In a decisive move to curb further government shutdown antics, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has advocated for a return to the tried-and-true method of funding the government through traditional appropriations. On Wednesday, Thune addressed the press, emphasizing that the key to building “a stronger, safer America” lies in passing funding bills via this established process, rather than relying on continuing resolutions.
The recent “Schumer Shutdown,” which disrupted operations at American airports and cut funding to programs like SNAP, came to an end after a turbulent 43 days. Thune’s remarks signal a clear intent to prevent such chaos from recurring by adhering to a more structured budgetary approach.
“In the Senate, we have a lot to accomplish,” Thune stated. “We’re eager to get the appropriations process back on track, which unfortunately stalled during the shutdown. We’ve got significant catching up to do. Before the shutdown, we had successfully passed three appropriations bills—MilCon-VA, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch. These are now law, marking the first time since 2018 that such progress has been made before August.”
Thune expressed a strong commitment to maintaining regular order in appropriations, asserting that this method is superior to resorting to omnibus bills crafted behind closed doors or long-term continuing resolutions. His push for regular order underscores a desire for transparency and efficiency in government funding practices.
The Senate is BACK TO WORK and busy in preparation for January 30th.” pic.twitter.com/ANBJqCdky9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 19, 2025
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“I think, at least here in the Senate, we have a lot of things, as you know, we have to get done,” Thune said. “And of course, we want to get the appropriations process moving again. It got slowed down during the shutdown, unfortunately, and as a consequence of that, we’ve got a lot of ground to make up. But as you all know, we did pass the three appropriations bills … MilCon-VA, Ag, and Leg Branch.”
“So three of the 12 are now law, and those three we got across the floor of the Senate before August, which is the first time that’s happened since 2018,” he added. “So, as you all know, we are very committed to regular order on appropriations. We think that’s the best way to fund the government – rather than having an omnibus bill written in the leader’s office or a year-long CR.”
“Going through a normal appropriations process where the committee marks up bills, has input from all the members on the committee, reports them to the floor, and there’s an open process, transparent process on the floor, we think is the best way to fund the government,” Thune continued. “And so, the challenge now is to get the next package ready to go – starting, we’ve got the defense appropriations bill ready…. we’re also trying to clear four other appropriations bills to put together a minibus that we could act on here in the Senate, so we’re working through those holds.”
The Senate Majority Leader urged his colleagues who are actually interested in having the government funded through the traditional appropriations process to “try and work constructively to get these bills up on the floor.”
“To let us get on them and have an amendment process, and try and process them in a way that enables us to fund the government through the appropriations process, as opposed to, as I said, either a continuing resolution or an omnibus or something like that,” Thune said. “Those are not solutions that are good for the country, and they’re certainly not good for this institution or for the House of Representatives. We want to do it the old-fashioned way.”
SEE: Trump to Air Traffic Controllers: Back to Work, Now
ALSO: Report: Schumer’s Plans to Keep the Schumer Shutdown From Ending Were Worse Than We Thought
Given that the radical leftists are now running the Democrat Party, it is unclear, at this point, if a move to the so-called old-fashioned way of funding the government is going to completely make the government shutdown-proof.
However, it does appear to be a move in the right direction. And if that stops the insanity of the last month and a half, that’s a great thing.
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