Thune: Democrats Break All the Wrong Records

“The damage Democrats have caused has been immense.”

Click here to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor.

Rounds Secures National Defense Victories in Senate Armed Services Committee’s Fiscal Year 2027 NDAA

Legislation includes $43.7 million for South Dakota National Guard; $3.23 billion for B-21 Raider procurement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, released the following statement on the committee’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

“The NDAA is the hallmark piece of legislation that the Armed Services Committee works on each year, and it’s always an honor to have a role in crafting it at the committee level,” said Rounds. “This is the 12th NDAA I’ve had the opportunity to work on as a member of the Armed Services committee. I was glad to have several wins for South Dakota in the committee version of this legislation, including $43.7 million for military construction projects for the South Dakota National Guard in Sioux Falls and Sturgis. Our committee version of the bill fully authorizes the B-21 Raider program to be housed at Ellsworth, with $3.23 billion for procurement and another $4.25 billion in ongoing research and development for the platform. As Chair of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, I am also very pleased with the cyber provisions included to strengthen our nation’s offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, as well as ongoing efforts to accelerate AI adoption.

In an increasingly dangerous world, a consensus on defense spending is more important than ever. I firmly believe that this year’s NDAA takes great strides to secure our nation and put us in a position to fight away games rather than on our own soil. I look forward to working with the rest of my Senate colleagues and the House to get the NDAA passed and signed into law.”

Rounds was named as the 6th most effective member of the United States Senate on defense and national security issues for the 118th Congress. Read a full list of his provisions in this year’s NDAA below.

Rounds’ South Dakota Victories:

• Fully authorizes the B-21 Raider program, including over $3.23 billion for total procurement ($2.23 billion for procurement and $1 billion in advanced procurement), and an additional $4.25 billion in research and development.
• Authorizes $146.8 million for B-1B Lancer.
• Authorizes $40 million for an Aircraft Maintenance Hangar for the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114^th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls.
• Authorizes $3.7 million for a Vehicle Maintenance Shop for the South Dakota Army National Guard in Sturgis.
• Authorizes $10 million for Cold Regions Advanced Materials and Manufacturing research being done at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
• Authorizes $10 million for Large Area Additive Deposition work being done on large area additive manufacturing by VRC Metal Systems and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota.
• Authorizes $5 million for Innovate High Energy Density Sodium Battery research being done by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
• Authorizes $30 million for the University Consortium for Cybersecurity including Dakota State University.
• Requires the Army and the Air Force to provide the congressional defense committees a briefing on the resources needed for environmental restoration activities on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and encourages the Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Air Force, and Army Corps of engineers to conduct government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
• Requires with the Under Secretary for Research & Engineering, Under Secretary for Acquisition & Sustainment, and the geographic combatant commands to develop a comprehensive strategy for cost-effective, attritable high-altitude systems, including cross-Department coordination of investments and what policy, budgetary, and industrial base changes are needed to accelerate adoption at speed and scale.
• Requires the Secretary of the Air Force and the commander of U.S. Strategic Command to reevaluation the B-21 Raider program of record and provide an assessment of the number of B-21 aircraft necessary to meet the nuclear and conventional mission requirements in the FY26 National Defense Strategy.  They must also provide a plan for producing the necessary number of aircraft.  (It is likely that many of the aircraft purchased beyond the initially planned 100 B-21s will make their way to Ellsworth.)
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide the full report and unredacted materials used in the review of the Medals of Honor provided to soldiers for their conduct at Wounded Knee Creek in December 1890.
• Authorizes $50 million for small businesses and non-traditional contractors to cover their Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification costs (to meet the Department’s cybersecurity standards).

Rounds’ Major National Defense Victories:

• Creates an Under Secretary of Defense for Cyber, Information, and Networks, merging the Department’s Chief Information Officer and the Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of Defense into a single dual-hat individual.
• Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a joint program with Germany for co-development and co-production of air defense and air-to-air munitions to increase the defense industrial base capacity of both countries.
• Directs the Department to develop a strategy and resource plan to enhance U.S. cyber cooperation with Indo-Pacific allies and partners
• Requires AI models being used by the Department of Defense to provide source attribution, helping prevent dissemination of foreign adversary propaganda.
• Provides resources to the National Guard and Reserve cyber components who are participating in ongoing cyber military operations.
• Requires the Department to mandate effective software acquisition pathway for all software purchases to support more flexible appropriations options for software activities to speed up software acquisition and development activities.
• Requires the Department to provide an update on the development of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing capabilities to facilitate better use of the spectrum by both the military and commercial interests.
• Authorizes $1 million to strengthen cooperation between U.S. Cyber Command and the Kingdom of Jordan.
• Directs Department of Defense Cyber Defense Command to submit annual reports to Congress on their Cyber Operational Readiness Assessment program, which is critical to securing the Department’s networks.
• Directs the Chief Information Officer of the Department to reduce administrative burden of the Department’s risk management framework, making it easier for cyber, AI, and software companies to work with the military.
• Establishes artificial intelligence governance rules for the Department and our miliary to make sure autonomous weapon systems and AI tools require human judgment when appropriate, without slowing down our warfighters and industry partners from developing and utilizing cutting edge technologies.
• Directs an independent study on the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and resourcing of the Principal Cyber Advisors of the military departments.
• Directs a plan to remove unnecessary bureaucratic procedures and regulations related to the AUKUS partnerships between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom so our defense industrial bases are better able to work together.
• Requires the Department to develop a plan for a public-private partnership to train individuals at the scale required for modern drone warfare.
• Requires an Army report on potential Army National Guard drone units.
• Requires an Army report on a potential Army National Guard Drone Center of Excellence.

