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.