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Sen. Thune criticized the White House and congressional Democrats for their spending and also acknowledged that Republicans share some of the blame for excessive spending and borrowing in the past.

Washington (CNN) – On the same day that the Senate is expected to vote on a massive spending bill, a Republican senator says the best approach to getting the federal government’s finances in order is to begin reducing spending.

“You’ve got to start there,” Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

“Republicans share some of the blame,” Thune told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. “When we were in charge [of Congress and the White House] we didn’t control spending well enough either.”

But Thune added that Republicans in the last eight years looked like cheapskates compared to the spending going on under Democrats now.

Democrats “have their foot on the pedal,” Thune said Sunday. “I mean this thing is – they’re driving this thing over a cliff and somebody’s got to put the brakes on.”

“We can’t continue to borrow and spend at this rate,” added Thune.

(CNN) – The first Republican statement reacting to President Obama's speech arrives.

Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, sounds what will likely be a common Republican theme:

"Announcing an arbitrary withdrawal deadline before these troops even set foot in Afghanistan undercuts their efforts and calls our resolve into question," says Thune.

Thune: Stop TARP before more damage is done.

(CNN) – For the federal government, this has been the year of spending dangerously.

The danger lies not just in the staggering volume of money being thrown around by the administration and Democrat-controlled Congress. It lies as well in their choices about how that money is being used and their apparent lack of concern that their spending splurge is unsustainable.

Just this past fiscal year alone, which ended in October, the federal government has racked up a staggering deficit of $1.4 trillion, tripling the previous record. And it has done so in part through moves like buying an ownership stake in hundreds of banks, an insurance company, two automakers and numerous other businesses.

A little over a year ago, Congress created the Troubled Asset Relief Program to try to stabilize plummeting financial markets

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Sen. Thune talks to CNN Radio’s Bob Costantini:

Sen. Thune, foreground, is Senate Republican Policy Committee.

Washington (CNN) - He walks through Washington's Reagan National Airport, arriving as he does nearly every Monday from a weekend home in South Dakota. He makes his way unnoticed.

But John Thune's anonymity may not last forever.

He is a Republican on the rise: a freshman senator who is already a member of the GOP leadership.

As head of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, Thune runs the weekly strategy session where all Senate Republicans try to find consensus on the best way to challenge President Obama and the Democratic majority.

"It's probably the most candid assessment that we have in a given week," Thune said, riding the subway to the Tuesday lunch.

With just 40 Republicans in the Senate now, Thune insists that there is still a diversity of GOP views - but one that he argues must be expanded.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The hotly debated issue of gun control took center stage on Capital Hill Tuesday as key Senate Democrats bickered over a controversial proposal that would allow people to carry concealed weapons across state lines.

The measure, drafted by South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune, would require each of the 48 states that currently allow concealed firearms to honor permits issued in other states.

Supporters of the measure argue it would help deter criminals; opponents claim it would endanger innocent people by effectively forcing most of the country to conform to regulations in states with the loosest gun ownership standards.

The issue has blurred Capitol Hill's usual partisan lines. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is one of several Southern and Western Democrats supporting the measure. Others Democrats oppose it.

The full Senate is set to vote on it Wednesday in the form of an amendment to a larger defense appropriations bill.

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Tom Daschle and John Thune were once political adversaries, but time seems to have paved over the bitterness as the two were spotted shaking hands and patting each other on the back.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle returned “home” Tuesday to the Senate floor and stood alongside a bitter adversary to watch his longtime friend and South Dakota colleague Tim Johnson be sworn-in for a third term.

Sen. Johnson, who suffered a devastating stroke, was flanked by Daschle and Republican Sen. John Thune, who defeated the Democratic leader by a razor thin 51% to 49 % margin in what can be accurately described as a bitter contest. Daschle was first elected to Congress as a House member in 1978 and successfully ran for the Senate in 1986.

But time seems to have paved over the bitterness. As Thune and Daschle departed the Senate floor, the two former adversaries shook hands and patted each other on the back.

Daschle returns to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee hearing on his nomination to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services.