Senator Mike Rounds’ WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: March 23-29, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of the Weekly Round[s] Up. It was an eventful week in the D.C. office with many South Dakotans stopping by. In just four days, I met with 17 different groups of South Dakotans visiting DC to advocate for issues that are important to them. It’s always good to see these groups out here! Beyond that, we took a number of votes on the Senate floor to address various topics including voter ID, government funding and the conflict in Iran. More on these and the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakota groups I visited with: Major General Mark Morrell with the South Dakota National Guard; South Dakota Dentists with the American Dental Association; South Dakota Doctors for America FDA Task Force; the University of South Dakota’s Center for Disabilities, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities; Barry Dunn, President and Daniel Scholl, VP for Research & Economic Development at South Dakota State University and Dr. Stephen Gent; South Dakotans with the Association for Career and Technical Education; Kevin Nyberg and Erik Nyberg with Nyberg’s Ace and Dakota Workwear; South Dakota Agricultural & Rural Leadership; South Dakota Science and Technology Authority; Bret Afdahl, Director of the Banking Division at the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation; Lemmon High School students; Jennifer Beving, State Director, South Dakota Americans for Prosperity; South Dakota Trucking Association; Brianna Mount, Associate Professor at Black Hills State University; South Dakotans with the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians; and Dr. Tim Ridgway with the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Arlington, Aurora, Brookings, Chamberlain, Claremont, Deadwood, Gettysburg, Lead, Lemmon, Leola, Nemo, New Underwood, Philip, Pierre, Rapid City, Redfield, Reliance, Rosebud, Sherman, Sioux Falls, Tabor, Vermillion, Volga, Walker, Watertown, White River and Winner.
Other meetings: Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense, Policy and Programs; Tim Teter, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, NVIDIA; Admiral Rich Correll, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command; and Michael Smith, Senior Executive, Ares.
This past week I spoke on a panel at the 2026 Hill & Valley Forum with Sean Cairncross, National Cyber Director and Joe Lin, Co-Founder of Twenty.
I also attended our weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday hosted by Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia.
Hearings: This past week, I attended four hearings. I chaired a Cybersecurity Subcommittee Hearing. You can watch my opening remarks here. In another hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we heard from the U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Strategic Command as we prepare for the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. You can watch my questions here. Lastly the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee held a hearing titled “Export-Import Bank Reauthorization” with John Jovanovic, President and Chairman of Export-Import Bank. Watch my questions here.
Briefings: I chaired one Cyber Education & Briefing Seminar and attended one Senate Armed Services Committee briefing.
Votes taken: 12 – This past week I voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin to be Secretary of Homeland Security. I am confident he will do a great job in continuing to secure our border and keep our homeland safe.
In addition, early Friday morning the Senate passed legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This package would fund operations and personnel for critical programs housed under DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the United States Coast Guard. Opposition from Democrats means that ICE and Border Patrol are left unfunded through this package, but their operations will still be funded through the reconciliation package passed last summer. It’s our goal to continue this funding to protect our borders and secure our homeland through a second reconciliation package this summer. I look forward to working with the House of Representatives to fund DHS and end this government shutdown.
I also cast several procedural votes this past week, including legislation related to the SAVE America Act, a resolution to fund DHS, a resolution submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to “Reproductive Health Services,” a Congressional Review Act resolution and a War Powers Act resolution.
Lastly I voted for Colin McDonald to be an Assistant Attorney General, James Hurtt and Kelli Knight to be the Coast Guard’s permanent commissioned teaching staff.
You can read more details about the votes I took on my website here.
Steps taken: 62,942 steps or 28.62 miles.
My Staff in South Dakota Visited: Martin and Mitchell.
Video of the Week: On Monday I joined Bloomberg to talk about the SAVE America Act and the conflict in Iran, click here to watch.
Mike would rather give power to the Democrats than his own voters.
I would say Mike would rather unknowingly or incidentally give power to Putin than to the American people. And I would be correct, by the available evidence.
What are you blathering on about?
Stuff you never hear about on Fox News. Never you mind. To wit: in the Iran War, Trump has eased previous sanctions on Russia, so they can sell oil to replace oil blocked by the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. This easing helps Russia and Iran, with huge amounts of money, and Russia supplying Iran with intelligence they used to destroy US bases and assets, and kill US troops in the region. Rounds and other Republicans are complicit via the gross inaction of their House and Senate majorities. As they have been complicit in Trump’s merry crime spree these last few years. Vote out the whole GOP.
Good question Anonymous 9:11. A house pet might similarly question why we people blather on with our silly words.
Gosh Mike, nothing else going on you might have an opinion on? Anything at all?
Rounds writes: “I also attended our weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday hosted by Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia.” Nice.
Meanwhile, President Trump blessed the world earlier today with this Easter message… “Open the F—-n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!”
Sound vaguely familiar? That’s because he does this every holiday. And it’s just plain depraved.
Mike Rounds was equally sure that Kristi Noem, Bobby Kennedy, Kash Patel, Howard Lutnick and the rest those idiots when he confirmed them, too.
I do recall that, yes. Very sad.
Now now, no need for blasphemy.
I agree Jesus H Christ, all this swearing and cussing in politics nowadays just lowers everybody’s rhetorical skills. It detracts from the argument at hand and demeans us all.