Weekly Round[s] Up: September 8-14, 2025
Welcome back to another Weekly Round[s] Up. Last week was a terrible week for our nation as Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event in Utah. Charlie Kirk dedicated his life to bringing people of differing opinion together around civil discussions. Above all else, he was a follower of Christ, a father to two beautiful children, a devoted husband and son, and an American who wanted to make this country a better place to call home. We continue to pray for his family and all who knew and loved him.
This past week, I met with several groups of South Dakotans who were in Washington. I also attended a few hearings and briefings, as well as attending other meetings with groups from across the country. We took several votes on the Senate floor, including one to speed up all of the nominees who are awaiting confirmations. More on my week in my Weekly Round[s] Up:
South Dakota groups I visited with: Crystal Enstad from Oncology Nursing Society; South Dakota Farmers Union; Michelle Powers, CEO of Northern Hills Training Center; members of South Dakota Auto Dealers; Rick Williamson, Legislative Chairman of the Department of South Dakota Veterans of Foreign Wars; Annette and Matt Brandt, Angels in Adoption Honorees; Major General Mark R. Morrell, who serves as the Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard; leaders from South Dakota Credit Unions; leaders from R-CALF USA; and members of Growth Energy. I also had the opportunity to meet with the South Dakota National Guard members who are currently deployed to Washington, D.C. Their work and the work of everyone deployed to DC has made a noticeable difference in cleaning up the city.
Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Britton, Clark, De Smet, Gary, Gregory, Groton, Huron, Ipswich, Lemmon, Madison, Oacoma, Parade, Pierre, Rapid City, Reliance, Reva, Salem, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis and Yankton.
Other meetings this past week: Dr. Todd Golub, Director of the Broad Institute; Rhode Island Business and Community Leaders; Marianne Lake, CEO of Consumer and Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co; and Derrick Anderson, nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict.
We had our Senate Bible Study on Tuesday morning. The verse of the week was Genesis 1:28. I also attended prayer breakfast on Wednesday, where Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey was our speaker.
Hearings: I attended three hearings this week: one hearing in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to vote on a nominee for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs; one hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee to hear from our nominee to serve as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and a hearing with the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs titled “Evaluating Perspectives on Deposit Insurance Reform”.
Following the Banking hearing, I introduced legislation to modernize outdated rules on reciprocal deposits. Reciprocal deposits allow community banks to offer customers full FDIC insurance while keeping those dollars working in local communities. This legislation updates current statutory thresholds to make it easier for community and regional banks to receive non-brokered treatment for reciprocal deposits. Read more here.
Classified Briefings: I attended four classified briefings this week: one as part of my work on SASC’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and two briefings in the Select Committee on Intelligence. I also hosted our biweekly cyber education seminar.
Votes taken: 13 – We voted on several Trump administration nominees. These nominees were for US District Judges in Florida and Missouri, as well as positions in the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition, we voted to change the rules of the Senate to speed up confirmation on all of the nominees being held up by Democrats. As I said last week, we are facing historic obstruction from the other side of the aisle. The Senate is required to approve over 1,300 nominees. If we spend our time in DC taking procedural votes on each one, we’ll never get to the important legislation that Americans need, such as the NDAA or appropriations. We must get back to the business of running the country instead of allowing Senate Democrats to hold the Senate hostage by taking advantage of a broken system. Leader John Thune did a great job of addressing our frustrations with Senate Democrat leadership on the Senate floor last week, which you can watch a clip of here. We look forward to continuing to get these nominees through the Senate and into their positions working for the American people.
Academy nominations: My office is currently accepting nominations from high school seniors who are looking to attend a U.S. service academy after graduation. By attending an academy, not only will students have the opportunity to serve our nation and help lead the best military in the world, but they will receive an excellent education at a top-notch institution. I encourage young South Dakotans looking to answer the call of duty to consider applying to one of our service academies. Read more here.
My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Brandon, Howard, Mitchell, Pierre, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Winner.
Steps taken: 46,949 steps or 21.16 miles.
Photo of the week: Good to see members of the South Dakota National Guard who are hard at work here in DC:
