Leader-Elect Thune Meets with Speaker Johnson
“In order to enact President Trump’s agenda, it will take each and every Republican working together.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today met with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) following Thune’s election to serve as Senate majority leader and Johnson’s nomination to serve as Speaker of the House in the 119th Congress.

Thune and Johnson released the following statements after the meeting:

“In order to enact President Trump’s agenda, it will take each and every Republican working together,” said Leader-elect Thune. “Speaker Johnson and I had a productive meeting today getting organized for the work ahead, and I look forward to our partnership as we reverse the Biden-Harris agenda and advance President Trump’s priorities on behalf of the American people.”

“Leader Thune and I are ready to hit the ground running and put America first in the 119th Congress,” said Speaker Johnson. “Congress has been given a clear mandate from the American people, and we look forward to working with President Trump to secure our borders, cut taxes, reduce inflation, slash bureaucratic red tape, restore America’s dominance, rebuild our military, and instill fear in our overseas enemies. America’s best days are ahead with Republicans in charge in 2025.”

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South Dakota Republican Party Chairman John Wiik has sent out a few thoughts on the election and the aftermath, which I share here for Republicans who might not get the e-mail forwarded to them if they’re in one of the counties with a dysfunctional Republican organization.

A few thoughts on the election and the aftermath…

From Chairman John Wiik 

As chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party, I first would like to thank everyone for your hard work defeating Amendment H.  This has been a priority for the central committee to defeat from the moment it was introduced.  Thank you for your work. 

 

Amendment G was also defeated, and largely because of your work, you should be proud that we maintained the pro life state we have worked so hard to become. 

 

We see our majority increasing in the South Dakota legislature, and finally, all 3 branches of the US government are in the capable hands of Republicans.  Governor Noem is likely the next Secretary of Homeland Security.  Senator Thune was just elected Senate Majority Leader, and Congressman Johnson was reelected by tremendous margins. 

 

Governor Noem’s departure will move Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden to the Governor’s Office, and the search for a Lieutenant Governor begins.  Our bench is deep and we will find the best fit for the Rhoden administration and for South Dakota.

 

Regarding Senator Thune and the Majority Leader election, please allow me to chime in with a little history.  Senator Thune was elected to Congress in 1996.  Before that, all three of our national Congressional delegation members were Democrats.  In the years since, he led this party to take down the Daschle Democrat organization in South Dakota piece by piece.  By 2004, he ran against Daschle himself, vanquishing the sitting Majority Leader and shutting down Daschle’s Democrat state mechanism once and for all. We are standing on the shoulders of three decades of hard work by and for Senator Thune, Governor Noem, Senator Rounds, Congressman Johnson and countless others.

 

While Democrats tried to pick up the pieces with the election of Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, a relatively unknown State Representative from Hamlin County swooped in, worked harder than anyone else could have, and defeated her, effectively ending Democrat relevance, with no Democrat elected to a statewide office since 2008.

 

As someone who has shed blood, sweat and tears and invested time, treasure, and talent to get those two elected, this is the reddest red-letter day in South Dakota history!  Both Governor Noem and Senator Thune have pledged to work with President Trump to enact his mandated agenda for the American people.  Let’s use this day to celebrate the accomplishments of the last 30 years of hard work and trust that President Trump’s administration is in incredibly capable hands and the SDGOP had a huge part in Making America Great Again.  

 

Thanks again for all that you do for the SDGOP! 

Chairman John Wiik

Thune: Our Work Begins Today

 “I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues here in the Senate and with President Trump and Vice President Vance to build a strong and prosperous America and a bright new dawn for the American people.”

Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.

 WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed how the Senate will deliver on the mandate the American people have given President-elect Trump and the new Republican Congress to secure the border, grow the economy, and restore American strength.

(From my mailbox – pp) 

• President – Beka Zerbst
• 1st Vice-President – Jeni Boerger
• 2nd Vice-President – Debbie Schnell
• 3rd Vice-President – MaryLee Plut
• 4th Vice-President – Karen Brandt
• Secretary – Nancy Ziegeldorf
• Treasurer – Kari Shanard-Koenders
• Member-at-Large – Maryann Bierman
• Member-at-Large – Lauri Davis
• Member-at-Large – Val Higgins
• Member-at-Large – Sandy Rhoden

Attorney General Jackley Calls On FCC to Block Robocallers

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 46 other Attorneys General call upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve their Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) and close what has effectively been an unmonitored loophole that bad actors exploit to access the U.S. telephone network.

“Illegal robocalls are a nuisance to all of us, and a means for scammers to take advantage of us,” said Attorney General Jackley. “It is time for the FCC to strengthen its database and crack down on scammers.”

Providers must register on the FCC’s database to operate as a voice service provider in the United States. However, since it went live in 2021, the database has done little to prevent bad actors from obtaining legitimate registrations to send illegal robocalls through the U.S. telephone network. The coalition of Attorneys General is calling on the FCC to strengthen the database so providers understand what information they need to submit and have deadlines to submit this information, validate the data providers submit to flag inaccurate or misleading data, penalize providers for submitting false or inadequate information by preventing them from getting authorization to operate, and block non-compliant providers.

Other Attorneys General who have signed onto the letter to the FCC are from: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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In case you missed this post from incoming House Majority Whip Brandee Schaefbauer (before she deleted it), it doesn’t sound like the incoming House Leadership is going to be very “South Dakota nice.”

“At least I know who my “enemy” is when up against a democrat but I never know who the real “enemy” is when it comes to republicans.”

(You know, if you paired that with “Welcome to Aberdeen” that could be a t-shirt.)

I had always thought legislators referred to each other as “colleagues” and the people they represent are considered “constituents.”  Silly me. it’s about enemies and when the knife comes out.

Session will be so much fun.

Here we go, as the hard right is making their first move, this time to have the new legislative leadership put two of South Dakota’s worst on the Board of Elections:

Literally, the elected official that many view as the worst auditor in the state, whom the Department of Justice sent staff to monitor after she tried to deny people their vote in the primary, and Rick Weible, who believes that his life is in danger because of what he knows.

That’s … great. Just great.  (Please infer a sarcastic tone here.).

Please take note that this group can’t even get the legislators correct (Karr is President Pro Tempore, NOT the Majority Leader), so that’s the level of intelligence making these demands.

From Twitter:

It’s official: @SenJohnThune is our next Senate Majority Leader!

With President Trump in the White House and Republican majorities in both the Senate and House, Republicans are positioned to spend at least the next two years getting our country back on track. My colleagues and… https://t.co/raPtLZLjjg

— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) November 13, 2024

Attorney General Jackley Urges Dismissal of Political Cases Against President Trump

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 22 other Attorneys General are requesting Special Counsel Jack Smith, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis end their political prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

“With the election over and President Trump returning to the White House, it is time to end political prosecutions,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The President must be able to do his job without the constant threat of prosecution.”

Special Counsel Smith has announced that he will drop his case. The States also ask that James and Willis end their prosecutions of President Trump.

Other Attorneys General on the letter to the three prosecutors are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Read the full letter here.

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So, an incoming Governor who has to pick a Lt. Governor, and a former Legislator had dinner last night in Pierre…

Not making any assumptions, but if I had to pick a Lt. Governor, former Legislator/former SF City Councilwoman Christine Erickson would be on my short list as a “get.”