'These things happen': Sen. John Thune says cut Trump a break on Flynn scandal because he's new

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) on Tuesday downplayed the ousting of President Donald Trump's national security adviser.

While speaking to CNN's Alisyn Camerota, Thune presented Flynn's apparent lies about secret dealings with Russia as just another White House firing.

"If you have a member of your team that's not getting the job done or you have questions about actions they're taking, that you take decisive action to address that, which they did," the South Dakota Republican asserted.

"These things happen, there's no questions about that," he continued. "There are going to be members of the team sometimes who get out over their skis and have to be reined in. In this case, it meant this general's removal."

Moving forward, Thune encouraged the government to focus on "the important work of securing the country and protecting Americans."

"That's what most Americans want to see coming out of this. They know those things happen. Particularly in a new administration. They're still getting -- developing the inner workings between the pieces of their national security team. In this case, they made a strong a decisive move."

Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast Feb. 14, 2017.