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The majority leader who has been working hard, even though he has not been in Washington, is now back with us today. Senator, great to know you're here. I'm not seeing you. I'm not on Zoom this time, but thanks so much for joining us. The one thing that's changed so much since the last time we spoke or you've been in Washington is we're now in the middle of a trade war with Canada.
Are you to believe there's something you can do to get us back on track there? It seems to both sides lose in this. Right. Yeah. And I I'm hopeful that they can Figure something out there, Brian, that will allow the United States and Canada to continue to do business.
Canada is our number one trading partner here in South Dakota, and so having access to that market and them having reciprocal access to the U.S. market are big pieces, really, of why I think we have such a robust economy here at the state level. And I know the President's focused on trying to help American farmers and workers, and we certainly hope he's successful in reaching a deal that benefits our producers. And I think that's the ultimate objective. And I think, really, I'm not a big fan of tariffs.
I'm supportive of them as a tool to achieve reciprocity if some countries are taking advantage of us. And that appears to be what the President is trying to achieve here.
So let's hope he's successful and that we can get things back on track. Do you see a role for yourself in this?
Well, I think that, you know, we need to be there's a role, obviously, for the Congress. We had to approve the USMCA, the trade deal that was enacted in the President's first term, which I think has been a great success, frankly. And so if and when there's another opportunity to re-up that, or to the President, he's going through a process now to attempt to make changes to it, but I expect Congress will have a voice in that. We'll find out. I think the President is using authority here that probably has not been tested recently in court.
And I'm sure that this is going to probably at some point go to the courts, and they'll have to decide whether or not he has that authority on his own or whether he has to come to Congress to get it. But we'll be prepared to act. I think in the meantime, it's conveying to the administration, the President, his team, the concerns that we have, particularly in states like South Dakota that have a significant bilateral trade relationship with the Canadians. Do you get concerned that Corney? Is playing politics in America when he sends out an email or a letter to all these governors essentially saying, hey, side with us in this, and we're hoping to play a role in the midterm elections, and this is our point of view, especially knowing that Michigan and Maine are up for grabs, and they'll probably be the most affected.
Yeah, I think there's no doubt he's playing politics. I think he's going to try and gain an advantage any way he can or try and leverage that position against the President. I think it's important, obviously, this is an election season, that candidates in those states make their views known. And in some cases, they are, and quite vocally at the moment, with the administration. But I don't think there's any I can't imagine governors in the U.S.
are going to be siding with the Canadians on something as important to the U.S. economy as trade. And I'm just hopeful, like I said, that the White House, the President and his team, USTR will figure out a path forward that enables us to continue what has been, I think, a very important not just for South Dakota, but for our entire country, bilateral trading relationship and with our neighbor of the North. How concerned are you, if at all, that the Secretary of the Army has now resigned? We lost General Randy George.
He was fired. Chris Donahue, the head of Southern European Command, was fired. How are you are you concerned at all about what's happening at the Pentagon? Yeah, we're obviously paying attention to that. And there are concerns, obviously.
There are a number of our I know my Senate colleagues who have weighed in, in particular, with some of the changes that are being made over there. And I think it's something that the White House needs to be very dialed into. Obviously, it's a big department, and there are a lot of moving parts in any administration. But when it comes to national security, it's important that we get it right. And that means we've got to have the right people in the right position.
So I think that the White House is obviously paying attention to what's happening there. And I think there are a lot of members of Congress, myself included, who are concerned and want to know the rationale and explanation, the justification for some of the decisions being made. And as soon as the Congress is back in session here in a week or two, I expect a lot of those questions will get asked. What is the answer to procurement? We have the great sophisticated weapons, but not in mass.
And that's been a problem now for a lot of people. You know, we've heard that about for the last four or five years. Where are we at in terms of fixing it? Have you seen a plan to fix this? I think that they are I've seen yes, I've seen attempts and Sort of the folks over there at the department selling out how they're going to go about doing this.
But frankly, Brian, it comes down to, I mean, we need procurement reform. We've needed it for a long time. And there were people who were sounding that call several years ago. And I think it's even more true now as technology has changed and the battlefields change, the weapons of war are changing. And we've got to keep up with that.
