Thune: we’ve tried 13 times, you voted no 13 times! Schumer every day shutdown “gets better” for Dem

Senate Majority Leader John Thune delivered a blistering floor speech at the 29-day mark of the government shutdown, highlighting the specific consequences Democrats had enabled through 13 rejected clean continuing resolution votes. Thune called out the “transparent admission” in Democrats’ new proposal to fund SNAP during their shutdown — it confirmed Democrats are planning to extend the shutdown indefinitely while isolating politically sensitive program funding from the broader government. Thune then rolled tape on three Democratic leaders revealing their true framework: Schumer saying “every day gets better for us,” the House Democratic Whip acknowledging “of course there will be families that are going to suffer but it is one of the few leverage times we have,” and the Senator from Delaware calling the shutdown “our only moment of leverage — although a very unpleasant tool to use.” Thune’s framework: Democrats are deliberately inflicting pain on 40 million SNAP recipients, TSA workers, air traffic controllers, border patrol, and troops — not despite knowing it hurts families, but because the pain creates political leverage. Thune: “We tried to do that 13 times. And you voted no, 13 times. This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about.” On Schumer: “Every day gets better for us … better for who? For you? Because you think you’re winning politically? What about the air traffic controllers? What about the TSA agents? What about the American troops?” On Democrat Whip: “Of course there will be families that are going to suffer, but it is one of the few leverage times we have."

"Should Not Go Without Food”

Thune opened by acknowledging the concern raised by a Democratic colleague. “And the senator from New Mexico was absolutely right. Snap recipient shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country.”

The senator from New Mexico — Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich or Ben Ray Luján — had argued SNAP recipients shouldn’t face disrupted food assistance. Thune accepted the premise: yes, nobody should lose food assistance during a shutdown.

“And we tried to do that 13 times. And you voted no, 13 times.”

Thune’s framing: Republicans had 13 times offered to keep government open and keep all programs funded via clean continuing resolution. Democrats voted no 13 times. The SNAP situation Democrats now complain about is the direct result of their 13 “no” votes.

“This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about."

"29 Days In”

“And you all have just figured out 29 days in that oh, there might be some consequences. They’re people running out of money.”

Thune’s scornful framing: Democrats at day 29 suddenly “discovering” that shutdowns have consequences. The consequences were entirely predictable from day one.

“Yeah, we’re 29 days in. And they’ve done their best to make sure that a lot of these programs are funded.”

Thune acknowledged that the administration and agencies had stretched resources to keep programs running as long as possible during the shutdown. But stretching has limits.

“But at some point, the government runs out of money.”

The blunt reality: agencies operate on appropriations. No appropriations means no money. Delaying tactics only extend so far.

13 Votes for SNAP and WIC

“13 times people over here voted to fund Snap. 13 times they voted to fund WIC.”

Thune emphasized: each of the 13 clean CR votes would have funded:

• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) — food stamps for low-income Americans
• WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) — nutrition program for pregnant women, new mothers, young children

Democrats voted no 13 times, knowing each vote would fund these programs. The current “emergency” is entirely self-created.

”Making Plans to Keep Going”

“They’re making plans to keep the shutdown going. And they realize all of a sudden 29 days in that this is a real consequence, real life pain for American families. Something that results from their shutdown.”

Thune’s characterization: Democrats aren’t trying to end the shutdown. They’re trying to extend it while minimizing the political damage from the specific consequences.

“So are they making plans to end the shutdown and reopen the government? Nope. They’re gonna propose a bill to fund food stamps during their shutdown.”

The Democratic approach: propose legislation isolating SNAP funding from the broader shutdown. This lets Democrats maintain the shutdown (preserving leverage) while addressing the most politically sensitive consequence (SNAP recipients losing food).

”Transparent Admission”

“This present, this request is a transparent admission. The Democrats want to keep the shutdown for what? Another month? Longer?”

Thune’s framework: by proposing to isolate SNAP funding, Democrats are tacitly admitting the shutdown will continue for weeks or months more. A quick end would make the isolation proposal unnecessary.

“This bill is a cynical attempt to provide political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown for the long term.”

The charge is political cynicism: use the isolation proposal to neutralize the worst political attack (starving children), while continuing the shutdown itself.

13 Clean CRs Under Biden

“I’ll point out, we did 13 short term, clean CRs when they had the majority. And President Biden was in the White House. 13, they’ve now voted 13 times against a clean CR.”

The historical comparison is devastating:

• Under Biden with Democratic majority: 13 clean CRs passed
• Under Trump with Republican majority: 13 clean CRs blocked by Democratic filibuster

Same Senate composition in terms of number of votes required (Senate filibuster rules require 60). Different outcomes because Democrats supported clean CRs when convenient and now oppose them when inconvenient.

”Stroke of His Pen”

“The Democrat leader said that President Trump could end this with a stroke of his pen. And he’s right. We passed that bill with a stroke of his pen, he’ll sign it in law.”

Schumer’s framework had been that Trump could unilaterally end the shutdown. Thune turned it: yes, Trump will sign the clean CR. The obstacle is Democratic senators blocking the bill from reaching Trump’s desk.

“And the government opens up and snap beneficiary, snap recipients, get food assistance.”

