The Empire Strikes Back famously features a string of Imperial officers being summarily executed by Darth Vader as their horrified successors look on with concern. The lesson? Sometimes, one climbs the ladder only to fall from a greater height.

EXCLUSIVE — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has no illusions about the challenges ahead as he tries to execute an ambitious conservative agenda, even with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress.

Donald Trump ran on a return to his “America First” foreign policy platform. But since winning a second term, the president-elect has been embracing a new imperialist agenda.

While some GOP senators have expressed full support for Trump's nominees, others have, for now, withheld their endorsements.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said in an interview Sunday that he's willing to stand up to President-elect Donald Trump when they disagree.

The affable traditional conservative from South Dakota is the first new chief of the Senate G.O.P. in nearly two decades. He will confront a challenge managing President-elect Donald J. Trump’s expectations.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune tells "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that as President-elect Donald Trump set to take back the White House, Thune will work with him to understand "what's realistic" in achieving his agenda in the upper chamber.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top leaders recommitted to passing border, tax and energy policies in “one, big beautiful bill” — as Trump himself has called for — while senators said they planned to continue down a two-bill track, which they said had the potential to deliver much quicker legislative victories to the incoming president.

New Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Sunday said one of his top objectives will be to address the country’s “fiscal mess” — even while acknowledging upcoming expected GOP tax cuts may

Speaker Mike Johnson and his GOP budget chief have begun preparations to unify their fractious conference behind a complex budget plan that will serve as the backbone of President-elect Donald Trump’s policy agenda.

Thune, the newly minted Senate majority leader, has been portrayed as a potential roadblock in Trump’s attempts to confirm his Cabinet choices. But on “Meet the Press,” he sounded quite pleased with Patel.