By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Only six months into the job, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a massive challenge as he tries to quickly push President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending cuts package to passage with the support of a divided GOP conference.

While most Republican senators are inclined to vote for the bill, Thune can stand to lose only four votes in the face of united Democratic opposition — and many more Republicans than that are critical of the version sent over by the House.

To get it done by July 4 — Trump’s deadline — Thune has to figure out how to balance the various, and sometimes conflicting, demands emerging from his members. And he has to do it in a way that doesn’t endanger Republican support in the House, which passed the legislation by only one vote last month after weeks of contentious negotiations.

It’s a complicated and risky undertaking, one that is likely to define the first year of Thune’s tenure and make or break his evolving relationship with Trump.

“This is when John’s leadership is going to be desperately needed,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the Republican holdouts who is pushing back on the bill’s quick phaseout of certain energy tax credits. “You can say no all you want, as long as you don’t say no to the wrong 51 people.”

Failure isn’t an option

So far, the well-liked South Dakota Republican is in a good place, both with colleagues and the White House. Thune has worked closely with Trump, despite a rockier relationship at the end of Trump’s first term. While acknowledging that the Senate will likely change the bill to address concerns about changes to Medicaid and other programs, Thune has repeatedly said that “failure is not an option.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., flanked by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, to reporters following weekly policy luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“Individual pieces of it people don’t like,” Thune said Tuesday. “But in the end, we have to succeed.”

To get there, Thune has been meeting in his office with senators to hear them out, bringing in his colleagues individually and in small groups to discuss portions of the bill. Republican senators say the outreach is a stark change from his predecessor, Mitch McConnell, who was more feared than loved and kept a tight circle of advisers.

McConnell stepped down from the leadership post in January after almost two decades amid a series of health episodes and growing criticism from senators on the right flank, who felt that he consolidated power and ignored their concerns.

“It’s very much a change,” said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer. Thune has “already made a lot of people happier by the listening part,” he said.

One happier senator is Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who sparred openly with McConnell and ran against Thune to replace him. Scott, who criticizes the bill as not doing enough to cut federal spending, has also met with the new leader.

“I’d be very surprised if anybody doesn’t believe he’s receptive to their ideas,” Scott said of Thune. And when people feel heard, Scott said, “there’s a greater chance they will go along with something.”

Thune and Trump haven’t always seen eye to eye

Thune has also carefully navigated his relationship with the president, after sharply criticizing Trump in 2020 for trying to overturn his election defeat.

Trump declined to endorse Thune’s reelection bid two years later. Thune endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott over Trump in the presidential primary before eventually endorsing Trump. The two made amends in the final months of Trump’s presidential campaign and have since forged a working relationship of mutual benefit. Thune has stayed in close touch with the White House, visiting Trump several times to discuss the bill, including on Wednesday.

While the collaborative approach has won favor from Trump and colleagues who were agitating for a change, Thune has a long way to go in a short time. Passing the legislation will require hard choices, and not every demand can be met.

‘Everybody wants to work with John’

Still, Thune’s South Dakota colleague, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, says he has already proved himself a “winner” with Trump and the conference by quickly moving the president’s Cabinet nominations through the Senate mostly without controversy. The Senate also recently blocked California air regulations that Republicans have long opposed after Thune delayed the vote for weeks to assuage procedural concerns from GOP moderates like Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

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“Everybody wants to work with John,” Rounds said. “He’s not making anybody mad right now.”

Rounds says Thune has also learned how to crack down when he needs to. Since taking power, Thune has shortened Senate vote times that were sometimes stretching for hours to just 15 minutes, in most cases. It was a hard lesson for some senators, but it won him respect from Republicans and, privately, even some Democrats.

But as they were adjusting to the change, some senators unexpectedly missed votes because of Thune’s new policy, Rounds said.

“Did he get yelled at a little bit? Yeah,” he said. “But once they got cut off once or twice, pretty soon they realized, if you want to vote, make it on time.”

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

Procter & Gamble will cut up to 7,000 jobs, or approximately 6% of its global workforce, over the next two years as the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers wrestles with tariff-related costs and customers who have grown anxious about the economy.

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The job cuts, announced at the Deutsche Bank Consumer Conference in Paris on Thursday, make up about 15% of its current non-manufacturing workforce, said Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten.

“This restructuring program is an important step toward ensuring our ability to deliver our long-term algorithm over the coming two to three years,” Schulten said. “It does not, however, remove the near-term challenges that we currently face.”

Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, had approximately 108,000 employees worldwide in June 2024.

The cuts are part of a broader restructuring program. Procter & Gamble will also end sales of some of its products in certain markets. Procter & Gamble said it will provide more details about that in July.

By LORNE COOK, Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are set Thursday to approve purchasing targets for stocking up on weapons and military equipment to better defend Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic, as part of a U.S. push to ramp up security spending.

The “capability targets” lay out goals for each of the 32 nations to purchase priority equipment like air defense systems, long-range missiles, artillery, ammunition, drones and “strategic enablers” such as air-to-air refueling, heavy air transport and logistics. Each nation’s plan is classified, so details are scarce.

“Today we decide on the capability targets. From there, we will assess the gaps we have, not only to be able to defend ourselves today, but also three, five, seven years from now,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, speaks with Norway’s Defense Minister Tore Sandvik during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

“All these investments have to be financed,” he told reporters before chairing the meeting at NATO’s Brussels headquarters. U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts will meet on June 24-25 to agree to new defense investment goals.

Spurred on by their own security concerns, European allies and Canada have already been ramping up military spending, including arms and ammunition purchases, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

At the same time, some allies balk at U.S. demands to invest 5% of their gross domestic product in defense — 3.5% on core military spending and 1.5% on the roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports needed to deploy armies more quickly — when they have already struggled to grow their budgets to 2% of GDP.

