Hot off the press. The South Dakota Supreme Court sends the South Dakota State Senate back for a civics lesson, as they unanimously rule that the Lt. Governor is allowed to break ties in the Senate.
February 9-15, 2026
Welcome back to the Weekly Round[s] Up. It was another great week in DC because our office was full of South Dakotans again. I always appreciate it when folks make the trip to D.C. to share their perspectives on the issues that matter most to our state. In addition to these meetings, I attended several briefings, participated in a hearing and voted on President Trump’s nominees, a resolution to overturn a DC tax provision and a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill.
While we’d hoped to pass funding for DHS through the end of the fiscal year, Senate Democrats rejected it, opting to instead shut down the entire department. This means that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard and other critical national security operations will go without funding until a DHS funding bill is signed into law. More on this and the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakota groups I visited with: Kevin Robling, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks; Ryman LeBeau, Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; President Frank Star Comes Out of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Kathleen Wooden Knife, Chairwoman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe; South Dakotans with Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy; South Dakota Principals with National School Leadership; South Dakota representatives and athletes with the Special Olympics; Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas; South Dakota Education Association; South Dakotans with the American Institute of Architects; and representatives from the Indian Gaming Association.
Met with South Dakotans from: Beresford, Brandon, Harrisburg, Martin, Pierre, Sioux Falls and Spearfish.
Other meetings: Alzheimer’s Association; enCore Energy; and a Banking Member Meeting with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic.
Additionally, this week I received a 100% Action Award from the Family Research Council in recognition for defending South Dakota family values and supporting commonsense legislation to protect life at all stages.
Hearings: On Thursday I attended a Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on “Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” You can watch me question Paul Atkins, Chairman of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, here.
Briefings: I attended two classified briefings with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as well as two classified briefings with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senate Bible Study: On Tuesday this week, I attended Senate Bible Study hosted by Senator Tedd Budd from North Carolina. Our Bible study was on the topic of evangelism and the important call to share the gospel with those around us.
Votes taken: 6 – This week I voted on multiple different items. To begin, I voted Yea for Daniel E. Burrows, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Attorney General. Then I voted Nay on IRS Notice on Corporate AMT CRA and Yea for the D.C. Tax Disapproval Resolution. Additionally, funding for the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 was on the table. I voted Yea on the legislation to fund critical agencies like FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard and cyber defenses. Without support from Senate Democrats, this legislation did not pass and has now put us in a partial government shutdown. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) falls under DHS, they were provided with funding through the reconciliation bill that passed this summer to continue enforcing our immigration laws. Due to the nature of DHS operations, approximately 92 percent of the workforce is classified as essential. As a result, under this DHS appropriations lapse forced by Congressional Democrats, frontline personnel will once again be required to report to duty without pay for the second time this fiscal year.
My Staff in South Dakota visited: Hot Springs.
Steps taken: 60,453 steps or 28.6 miles.
Video of the Week: On Thursday morning, I went on KELO radio and spoke with Greg Belfrage about the SAVE America Act. Click the link to listen!
Looks like the 32-year former Democrat Jim Eschenbaum version of the SDGOP is continuing a record-breaking streak of not raising money, according to the FEC Report they filed today in advance of the Central Committee meeting this weekend:
SDGOP FEC Report Feb 2026 by Pat Powers
The South Dakota Republican Party in recording how much they raised from 1/1/26 through 1/31/2026 noted that it had NO donations rolling through their federal account. $277 in refunds & $355.30 in transfers in from the state account against $6409.92 in disbursements.
Leaving them $30,180.59. About $6,000 closer to being at zero than they were last month in the federal account. Not a great trend.
Between this slow-rolling, ongoing disaster and the controversial VIP they’re talking about bringing in for convention who was accused of drugging and raping a woman, how long is the Central Committee going to let this go on?
From FOX News, US Senate Majority Leader John Thune is promising that a voter ID bill will hit the Senate floor, in spite of the minority’s best attempts to block it:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is ready to put Senate Democrats to the test on voter ID legislation.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has earned the backing of 50 Senate Republicans, including Thune, which is enough to break through a key procedural hurdle.
