South Dakota US Senator John Thune is the majority whip in the Senate. That position is the second most senior position in Senate Republican leadership.
Thune ran unopposed for the position. He says serving South Dakotans will remain a top priority.
Senator Thune will serve as the caucus’s whip for the 116th congress, which begins in January.
Thune says despite his new position next year, he will continue to work for South Dakota. In doing that, he says he will maintain spots on committees that are important to the state.
That includes being on the Senate Ag, as well as the finance committees.
Thune says he has to give up his chairmanship on Commerce, Science and Transportation. He says he truly loved serving as chair of that committee, which he says dealt with many issues critical to the state.
“My issue areas are areas of interest because I think they really fit well with the South Dakota agenda. They tend to be infrastructure, and that’s roads and bridges and air service and rail, because rail, of course, is very important to the ag economy. Agriculture, farm bills, trade, tax policy and technology. High speed internet service, and making that more available and more prevalent all across South Dakota. Those are the issues that I have, sort of, in my wheelhouse during my time in the Senate. And I expect to continue to work on those.”
Thune’s election to majority whip makes him the highest ranking South Dakota Republican in the US senate.
Former Democratic US Senator Tom Daschle served as majority and minority leader in the Senate. He was defeated by Thune in 2004.