 

Rounds-Supported Victories:

• Authorizes funding to support a 3.6 percent pay raise for military members.
• Encourages the Department to establish a Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command.
• Requires acceleration of the adoption and purchase of low-cost munitions.
• Authorizes the establishment and continued operation of Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel to coordinate and bolster the counter-cartel mission and defending the southwest border.
• Establishes the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative to expand and accelerate bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, coordination, and industrial cooperation between the U.S. and Israel.
• Codifies the Department review process for autonomous weapon systems and AI capabilities, specifying standards for human judgment, validation and testing requirements, prohibited uses, and a centralized incident reporting repository.
• Establishes comprehensive prohibitions against betting on military operations in prediction markets.
• Requires the Department to accept the Classic Learning Test at military service academies.

Click HERE to read an executive summary from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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I just can’t get this image out of my head after seeing this picture in the SD Searchlight article, where the hand-counting zealots and Heather Baxter are clinging to the insane notion that they want to get rid of machine counting of ballots after a primary election with a ridiculous permutation of different ballots between the precincts, cities, schools, counties, legislative district and statewide elections. (Wasn’t it over 100 different ballots in Minnehaha County alone?)

Hopefully the SD Canvassing group has been driven to extinction after this last primary election.

 

From SD Searchlight:

State Republican Party Chairman Jim Eschenbaum expects 600 to 800 voting delegates at the convention, “possibly more.” Eschenbaum said the convention is far more representative of the average Republican voter “than it was before.” He became chairman in early 2025.

“The establishment can’t manipulate the elections anymore. That’s what their problem is,” he said, responding to criticism about the convention.  

Read that here.

Um…. I hate to bring it up, but isn’t the guy who is in charge of the party (even a former 32-year Democrat as Eschenbaum is) actually “the establishment” now?

And if not, who is he leveling his criticism against?  The Governor? Our federal delegation?  Exactly who is “this establishment” supposed to be that he’s railing against?

If you’re following the story of idiot legislator State Rep. Travis Ismay who decided to do some self-help on the condition of a local road, damaging it, you’d know that the State Representative is facing a felony charge for his actions:

No comment is the response from a South Dakota legislator who has been indicted and arrested on a felony charge of intentional damage to a public road. Released on $500 bail, Travis Ismay, Newell, S.D. is facing a two-year prison term and a $4,000 fine.

Ismay’s indictment doesn’t offer details on the incident, aside from saying that the crime allegedly occurred three days after he won the Republican nomination to seek reelection to his District 28B state House seat.

A Butte County grand jury took testimony from a sheriff’s deputy, a highway department employee and a Butte County resident before issuing the indictment.

Read the story here.

You might have expected the buffoon Ismay to defend himself in the matter, since he graded (or tried to grade) the road himself. But after initially not having an attorney, he went out and hired a fairly notable one, at least according to UJS records:

It appears that Rep. Ismay has quickly gone out and hired Tim Rensch out of Rapid City to defend him in this case.

Why should you recognize Rensch’s name? He’s who Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg hired to defend against criminal charges after the traffic/pedestrian accident that lead to his eventual impeachment and removal from office.

Overkill for a case like this? Maybe. You’d think that the legal bill will exceed the road repair bill. But.. there’s also that other thing. A felony conviction might cause the House of Representatives to refuse to seat him for office in 2027. That might be more worth the price tag for Ismay.

Did Ismay actually do something smart for once in hiring a good attorney?  That just seems out of character.

From my mailbox, there is a $1000 a head Pierre fundraiser for Governor Rhoden on Wednesday night. Check it out here:

We must be approaching the State Republican Convention, because the South Dakota Republican Party reported raising $20.

No, not $20,000.  According to the FEC Report they filed today, detailing activity in their Federal account, they reportedly raised $20, and transferred $1150.17 over from the State Account.

Well, you can read it for yourself:

SDGOP June 2026 FEC Report by Pat Powers

I believe they are reporting $29,038.84 left in the federal kitty.  Add that to the $$124,164.83 they claim in their state account, and maybe they can put on a convention.

We’ll see how this all goes.

Governor Rhoden Endorses Erickson

SIOUX FALLS–South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden announced his support of Christine Erickson for Mayor of Sioux Falls.

“I’ve worked with Christine to deliver results for years. She’s tough, she’s smart, and she’s a great friend,” said Gov. Larry Rhoden. “My Administration worked with Mayor TenHaken to make Sioux Falls safer, and I can’t wait to do the same with Christine when she’s elected mayor.”

