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U.S. Senator from South Dakota

John Thune

Republican · South Dakota

Senate Majority Leader, serving since 2005. Former House member. Focus on agriculture, telecommunications, and fiscal conservatism. Led Senate Republican Conference since 2021.

Record

Mainstream conservative and Senate Majority Leader. Focus on fiscal restraint, farm policy, and broadband infrastructure. Consistent Republican leadership vote.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.Res.817 — An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.Con.Res.37 — A concurrent resolution authorizing the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to honor the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham. (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
    This concurrent resolution authorizes the Capitol rotunda to be used on July 28, 2026, for a tribute to the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham of the state of South Carolina.
  • S.Res.810 — A resolution to constitute the majority party's membership on certain committees for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, or until their successors are chosen. (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
  • S.5015 — Broadband MAP Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
  • S.Res.745 — A resolution to authorize production of records to the United States Attorney. (Introduced, May 20, 2026)
  • S.4448 — Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026 (Reported, Apr 30, 2026)
  • S.Res.690 — An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar. (Introduced, Apr 27, 2026)
  • S.4152 — Fertilizer Transparency Act of 2026 (Introduced, Mar 19, 2026)

Notable votes

  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.5025 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
  • S.3697 — SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 13, 2026)
  • S.2955 — Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act (Introduced, May 11, 2026)
  • S.645 — North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act (Introduced, Apr 27, 2026)
  • S.128 — SAVE Act (Introduced, Feb 12, 2026)
  • S.3752 — SAVE America Act (Introduced, Feb 12, 2026)
  • S.3736 — Dakota Mainstem Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act (Reported, Jan 29, 2026)
  • S.3627 — Pregnant Students’ Rights Act (Introduced, Jan 14, 2026)

Voting analysis

John Thune has not missed a recorded vote in this period.

0.0%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
0
Recorded as not voting

Perfect attendance is a leadership habit as much as a personal one — the member who schedules the floor is on it. It also means the rate that follows rests on the whole set of roll calls rather than a sample of them.

3.6%
Votes against the Republican majority
220
Roll calls where a party majority formed
42 of 51
Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

One package, four times

Half his departures belong to a single foreign aid supplemental. He voted to invoke cloture on it, for the amendment that carried its contents, to invoke cloture on that amendment, and for the bill at passage — the complete procedural life of a measure, opposed at each stage by most of his conference and advanced at each stage by him.

The other half are ordinary by comparison: two amendments his party supported and he did not, a benefits bill it passed and he opposed, and a resolution it wanted to close debate on when he did not.

All 8 roll calls where John Thune voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
H.R. 7148
Paul Amdt. No. 4272
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4272 to H.R. 7148 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Jan 30, 2026Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
S.Res. 377
Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 377
On the Cloture Motion S.Res. 377 · roll call 119		Sep 11, 2025Cloture Motion RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 1968
Paul Amdt. No. 1266
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1266 to H.R. 1968 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Mar 14, 2025Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 82
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 82 · roll call 118		Dec 21, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 815
H.R. 815, as Amended
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 815 · roll call 118		Feb 13, 2024Bill PassedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 815
Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: H.R. 815
On the Cloture Motion H.R. 815 · roll call 118		Feb 12, 2024Cloture Motion Agreed toYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 815
Murray Amdt. No. 1388
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1388 to H.R. 815 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Feb 12, 2024Amendment Agreed toYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 815
Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: Murray Amdt. No. 1388 to H.R. 815
On the Cloture Motion H.R. 815 · roll call 118		Feb 11, 2024Cloture Motion Agreed toYea (party: Nay)

The South Dakota comparison

Both South Dakota senators are Republicans, and the leader is the steadier of them against the conference line.

Among the 2 Republicans in the South Dakota delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 5.5%. John Thune is below that average at 3.6%.

What he legislates on

Two of the filings displayed here are not bills at all but floor-management resolutions — one authorising en bloc consideration of nominations, one authorising use of the Capitol rotunda for a memorial ceremony. That is the residue of running a chamber. The rest are substantive and regional: broadband mapping, broadband permitting, and transparency in fertiliser pricing.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. John Thune's cluster into: Congress (2), Science, Technology, Communications (2), Agriculture and Food (1), Law (1).

1066
Bills sponsored
2803
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 7 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure

His service began in the House in the late nineteen-nineties and has continued in the Senate ever since, with no change of party.

First elected in 1997, now serving across 14 terms. John Thune falls in the veteran cohort.

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, John Thune has 1066 bills sponsored, 2803 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Senate Committee on Finance
  • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Ex Officio)
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Commodities, Derivatives, Risk Management, and Trade
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Aviation, Space, and Innovation
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Telecommunications and Media
  • Senate Committee on Finance: Health Care

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