] decision here made it for you? The number one job to keep the Republican majority, given [4:48] your concerns about Ken Paxman's viability as candidate? [4:51] We look at, you know, lots of races around the country. And the majority, [4:56] runs through a lot of different states. We have 24 seats up this time. The Democrats [5:00] have only nine. So we've got a lot more ground to defend. We also have a couple of offensive [5:04] opportunities. So, you know, one state doesn't determine the outcome of this election. But [5:10] obviously, we care about every state. And we care about helping see our incumbents succeed. [5:16] That being said, I feel very good about where we are. As I've said before, I think when it [5:21] comes to winning elections, it starts with quality candidates. Then you've got to have [5:25] a record of accomplishment to run on. You've got to have resources to get that message out, [5:29] tell that story of the American people. And then you've got to have a really substantial [5:34] effort to get out the vote, a ground game. And I feel confident in all those elements in [5:39] all the key states where we're going to have competitive elections this year. And I'm very [5:43] confident we'll hang on and maybe even expand the majority in the United States Senate, which [5:47] is counter, I know, to the, you know, sort of the narrative these days. But the truth [5:52] of the matter is, we've got the right candidates in the right places at the right time and with [5:57] the right resources. We're going to win some races. [5:59] Is Ken Fax an equality candidate? Is Ken Fax an equality candidate? [6:02] Did you do a heads-up beforehand, or did you find out? [6:04] I found out, I think, where everybody else did. [6:08] There's been a lot of frustration. There's been a lot of frustration from some other Republicans [6:12] about not only the Paxton endorsement, but also what happened with Cassidy. A lot of members [6:16] on their way out the door now. Are you worried that your conference is going to be less [6:20] governable? And what is your message to some of these members who are really frustrated [6:23] right now? [6:24] Well, I think our members, we're a team. And you win as a team, you lose as a team. And [6:30] the sooner you figure out, figure that out, the better off you are. So as we think about [6:35] the elections this fall and our agenda for the balance of this year heading up into that [6:41] election, my goal, as always, is going to be to make sure that we are as united as possible, [6:46] working together with our colleagues in the House and with the White House on an agenda [6:51] that will help us not only succeed as a country, but hopefully prepare and ensure that our incumbents [6:58] are in the best possible position to win their elections. [7:02] On another topic, the Acting Attorney General was up here on Capitol Hill testifying where [7:07] he got a lot of questions about this new $1.8 billion weaponization fund. A short time ago, [7:13] the Department of Justice laid out some additional terms of this settlement in terms of the IRS [7:17] saying that the IRS is forever barred and precluded from prosecuting for pursuing future examinations [7:23] of the President. Do you believe this is a legitimate fund? And do you believe those terms are fair? [7:28] I think that there are and will be, continue to be, a lot of questions around that that the [7:35] administration is going to have to answer. [7:37] Leader, the last week the House of the Republicans had to separate. [7:41] I think that, you know, the next step for us is to figure out what we can get 54 in the Senate [7:51] and 218 for in the House. That's always the case on every reconciliation bill. And so you go through the [7:57] parliamentary process, the birdbath, if you will, and figure out where that lands. But in the end, [8:04] it's going to come down to what we have the votes to pass. And so we've had conversations, continue to have [8:09] conversations with our colleagues here in the Senate and in the House and in the White House for that matter, [8:14] to make sure that we're all headed in the same direction on all these issues. But I think, as you know, [8:19] that the principal objective in this reconciliation bill is to ensure that ICE and CBP are funded, [8:24] not only today, but for the foreseeable future, given the unwillingness of the Democrats to do anything [8:30] to enforce the law in this country or to provide resources for our law enforcement efforts in this country. [8:36] And that's why we are where we are today. And this reconciliation bill is not like any other that we've done before. [8:41] It's all about what can you get 50 and 218 for. [8:44] Leader, last week, the House leadership had to separate out from the farm bill. [8:50] Ethanol, 15 percent ethanol gasoline. Now the two are separate. They have a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. [9:00] What is the best path forward since farmers have been suffering now for three years or more a crisis in agriculture? [9:09] What is the best path forward legislatively to get both the farm bill and E15 year-round through the Congress? [9:16] We're having conversations about that. We have, I think, as you know, I'm a big, I represent a big agricultural state. [9:23] High input costs, low commodity prices, you know, weather-related disasters, all those sorts of things. [9:29] Farm income has been down and been coming down now for the last several years. [9:33] And, you know, it's obviously not a sustainable position because a lot of farmers eventually are not going to be able to stay in the future. [9:38] So we want to do what we can to create additional demand for American agricultural products. [9:43] And some of that, obviously, is trade-related. I was pleased to hear some of the news that came out of the President's visit to China last week. [9:50] But E15 is also a way of creating additional demand for agricultural commodities in this country and creating additional supply when it comes to fuels. [10:00] And what happens, at least in my part of the country, that means that when you buy ethanol at the pump, it's significantly lower in price. [10:08] And I think right now that's something consumers are very interested in. [10:11] So we're looking at ways to move it. We have people here who represent states that also have refineries. [10:17] And that's a factor in this conversation. But we're having a robust discussion about it. [10:22] I'm hopeful and confident that, in the end, we'll be able to succeed and pick up what the House did, [10:27] figure out how to pair it with the farm bill that they sent over here, [10:32] and try and get a result for the American people and, more specifically, for the farmers all across this country. [10:39] Thank you all.