Weekly Round[s] Up: June 22-28, 2026
Back with another edition of the Weekly Round[s] Up! It was a full week here in Washington, D.C., with a packed schedule each day. I welcomed many South Dakotans to my office to discuss the issues that matter most to them. As I often tell constituents who visit, it's important for South Dakotans to come to Washington and share their own experiences and perspectives because otherwise, someone else will tell their story for them. In addition to meeting with constituents, I attended several other meetings and briefings, spoke with witnesses at multiple hearings and cast 11 votes. President Trump also joined our Senate Republican lunch.
In addition, we continue to hear from South Dakotans who are having issues with mail delivery in South Dakota. As you may know, at my request, the Office of the Inspector General has opened an official investigation into South Dakota’s postal service. We have heard your comments and concerns, but I urge you to share them directly with the OIG as part of its official investigation. Click here to submit your comments. Here’s more on this past week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakota Groups I Visited With: South Dakotans from the National Audubon Society; Randall Community Water District; South Dakota farmers with the Clean Fuels Alliance; and the South Dakota Music Education Association.
Additionally, I met with students from the Huron and Harrisburg areas. Early summer is always a busy time of year in Washington as school groups visit our nation's capital. It's especially meaningful to welcome students this year as our nation celebrates its 250th birthday.
Met With South Dakotans From: Avon, Brandon, Centerville, Geddes, Harrisburg, Hartford, Highmore, Huron, Lake Andes, Miller, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Vermillion and White River.
Other Meetings: Lindsey Johnson, President and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association; Kent Walker, President and Chief Legal Officer of Google and Alphabet; Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Andrea Travnicek ; Dr. Christopher Phelan, nominee to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; and Jason Droege, CEO of Scale AI.
I attended our weekly Senate Bible study hosted by Senator Steve Daines of Montana and I went to our weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, hosted by Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. I also stopped by the West Point Cadet Reception hosted by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
On Thursday, I spoke at the 2026 Disclosure Symposium, where I discussed the future of the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Disclosure Act. I am once again cosponsoring as an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act.
Hearings: I attended three hearings this past week. On Tuesday, during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, I questioned Lindsey Johnson, President and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association. You can watch the full clip here.
On Wednesday, I attended a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing, where I questioned Mark Cruz, nominee to be Director of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Cruz visited my office for a meeting last week. Click here to watch the exchange.
On Thursday, I attended a second Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, where I questioned Dr. Christopher Phelan, nominee to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (who I also visited with in my office this past week). Click here to watch the exchange.
Briefings: I attended two closed briefings with the Select Committee on Intelligence this past week, in addition to one classified briefing as part of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Legislation Introduced: June 24, 2026, marked the fourth anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision overturning Roe v. Wade. This past week, alongside Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), we introduced the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act of 2026. This legislation would establish a federal prohibition on dilation and evacuation procedures, commonly known as dismemberment abortions, in which surgical instruments are used to extract an unborn child piece by piece. Under this bill, physicians who knowingly perform these procedures would face fines and/or imprisonment of up to two years. Click the links to read the press release and the full bill text.
Votes Taken: I voted 11 times this past week. I voted in favor of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, along with 84 of my colleagues. This bicameral, bipartisan housing reform bill which will modernize rural housing programs and cut red tape has officially passed Congress.
I also voted on multiple nominees, including Darrell Owens, of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the rank of Ambassador; John George Edward Marck, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas; Michael J. Hendershot, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio; Arthur Roberts Jones, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas; and Matthew A. Schwartz, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit.
Additionally, I voted against a resolution to block the Department of Education’s new federal student loan regulations, as well as two efforts to remove U.S. Armed Forces from Iran. Click here to read more about these votes.
Steps Taken: 59,739 steps or 27.02 miles.
My Staff in South Dakota Visited: Dell Rapids and Miller.
Survey Results: As some of you may have seen last week, I sent out a survey to my email list to get some feedback on what issues are most important to South Dakotans right now. Thank you to everyone who took time to share responses with me. Out of a long list of options, the top three issues were:
- Social security and Medicare
- Budget and deficit spending
- Health Care
We will try to share more information on each of these topics in future editions of the Weekly Round[s] Up!