John Thune

American politician

John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961)[1] is an American politician. Thune is the senior United States Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He used to be a United States Representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district.

John Thune
Official portrait, 2021
Leader-elect of the Senate Republican Conference
Assuming office
January 3, 2025
SucceedingMitch McConnell
Senate Minority Whip
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
LeaderMitch McConnell
Preceded byDick Durbin
Senate Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 20, 2021
LeaderMitch McConnell
Preceded byJohn Cornyn
Succeeded byDick Durbin
Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee
In office
January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019
Preceded byJay Rockefeller
Succeeded byRoger Wicker
Chair of the Senate Republican Conference
In office
January 26, 2012 – January 3, 2019
LeaderMitch McConnell
Vice ChairRoy Blunt
Preceded byLamar Alexander
Succeeded byJohn Barrasso
Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 26, 2012
LeaderMitch McConnell
Preceded byJohn Ensign
Succeeded byJohn Barrasso
United States Senator
from South Dakota
Assumed office
January 3, 2005
Serving with Mike Rounds
Preceded byTom Daschle
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Dakota's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded byTim Johnson
Succeeded byBill Janklow
Personal details
Born
John Randolph Thune

(1961-01-07) January 7, 1961 (age 63)
Pierre, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Kimberley Weems
(m. 1984)
Children2
EducationBiola University (BA)
University of South Dakota (MBA)
Signature
WebsiteSenate website

Thune was born on January 7, 1961 in Murdo, South Dakota. He is of Norwegian descent.[2] Thune studied at Biola University and at the University of South Dakota. He has been married to Kimberley Weems since 1984. They have two children.

Thune was selected by the Senate Republican Conference to become the Majority Whip for the 116th Congress, replacing Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who was term limited in the position.[3] In 2021, he became Senate Minority Whip.

In 2024, Thune was elected to be the Senate Republican leader, replacing Mitch McConnell. Thune will be the first Senate party leader to have originally taken office as a senator in the 21st century.[4]

References

change
  1. Brooks, David (2009-11-13). "Meet John Thune". The New York Times.
  2. "John Thune ancestry". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  3. John Wagner; Mike DeBonis (November 14, 2018). "Congressional leadership elections: McConnell and Schumer keep the top spots; Pelosi seeks to shore up votes for speaker". The Washington Post.[permanent dead link]
  4. staff, The Hill. “Live Updates: Johnson Nominated for Speaker, Thune Elected Senate GOP Leader.” The Hill, 13 Nov. 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20241113184833/https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4987984-house-senate-republicans-leadership-election/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Other websites

change