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Weekly Round[s] Up: April 20-26, 2026

Welcome back to another Weekly Round[s] Up, where we’re in the thick of appropriations season! I attended four hearings focused on President Trump’s budget and had the opportunity to question several key officials, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. I also questioned Federal Reserve Chairman nominee Kevin Warsh in his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee. We expect to vote on his nomination in our committee this coming week, and I look forward to supporting him.

This past Wednesday evening, the Senate passed a budget resolution which sets the stage for a reconciliation bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol (BP) until the end of the Trump presidency. As you may recall, Democrats have continued to block full funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Instead, we passed legislation in the Senate to fund DHS with the exception of ICE and BP through the end of this year. This legislation is still awaiting passage by the House. By using the budget reconciliation process, we are able to pass funding for ICE and BP with a simple majority vote. While it’s not our preference to fund these agencies this way, we’ve been forced to use this mechanism by Senate Democrats who refuse to fund homeland security through the regular appropriations process. After 17 votes from about 9:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday night, the reconciliation bill passed the Senate 50–48. It now heads to the House of Representatives, where leaders are hoping to move it forward this week. If all goes according to plan, we expect to get these important departments funded by the end of May.

Additionally, I visited Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison this past Friday with some of the Pentagon’s top leaders in cybersecurity. I also was in Sioux Falls for an event at the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of South Dakota headquarters. More on these stops below in my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota groups I visited with: Tura Synhorst, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country in Rapid City; South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations; South Dakotans with the American Physical Therapy Association; South Dakota Beer Distributors; South Dakota Snowmobile Association; South Dakotans with the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers; leadership from Daktronics in Brookings; South Dakotans with NeighborWorks Dakota Coalition; South Dakota Cattlemen's Association; Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota; South Dakota Head Start Association; Goodwill of the Great Plains; and Cory Clasemann, President of Southeast Technical College.

As I mentioned earlier, this past Friday, I visited Madison Cyber Lab at DSU in Madison to participate in meetings with Katie Sutton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, Brandon Pugh, Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of the Army and DSU President Jose-Marie Griffiths. I was grateful these top Pentagon officials accepted my invitation to make the trip to South Dakota to see all of the great work the students and faculty at DSU are doing to advance our national security. We all know that South Dakota is a great place to live, work and raise a family. Our goal in helping to develop these federal-state partnerships is to provide another opportunity for kids to stay in South Dakota after graduation.

I also visited the DAV Department of South Dakota headquarters to speak during the 86th Annual DAV Department Convention and 74th Annual State Auxiliary Convention. During the event, one of my staff members Bob DeJong was recognized for his Excellence in Constituent Services helping veterans navigate the VA. I’m grateful to have Bob on my team and for all of the work he does for veterans.

Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Arlington, Brookings, De Smet, Fort Pierre, Gettysburg, Huron, Kyle, Mellette, Mitchell, Mobridge, Pierre, Rapid City, Salem, Sioux Falls, Sisseton, Tulare, Watertown, Wessington Springs and Whitewood

Hearings: This past week, I attended eight hearings, including two classified Select Committee on Intelligence briefings, a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing and a SASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing. During a Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs nomination hearing, I questioned Kevin Warsh on his nomination to serve as a Member and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

As I mentioned, appropriations subcommittee hearings for FY27 also kicked off this week:

Votes taken: 20. At the beginning of the week, I voted to confirm Andrew B. Davis, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas. I also voted no at the Democrats' attempt to take our military out of the ongoing conflict in Iran, again.

As I mentioned earlier, I cast 17 votes on amendments to the budget resolution to fund ICE and CBP. The budget resolution passed the Senate 50–48, with only Republican support. This resolution is now with the House of Representatives for further consideration. You can read more in detail about the votes I’ve taken here.

Steps taken: 57,682 steps or 26.4 miles.

My Staff in South Dakota Visited: Aberdeen, Brookings, Chamberlain, DeSmet, Fort Pierre, Flandreau, Kennebec, Madison, Pierre, Rosebud, St. Francis and Sturgis.

Video of the Week: Click here to watch the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing with Secretary Rollins. I was pleased that Secretary Rollins shares my concerns with lab-grown cells receiving the label of “meat” and plans to work to stop this from happening in the future.

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