Weekly Round[s] Up: September 14-20, 2026

Welcome back to the Weekly Round[s] Up after a busy August in-state work period. I spent the month traveling across South Dakota, meeting with constituents, businesses and organizations and seeing first-hand the issues facing communities across our state. I always enjoy meeting with South Dakota groups in Washington, but it’s particularly valuable to visit with people in person and hear directly about the issues that are top of mind. Some highlights from the month included the Congressional Forum at DakotaFest, a visit to Ellsworth Air Force Base with Leader Thune and Undersecretary of the Army, Mike Obadal and of course, the South Dakota State Fair.

After returning to Washington, we hit the ground running with an average of 25 events per day. After spending the past few weeks traveling across South Dakota, it was good to sit down with folks in Washington and talk about what I heard and saw back home and how we can help address those issues at the federal level.

One notable piece of legislation we debated on the Senate floor this past week was the Protect College Sports Act of 2026. The Senate voted 77-22 to advance this bill. This bipartisan legislation brings structure and consistency to the ever-changing world of college sports while protecting student athletes. More on the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakota Groups I Visited With in DC: Scott Landguth, Ellsworth Development Authority; South Dakotans with the National Bison Association; Ryman LeBeau, Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and other members; South Dakotans with the American Coalition for Ukraine; Rick Williamson, South Dakota VFW; Drew Peterson with the American Farm Bureau; South Dakota Autodealers Association; South Dakotans with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; Christine Maki with Women for Gun Rights; South Dakota Farmers Union; Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association Tribes; Justin Tupper, Board President, US Cattlemen's Association from St. Onge; Chairman Steve Sitting Bear and Vice Chairman Mike Faith of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; South Dakotans with the American Network of Community Options and Resources; South Dakota Pork Producers; Dakota Credit Union Association; South Dakotans from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers; Adam Bode, CEO, DemKota Ranch Beef; Linda Schauer, South Dakota State Director, Concerned Women for America; South Dakota leaders with Growth Energy; and representatives from the South Dakota Turkey Industry.

South Dakota Groups I Visited With in SD: This past Friday, I met with several groups in South Dakota, including Dr. Rob Allison, the South Dakota Chapter of the American College of Physicians; Leaders from Dakota State University and Dakota State University Applied Research Corporation; and Bill Flippo with the Military Order of the Purple Heart. In addition, I spoke at the South Dakota State Association of Letter Carriers State Convention in Pierre, attended the Sioux Falls Veterans Council Service and participated in the South Dakota Right to Life Convention in Sioux Falls.

On Saturday, I attended the Welcome Home Ceremony for the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 665th Support Maintenance Company. I had the opportunity to thank the 130 soldiers who had returned from their 10-month-long deployment in Germany.

Visited with South Dakotans From: Aberdeen, Bath, Beresford, Brookings, Cavour, Clark, Clear Lake, Eagle Butte, Freeman, Garden City, Groton, Hartford, Huron, Ipswich, Keystone, Lake Preston, Leola, Onida, Pierre, Rapid City, Reliance, Salem, Sherman, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, St. Onge, Valley Springs, Webster and Yankton.

Other Meetings: Ann Stevens, CEO, ICEYE US; Jim Reagan, CEO, Science Applications International Corporation; Matt Kissner, CEO, Wiley; Michael Miebach, CEO, Mastercard; Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment; Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi, President of Somaliland; Peter Beyer, Member of the German Bundestag; Representative Gottheimer (D-NJ); Greg Middleman, Senior VP, Freedom Mortgage; Greg Beard, Department of Energy’s Director of the Office of Energy Dominance Financing; and Ryan McInerny, CEO, VISA.

This past week I was honored to receive the National Federation of Independent Business’s Guardian of Small Business Award. Small businesses make up 99 percent of all South Dakota businesses, and it’s critical that we support them as best we can at the federal level.

This past week, I hosted Senate Bible Study in my office, where my colleagues and I read from the book of James. In addition, I also attended our weekly Prayer Breakfast where Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia spoke on his journey with faith.

Lastly, I attended one meeting with the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee where we voted to pass the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026. We also voted on four of the President’s nominees who will now be considered by the full Senate.

Briefings: This past week I participated in three classified briefings, two with the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence and one with the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Implementation of the National Defense Strategy and its Impact on Global Defense Posture.

Votes Taken: 7. This past week we voted to advance the Protect College Sports Act of 2026. Additionally, I voted for Kasdin Mitchell, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas and Matthew Byrne, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio and the Clarity Act, which failed.

Steps Taken: 55,006 steps or 25.11 miles.

My Staff in South Dakota Visited: Kyle and Wall.

Video of the Week: On Wednesday, I joined Fox News to talk about AI. Click here to watch.