Still, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that many appear on track to agree.

“The commitment is there. 5% on defense spending,” he told reporters after stepping out of the meeting.

“When you consider the threats that we face, the urgency in the world, it’s critical. We don’t need more flags. We need more fighting formations. We don’t need more conferences. We need more capabilities. Hard power.”

The new targets are assigned by NATO based on a blueprint agreed upon in 2023 — the military organization’s biggest planning shakeup since the Cold War — to defend its territory from an attack by Russia or another major adversary.

Under those plans, NATO would aim to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days, although experts suggest the allies would struggle to muster those kinds of numbers.

The member countries are assigned roles in defending NATO territory across three major zones — the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe.

NATO planners believe that the targets must be met within 5-10 years, given the speed at which Russia is building its armed forces now, and which would accelerate were any peace agreement reached to end its war on Ukraine.

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Some fear Russia might be ready to strike at a NATO country even sooner, especially if Western sanctions are eased and Europe has not prepared. “Are we going to gather here again and say ‘okay, we failed a bit,’ and then maybe we start learning Russian?” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said.

Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson also warned that while Russia is bogged down in Ukraine right now, things could quickly change.

“We also know after an armistice or a peace agreement, of course, Russia is going to allocate more forces closer to our vicinity. Therefore, it’s extremely important that the alliance use these couple of years now when Russia is still limited by its force posture in and around Ukraine,” Jonson said.

If the targets are respected, the member countries will need to spend at least 3% of GDP on defense.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said his country calculates in the medium term that “we should spend 3.5% at least on defense, which in the Netherlands means an additional 16 to 19 billion euro ($18-22 billion) addition to our current budget.”

The Netherlands is likely to buy more tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and long-range missile systems, including U.S.-made Patriots that can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.

The past few weeks have been a flurry of gardening, time with friends and family, and cabin visits.

Between that, I managed to fit in a few trips to Eagan to run errands. Since I spend so much time in the second-ring suburb, I thought I’d try out a few new-to-me places, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Saffron Indian Grill & Bar

Fried momo at Saffron Indian Grill & Bar in Eagan. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

A few months ago, I noticed a sign for this restaurant just off Dodd Road, near the turn I take to go to Costco.

It registered as vaguely chain-like, though I vowed to check it out. Before I remembered to do so, a few readers contacted me to ask whether I had tried it, and that was my sign to get there.

It’s in a strip-mall-like configuration with a My Burger, a Caribou and a few other businesses, which might explain why my brain automatically thought it was a chain.

But the inside is cute and modern, with a full bar, cozy booths and spacious tables. There’s a patio, too, though it was cold and windy the day of our visit, so we chose to eat inside.

They have a fun cocktail menu, so even though it was a weeknight and I had an early morning ahead of me, I couldn’t resist a tamarind whiskey sour, which was a great choice. Tamarind is such a clever way to add depth and tang to a drink — but I’d never thought of pairing it with whiskey.

The menu here is huge and includes a lot of items I haven’t tried, so picking was difficult, but we landed on fried momos, tandoori chicken, a giant dosa with hot chutney and a paneer kathi roll in addition to some chicken tikka masala for my very hungry teenage son.

The momos were chewy-crisp with a lovely spiced chicken filling and a fresh tomato and cilantro sauce. They didn’t last long.

In what became a theme of this dinner out, I didn’t get a bit of the tikka masala before my son inhaled it, but I’m guessing it was delicious. I was lucky I got any of the tandoori chicken, because that was next on his list. The few bites I did get were juicy and flavorful — some of the best tandoor chicken I’ve tasted. My husband had never had a dosa, which is a crisp crepe, rolled into a giant cone and served with sambar, a lentil stew, and coconut chutney for dipping. He loved it, and I thought it was on par with dosa I’ve had elsewhere, though the savory, tropical coconut chutney might have given it an edge.

And the paneer wrap, featuring house-made cheese bathed in a tikka masala sauce, would make an excellent on-the-go lunch.

There are plenty of options here for vegetarians and gluten-free diners, and it’s spacious enough to accommodate a large group.

Not to mention, it’s on my way to Costco, so needless to say, I’ll be back. Frequently.

Saffron Indian Grill & Bar: 845 Vikings Parkway, #D, Eagan; 651-666-3642; saffronindiagrill.com

Southern Social

A barbecue platter at Southern Social in Eagan. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

This place, which is a little further south than I usually venture into Eagan, has been open for a few years in a former Green Mill.

The parking lot was packed, so I was certain we’d have to wait for a table, but it turns out the inside is so spacious that I needn’t have worried. The decor is modern farmhouse chic, with lots of black and gray accents.

The menu here, as the name suggests, is mainly southern foods, with an emphasis on barbecue and fried chicken. There’s also an extensive cocktail menu, including punch bowls full of booze that you can either order to share or as a single drink. Given the size of the place, it would be fun to meet friends here and take down a punch bowl, perhaps on the cute patio. Since I was just out running errands, I skipped the drinks and went straight for the barbecue.

We ordered a platter — ribs, pulled pork and brisket — and a fried chicken breast, you know, for balance. The meats were all properly prepared, which is no small feat, and we enjoyed them. The platter, which is a pretty reasonable $39.95, comes with two sides and easily feeds two people.

Of the sides we tried, I can recommend the pimento mac and cheese, which is better than your average soggy midwestern version, the generous serving of house-made coleslaw and the smoky collards.

Again, as is the case with too many suburban haunts, the menu here is gigantic, so we’ll have to return to get a better sense of it, maybe with some friends to check out those drinks.

Southern Social: Three metro locations, including 1940 Rahncliff Court, Eagan; 651-478-7919; southernsocialmn.com

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