Whether it can pass from the Senate to President Donald Trump’s desk is, for now, an unlikely scenario if lawmakers take the traditional path in the upper chamber. Still, Thune wants to put Democrats on the spot as midterm elections creep closer.
and..
Thune didn’t shut down the idea of turning to the talking filibuster, especially if it ended in lawmakers being able to actually pass the SAVE America Act. But in the Senate, outcomes are rarely guaranteed on politically divisive legislation.
Gov. Rhoden Signs 10 Bills into Law
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden signed the following 10 bills into law:
Governor Rhoden has signed 45 bills into law and vetoed one this legislative session.
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Is one of the commenters on Rep. Schaefbauer’s facebook going to claim that he was hacked (again)?
IYKYK.
Gill Announces Candidacy for State House
Experienced Leader Ready to Serve District 24
PIERRE – Former Pierre Mayor and retired Cabinet Secretary Laurie Gill announced her Republican candidacy for District 24 South Dakota House of Representatives today. An active member of the community, Laurie is ready to put her years of experience in state and local government to work for Haakon, Hughes, Hyde, Stanley and Sully counties.
“It will be an honor to serve District 24 in the State House,” said Gill. “I’m committed to serving our region with the same focus, grit and principles I brought to City Hall and to the administrations of Governors Daugaard and Noem. The people of District 24 can count on me to be a strong voice for our shared values and a brighter future for South Dakota.”
Laurie and her husband, Bob, moved to Pierre in 1991 with their four children. She served three terms as Mayor of Pierre (2008-2017) and nine years on the Pierre City Commission (1999-2008). Laurie served as the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (2011-2013), Commissioner of the Bureau of Human Resources (2013-2019), and the Secretary of the Department of Social Services (2019-2023). Prior to that, she held numerous other leadership positions within state government, a non-profit agency and as a clinic administrator in the private sector.
The seat is vacant with the recent announcement that Rep. Will Mortenson will not seek re-election in 2026.
“I am proud to call Will a friend and am grateful for his service to our region,” said Gill. “He has big shoes to fill, and I’ll follow in his footsteps standing up for conservative principles, focusing on education and the economy, and taking care of state employees.”
The Republican Primary Election is June 2 and the General Election is November 3.
Find more information on Laurie and her race at lauriegill24.com or on Facebook.
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Former 32-year Democrat Jim Eschenbaum’s Republican Party today sent out an appeal to try to get county organizations to raise money to help fund their activities at state convention, including the hosting of a VIP that 99.99% of South Dakota Republicans have never heard of.
And when you do go look up “Cliff Maloney,” in case you thought of sponsoring tickets for this VIP event, you should note that having your name attached to a sponsorship might not be the best idea in the world.
In fact, if you have daughters, you might want to demand they find a different VIP.
From FOX News:
The president of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) has been placed on leave as the conservative group investigates sexual assault allegations against him and other leaders in the nonprofit.
YAL’s board released a statement saying it was investigating the matter and calling on anyone who had evidence regarding the claims to come forward to report it.
The organization, which works to elect conservative and libertarian leaders across the country, said that President Cliff Maloney and vice president of grassroots, Justin Greiss, had been placed on leave until the investigation was complete.
And that apparently was not all. Among other accusations..
Cambria Co., PA (WJAC) — After nearly ten hours of deliberations, which began Wednesday afternoon, spanned into the night and continued Thursday morning, a jury has reached a verdict in the trial of political commentator Cliff Maloney Jr., who is accused of drugging and raping a woman at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2013.
The jury found Maloney not guilty on four of the six charges he faced, which included rape of an impaired person, rape of an unconscious victim, aggravated indecent assault of an impaired person and aggravated indecent assault of an unconscious person.
However, the jury could not reach a verdict on the two other charges of aggravated indecent assault without consent and sexual assault.
Since his removal from YAL leadership over accusations of sexual assault and being hauled into court over rape accusations, Maloney has rebranded himself as a conservative activist and gone on the political speaking circuit.