“Thank you to Gov. Rhoden for his endorsement and support,” said Christine Erickson. “On day one as Mayor, I’ll work hard to make Sioux Falls safer. That takes a strong relationship with the Governor and his administration to be successful–especially to address recidivism.”

Gov. Rhoden took office in January 2025 after serving as lieutenant governor since 2019. He served as a legislator from 2001 to 2014 and 2017 to 2018. Erickson and Gov. Rhoden served in the Legislature together in 2013 and 2014.

Erickson has made public safety a top priority for her administration. As South Dakota’s largest city and multiple state and county agencies involved, making Sioux Falls safer requires proven leadership and collaboration. Erickson has earned the endorsements of Gov. Rhoden, Attorney General Marty Jackley, Lincoln County Sheriff Steven Swenson, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar, Lincoln County State’s Attorney Thomas Wollman, and the Sioux Falls Police Labor Council.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Toby Doeden has also endorsed Erickson. Doeden previously stated: “The future of Sioux Falls is at stake. Christine is a proven leader with a bold vision for the future of Sioux Falls. She will protect Sioux Falls’ greatness for generations to come.”

The runoff election for Sioux Falls Mayor is Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Early voting is open at the Minnehaha County and Lincoln County Auditors’ offices. Sioux Falls voters can vote early at either location during regular business hours. Learn more at christineforsiouxfalls.com.

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The Minnesota political website “Unicorn Riot” has done an expose’ on self-declared “election expert” Rick Weible who isn’t just backing Secretary of State Challenger Heather Baxter against incumbent Secretary of State Monae Johnson as per SD Searchlight…

Weible and his wife, Gretchen, worked on Johnson’s campaign. Gretchen served as her campaign manager. They now work for Baxter’s campaign, they told South Dakota Searchlight during a November 2025 event in Sioux Falls, where they were training people on how to hand-count. 

(Read that here).

… He also has a role in the campaign of the pillow guy – Mike Lindell – Trying to run for Minnesota Governor.  But there’s a lot to unpack that’s useful in either contests

Weible, the former mayor of St. Bonifacius – coincidentally also where Lindell’s campaign is based – and state GOP operative, has been paid $32,000 in the past six months for his role on the campaign, and his company R & G Visions has been paid more than $200,000 for services foreign to computer consultation businesses, like legal services and security.

While Lindell runs a campaign focused heavily on election security – an obvious focus for one of the leading figures of Trump’s 2020 election denial – the campaign committee has doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars that have gone directly into the pockets of the two people running it. 

and..

The business is not findable in aggregated corporate records or even the Minnesota Secretary of State’s business filings, but it is easily found through the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office. Determined customers who have thus far refused to take the previous dead ends for an answer will be led to the current Weible residence in a small community outside of Brookings, a single-level country home with a Trump flag flying high in the front lawn on Google Maps.

Could this be the very location Weible broadcasts from while filling in for Lindell on his broadcasts, a cluttered room with piles of this and that behind him accentuated by the odd piece of Trump merchandise, including a poster that directly references the 2020 election fraud claims?

What could a business such as this possibly be providing the Lindell campaign?

Read the entire story here.

Current Secretary of State Monae Johnson became Weible’s enemy #1, when he figured out there was no way she was going to hand him the keys to the kingdom. Now he’s actively pushing an opponent who is fully on board with his agenda.

Not sure I want to see someone who makes claims of election fraud on a “for-profit” basis having anything to do with selecting who the next Secretary of State is.

 

Security and Stewardship
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
June 12, 2026

BIG Update

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a comprehensive plan to support small meat and poultry plants — mirroring the goals of my Butcher Block Act, which was included in the House‑passed Farm Bill. This initiative provides $60 million in new investments and reduces regulatory burdens for small processors. These grants will help local facilities expand their operations and better meet market demand.

USDA’s decision to prioritize small processors is a win for both producers and consumers. America needs more domestically processed beef and poultry, and I’m glad to see the USDA implementing my plan to strengthen and grow American processing capacity.

Click here or the image above for more details

BIG Idea

Fraud drains federal programs meant for families, seniors, children, small businesses, and people who actually need help. We’ve seen the consequences firsthand in Minnesota, where funds intended for children and education programs were stolen from those who relied on them. This kind of theft of taxpayer dollars is unacceptable.

This week, I voted for two bills to better safeguard public funds from abuse. The Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act establishes a government‑wide watchdog to identify suspicious payments before any money goes out the door. Additionally, the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act requires federal agencies to assess fraud risks and gives the Department of the Treasury the authority to return questionable payments for further review.

Click here or the image above to watch Johnson discuss the legislation on Newsmax

BIG News

A secure southern border is essential to America’s safety. Congress and President Trump have taken significant steps to strengthen border security, and this week Congress approved funding, with my support, for the law enforcement agencies responsible for maintaining that security through 2029. This investment also targets fentanyl smuggling, combats child exploitation, and empowers local law enforcement to help locate and arrest criminal illegal aliens.

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