Sen. John Thune digs in on GOP funding bill, accusing Democrats of holding government 'hostage'

Senate Majority Leader John Thune vowed that Republicans will hold firm on their seven-week funding bill, insisting that the only way to prevent a government shutdown this week is for Democrats to support it.

WASHINGTON — A defiant Senate Majority Leader John Thune vowed that Republicans will hold firm on their seven-week funding bill, insisting that the only way to prevent a government shutdown this week is for Democrats to support it.

In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Thune, R-S.D., said it’s “totally up to the Democrats” whether a shutdown will be avoided. He vowed that there won’t be any negotiations on a stopgap bill, likening Democrats to hostage-takers who are “hijacking” the process to pursue ideological demands.

“We need eight Democrats to pass it through the Senate,” Thune told "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, adding: “What the Democrats have done here is take the federal government as a hostage — and for that matter, by extension, the American people — to try and get a whole laundry list of things that they want that special interest groups on the far left are pushing them to accomplish.”

He said Republicans won’t compromise on the short-term bill, calling it a mechanism to keep pursuing a long-term deal.

“Compromise on what? This is a simple seven-week funding resolution to allow us to do a normal appropriations process,” Thune said. “They’re trying to hijack it and load up all this liberal, special interest stuff.”