Congress
Thune: ‘Failure is not an option’ on tax policy
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s eyeing a sweeping tax policy package by summer, but conceded it will take some time to reach agreement on changes to the complex code.
“It’s going to take a while to put that big package together because there are so many moving parts,” Thune said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.”
“My goal is to have this done by summer. I think that big tax piece is just going to take a while,” he continued.
But the South Dakota Republican was quick to add: “Failure is not an option as far as tax is concerned.”
Among the complex issues for the tax bill, according to Thune: what baseline to use, whether to make the cuts permanent and how much of them should be offset.
While those negotiations on complex tax policy continue, Thune said he’s eyeing a “big early win” for President-elect Donald Trump with a party-line push on border security, military and energy provisions.
Thune indicated he did not favor inserting consensus tax provisions in the first package.
“I think they’re all going to have to ride together,” he said of tax policy, noting the complexity of the nation’s code. “Don’t rush them, make sure we get it right.”
Both bills would rely on a party-line process, known in official Washington parlance as reconciliation, to allow them to pass with a simple majority of Republicans.
Thune indicated the second package would be a natural spot to implement government savings recommendations developed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy through their so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Thune’s two-track approach is at odds with that favored by House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who favors a single reconciliation package.
“If we don’t hit out the gates running, we’re going to be in trouble,” Smith said Tuesday on Fox Business. “House Republicans are ready to pass the president’s economic package. We’ve been working on this since April with the hopes that we’d have a unified Republican government.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is confident Sen. Markwayne Mullin will be confirmed as the next secretary of Homeland Security despite a contentious exchange with fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul at a hearing Wednesday.
Paul, the chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sharply questioned the Oklahoma senator about past remarks that he “understood” why Paul suffered a heinous assault from a neighbor in 2017. Mullin refused to apologize for the remark.
“Those two obviously have some history, and it’s, you know, personal stuff,” Thune said. “They’ve got to work through it. I mean, in the end, this is about the job, and it’s about making sure that we got the right person there. I think Markwayne is the right person for the job.”
Asked if he was still confident Mullin can be confirmed, Thune said, “Yeah.”
Paul has scheduled a committee vote on Mullin for Thursday. While Paul’s vote is in serious doubt, Mullin could win over Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has expressed support for Mullin previously and said Wednesday he would approach the nomination “with an open mind.”
“I haven’t been rocked by some mic-dropping kind of moments,” Fetterman told reporters after the hearing.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin said he regretted calling Alex Pretti “deranged” but stopped short of offering a direct apology to Pretti’s family.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” the Oklahoma Republican said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday to serve as the next Homeland Security secretary. He was referring to his past comments regarding the U.S. citizen killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota back in January, who some conservatives in the immediate aftermath labeled a “domestic terrorist.”
It was a stronger concession than Mullin gave just moments earlier, when he refused to apologize for calling Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, a “snake.” Still, when pressed by the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, Mullin would not commit to apologizing to Pretti’s family until the conclusion of an investigation into the incident.
“If I’m proven wrong, then I will,” Mullin said.
Regarding Renee Good, another U.S. citizen killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota earlier this year, Mullin refused to retract comments he made at the time of Good’s death, specifically that agents were justified in killing her. He told BLN in January that agents “had the right to defend themselves.”
He said he would wait for the findings of the investigation into Good’s killing to comment further; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) countered that the Trump administration is currently blocking state and local inquiries.
A committee vote on Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as Homeland Security secretary remains on track for Thursday despite a fiery sparring session Wednesday between the Oklahoma Republican and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the chair of the panel that must approve his nomination.
A spokesperson for Paul said after the tense exchange — during which Mullin refused to apologize for comments saying he “understood” why Paul was violently assaulted in 2017 — that the committee vote “is on for tomorrow.”
As chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Paul has wide latitude to schedule action on Mullin’s nomination.
- Markwayne Mullin’s DHS nomination not at risk from Rand Paul, Thune says
- Mullin says he regrets calling Alex Pretti ‘deranged’
- Mullin markup still on
- Elizabeth Warren backs Mallory McMorrow in Michigan Senate primary
- Capitol agenda: Tulsi Gabbard takes the hot seat
- The Latest: Trump seeks help opening the Strait of Hormuz as Iran war chokes oil shipping
- The Senate’s marathon elections debate is dividing Republicans, not Democrats
- White House releases DHS funding offer
- Senate bills survive
- Senate launches debate on SAVE America Act with endgame uncertain
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship6 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics11 months agoDemocrat challenging Joni Ernst: I want to ‘tear down’ party, ‘build it back up’
-
Uncategorized1 year ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week