Thune’s framework: Democrats pass the CR, Trump signs it, SNAP resumes. The chain is ready to execute as soon as Democrats stop blocking.

”But You Know What Else”

“But you know what else? TSA workers get paid. Air traffic controllers get paid. Border patrol agents get paid. Troops get paid.”

Thune expanded beyond SNAP to the full list of affected workers:

• TSA workers — airport security, screening
• Air traffic controllers — ATC managing every commercial flight
• Border Patrol agents — border security during enforcement surge
• Military troops — active duty service members

Each category is currently working without pay during the shutdown. Restart the government, everyone gets paid.

“These people here get paid. Who are working without pay. You want to extend that and keep that going?”

Thune directly addressed Senate Democrats: your shutdown is starving food stamp recipients AND stiffing the workers keeping airports running AND keeping troops unpaid. You want to extend all of that for political leverage?

Schumer: “Every Day Gets Better”

“That of course is the Democrat leader, Senator Schumer, who said every day gets better for us commenting about the government shutdown.”

Thune rolled Schumer’s actual quote — publicly stating the shutdown was getting better each day for Democrats politically.

“And my simple observation is better for who? For you? Because you think you’re winning politically?”

Thune’s challenge: “better for who?” Schumer’s answer can only be “better politically for Democrats.” The shutdown is demonstrably worse for every other stakeholder.

“What about the air traffic controllers? What about the TSA agents? What about the American troops? What about our border patrol agents? What about the people who work in this building?”

Thune enumerated stakeholders harmed by shutdown:

• Air traffic controllers
• TSA agents
• Troops
• Border Patrol agents
• Capitol Hill staff (people working in the building)

“What about the 40 million Americans that are gonna not get snap benefits starting on Saturday if the government doesn’t open up?”

40 million SNAP beneficiaries. The number is massive — about 12% of the U.S. population relies on SNAP for some portion of food budget.

“But every day gets better, according to Senator Schumer.”

House Democrat Whip

“And then of course this last week, there was the House Democrat Whip, who said of course there will be families that are going to suffer, but it is one of the few leverage times we have.”

The House Democrat Whip — Katherine Clark — had acknowledged on the record that families would suffer during the shutdown but framed that suffering as acceptable in exchange for political leverage.

“Of course there are families that are going to suffer. Yeah, true. But, doesn’t matter, because we got leverage.”

Thune’s paraphrase captures the implicit message: yes, families suffer, that’s the mechanism of leverage. The suffering is the feature, not the bug.

Senator from Delaware

“Then of course we have a third one here, one of our colleagues here in the Senate, the Senator from Delaware, who said this in an interview, frankly this is our only moment of leverage. And although a very unpleasant tool to use.”

The Senator from Delaware — likely Sen. Chris Coons or Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester — had publicly characterized the shutdown as “our only moment of leverage” while acknowledging it was “a very unpleasant tool to use.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s unpleasant. It’s unpleasant unless you’re a Democrat who thinks that this gives you a moment of leverage.”

Thune’s framework: “unpleasant” is a comfortable description for those not actually feeling the pain. The people experiencing unemployment, missed paychecks, and food insecurity are not the senators comfortably calling the tool “unpleasant."

"Bragging About It”

“These guys are the ones who are out there bragging about it getting better for us every single day. Or we have more leverage now.”

Thune’s summary: Democrats aren’t ashamed of the shutdown — they’re bragging about it. Publicly boasting in interviews about how they’re winning politically while Americans face real financial pain.

The political framework is clear: Democrats believe the shutdown helps them electorally. Their internal calculus: suffering Americans equals Democratic political gains. Every SNAP recipient losing benefits is a potential Democratic vote. Every missed paycheck is a political liability for Republicans.

Significance

The shutdown had become, by day 29, a purely political exercise for Democrats. Not about substantive policy (since Democrats had voted for identical clean CRs under Biden), but about leverage extraction.

Republicans’ frustration: Democrats won’t take “yes” for an answer. Every Republican offer maintains every Democratic priority from the last appropriations cycle. Democrats demand additions — specifically, expanded ACA subsidies that Republicans characterize as effectively funding healthcare for undocumented immigrants.

Polling had begun shifting against Democrats by day 29. Morning Consult and Harvard Harris polling found increasing blame attribution to Democrats. The “every day gets better” framing began to sound callous rather than confident.

Key Takeaways

• Thune on 13 votes: “We tried to do that 13 times. And you voted no, 13 times. This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about. And you all have just figured out 29 days in that oh, there might be some consequences.”
• Thune on isolation proposal: “This bill is a cynical attempt to provide political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown for the long term.”
• Thune on “stroke of pen”: “We passed that bill with a stroke of his pen, he’ll sign it in law. And the government opens up and snap beneficiary, snap recipients, get food assistance.”
• Thune on Schumer: “Every day gets better for us … better for who? For you? Because you think you’re winning politically? What about the air traffic controllers? What about the TSA agents? What about the American troops? What about our border patrol agents? What about the 40 million Americans that are gonna not get snap benefits starting on Saturday?”
• Thune on Democrats’ leverage admissions: “The House Democrat Whip, who said of course there will be families that are going to suffer, but it is one of the few leverage times we have … the Senator from Delaware, who said this in an interview, frankly this is our only moment of leverage. And although a very unpleasant tool to use.”