And that means we're going to have to start doing things differently. And I think that's why it's so important that you have good, strong leadership at the Army, for example, the Air Force, the Navy, obviously, all essential elements of America's national security strategy. But that also entails making sure they have the latest technology, innovation, weaponry, training, et cetera. And I think we have to be flexible, adaptable, innovative to adapt to the times because the battlefield is a changing place. And the United States has an incredibly vital role when it comes not only to our national.
National security, but to that of our allies around the world. And that umbrella of security that we provide around the world depends on us having the weaponry and the assets that we need to be able to shift to other countries that are our allies. And so I'm a big proponent of procurement reform and doing things in a new and different way. And I think they're making some headway there, but we've got a lot farther to go.
So, how do you feel about, you know, right now, the Ukraine and the President and Zelensky, the President and President Zelensky get along much better clearly. And as challenging as it is, Ukraine's not losing, but they do ask for patriots. We have essentially said we need them. Uh what do you what would be Senator Thune's answer to the Patriot problem in the hope of helping? Ukraine while not hurting us.
Well, I think we've got to scale up on that front, Brian. That's why when the President has asked for additional resources for a military, it's to replace depleted munitions and supplies and get our supply chain up and going again. There are demands for patriots, among other things that we make in this country and can provide that we need to do to be able to support our allies. And Ukraine is a perfect example of that. And that's why I think it's really critical that we do what's necessary to provide the funding, but then also to adapt our procurement practices in ways that make us a more efficient producer so we can get things there in a more timely way.
So I know Mike Pence came out last week and said, listen, South Korea's got a ton. If they're looking to get on our good side, and there's been a little bit of stress there because they refused to help in the Iran war or helping at all in the strait. That will be one way to do it. Have you thought about talking to our ally, Senator Thune, about maybe contributing to Ukraine or the Gulfs some way, shape or form with interceptors? We have, and I think that those conversations need to continue.
Whenever I'm outside the United States traveling, you certainly hear it from our allies. They rely on the U.S., but there are other countries now who are stepping up production in some of these key areas. And yeah, and we need to be accessing that, which is why I'm a big believer, Brian, that you've got to have a successful world power has to have allies. And I think to the degree that we work with other countries who share, in many cases, not only our values, but a lot of our national security interests from a strategic standpoint, if they've got the weaponry that can provide support to some of our allies, be it in other places around the world, say Europe, Ukraine, yeah, we ought to be accessing that. And I think that's why continuing to build out those relationships with a lot of our allies and ensure that we've got a shield for the free and democratic world against the bad actors out there is critically important.
How do you explain only 30% of the country? In support of these data centers, yet they're vital to everything we do, from the phone we're holding to the games we might be playing to the movies we might be streaming. But yet only 30% of the country said build more, and there's freezes among Republican governors and Democratic governors. I'm talking about Texas as well as Wisconsin. How do you explain this?
Where do you stand, Senator Thun?
Well, I think we've got to win the AI race with China. We can't lose that. That has lots of implications not only to our economic vitality and prosperity in this country, but also it has a lot of national security implications. I think the important question for communities all across our state and across the country to consider, and I know a lot of them are working through it as we speak, is how do you, you know, if you're going to do this, how do you go about it? And I think it is primarily a state and local issue, and that's why it's really important that there be strong engagement at those levels so people's concerns can be heard and that any potential issues can be mitigated.
And so you talk about use of electricity. There ought to be, if I was a, you know, if I'm an AI company that wants to build data centers and I was going to go into an area, I'd tell them we're going to be net negative energy users. In fact, we're going to be positives to the grid in your state. And we're not going to be using your resources and your utilities. That's all.
They're going to be self-sufficient. And I think they need to talk about the impact they can have on the economy in terms of jobs created and that sort of thing. And I don't think that message probably has gotten out. But I think it's really important, and we're having that debate right here in South Dakota at this moment, that these state and local entities be heard from because it's really critical that they be engaged. Senator John Thune, thanks so much.
I look forward to what we can accomplish before the end of the year. Thanks so much for joining us.