Which according to the SDGOP, will include a stop at the Republican Party’s State Convention.
When I attended my first Republican state party convention way back in 1988, the feature VIP speaker was Arizona Senator John McCain, former POW and war hero, who a number of years later was our presidential nominee.
Clearly for 2026, there has been a lack of quality control in determining what we should consider as a VIP.
Between the Minnehaha County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner featuring Madison Cawthorne, and now Eschenbaum’s version of the SDGOP featuring an ex-leader of a Libertarian group who found himself accused of rape as our next state convention’s big VIP, I think the GOP’s donor class should keep their sponsorships to candidates only, and not party groups who have taken leave of their senses.
(In a message on Facebook today, State Representative Will Mortenson expressed his thanks to his constituents and his colleagues and announced that he will not run for another term of office. )
It has been a wild ride.
I am not running for re-election to the House this year. I do not believe the legislature is meant to be a forever job, and the time is right to step aside.
I have given this job my all, and it has truly been a wild ride: COVID, Impeachment, Surpluses, Leadership, Tax Cuts, Pipelines, Prisons, and a Governor Transition. Through it all, I tried to uphold the values and ethics I campaigned on: respect, common sense, diligence, and policy goals that were consistently restrained and truly conservative. I said I’d prioritize agriculture & education, and I did. I told you I’d support families and protect the unborn, and I have. I pledged I would fight against onerous mandates and silly regulations, and I have absolutely worn myself out doing so.
I’m thankful for Shuree, who has been my north star. She always listened (even if she didn’t care) and she provided a respite from the stress and nuttiness. Shureee is simply the best. As the pictures show, our kids have grown up with me in this world. I’m so grateful to have a family that has sacrificed and supported me while I pursued this life.
I’m thankful to the people in central South Dakota and across South Dakota. It was a true honor to represent my friends and neighbors. I never took it lightly. I learned so much about the law and the community around me. I learned about what makes people tick (and what ticks them off). More than any of that, I learned a lot about myself, and gained confidence, toughness, and perspective through the trials and tribulations.
I’m thankful for my colleagues. I made some of the best friends and best memories. Even those that were considered “enemies” for a day, a week, or a session were fighting for their view of the public good. I know when we see each other in the years to come, we will only remember the bonds forged in the strange fox hole that is our citizen legislature.
I will look back on my time in the House fondly. I’ll have more to say later, but for now, it is a very fond farewell to an incredible period of my life.
Mellissa Heermann Announces Re-Election Campaign for South Dakota House of Representatives District 7
BROOKINGS, SD — Mellissa Heermann has announced her candidacy for re-election to represent District 7 in the South Dakota House of Representatives, pledging to continue her work advocating for families, children, education, and strong local communities.
“Serving District 7 has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Heermann said. “For me, this role has always been about helping people. I have been intentional about listening first, doing the homework, and making thoughtful decisions that strengthen our communities today while protecting opportunities for tomorrow.”
During her time in Pierre, Heermann has built a reputation for steady, practical leadership and collaborative problem solving. She has focused on issues impacting working families, rural healthcare, education, and protections for seniors and vulnerable adults. Drawing on her professional experience as Revenue Cycle Director at Brookings Health System and years of local leadership — including service on the Brookings School Board, Lake Preston City Council, and as Mayor of Lake Preston — Heermann brings both policy knowledge and real-world perspective to the South Dakota House of Representatives.
“Representing District 7 is a role that I have taken very seriously over the last 4 years in the legislature. There has not been one day that I have taken for granted, or one moment that I forgot who I was working for.
Heermann and her husband, Cody, have called Brookings home for nearly two decades, where they are raising their three children and remain active in local schools, churches, and community organizations.
“I’m grateful for the trust District 7 has placed in me,” Heermann added. “I’m ready to keep working hard, showing up, and serving the people of our district with integrity and care.”
For more information or to follow the campaign, visit heermannfordist7.com or find updates on Facebook at Heermann for House.