John Thune

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks after a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Thune visits Israel, says ‘organizations like Hamas have to be eliminated’

BY: - October 23, 2023

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, said during a weekend visit to Israel that if the world wants peace, “organizations like Hamas have to be eliminated.” Israel has been at war with Hamas, a militant Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, since surprise attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7. Thune joined a bipartisan group of […]

Palestinian emergency services and local citizens search for victims in buildings destroyed during Israeli raids in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 17, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza. (Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

Republicans push for border funding to be wrapped into Israel, Ukraine aid package

BY: and - October 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate leaders called Tuesday for a bipartisan aid package for Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas that also includes assistance for Ukraine and Taiwan, with possible border funding sought by Republicans, as President Joe Biden prepared to leave Tuesday evening for a trip to Israel. Meanwhile, an explosion killed hundreds Tuesday at al-Ahli Arab […]

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks with members of the media in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Next battle in Congress over Ukraine aid, as Biden presses House speaker for vote

BY: - October 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are searching for a way to clear more aid for Ukraine, after Congress approved a short-term spending bill that didn’t include any additional money for the country. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to find the votes needed to pass a supplemental […]

Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, talks to members of the media as he leaves the Senate Chambers at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

With two days until shutdown, Thune and GOP leaders eye border security package

BY: - September 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. senators huddled behind closed doors Thursday, attempting to draft an amendment to the short-term government funding bill that would increase spending on border security and make policy changes. The provision could help nudge U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to put the broadly bipartisan measure up for a vote in that chamber, […]

COMMENTARY
Gov. Kristi Noem greets former President Donald Trump at a rally Sept. 8, 2023, at The Monument in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

So this is what passes for ‘unity’ in the Trump era

BY: - September 16, 2023

There was a time in 2004 when South Dakota Democrats had plenty to celebrate. This was back in the days before South Dakota politics was awash in red. It was likely even before the days when anyone would characterize states as red or blue. On the national level, there was a short time when South […]

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10,700 South Dakotans enroll in student loan repayment program; Thune files opposition measure

BY: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers — including 10,700 in South Dakota — are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, […]

Arrows are embedded in a target during practice for the women's individual eliminations match on Aug. 17, 2004, during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, Greece. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Gun law raises funding concerns for school hunting programs

BY: - September 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are concerned that the Biden administration is interpreting last year’s bipartisan gun safety law to cut funding for school archery and hunting programs, though programs themselves say they haven’t been affected. A provision in the law – a bipartisan effort to curb gun violence that established new criminal offenses, and expanded background […]

South Dakota's all-Republican congressional delegation, from left: Sen. John Thune, Rep. Dusty Johnson and Sen. Mike Rounds. (Photos courtesy of Thune/Johnson/Rounds offices; composite by South Dakota Searchlight)

State’s all-Republican congressional delegation will not attend Trump’s SD event

BY: - August 22, 2023

When the South Dakota Republican Party hosts former President Donald Trump on Sept. 8 in Rapid City, the state’s all-Republican congressional delegation will not be there. All three have scheduling conflicts, their offices said. South Dakota’s senators have endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott in the Republican presidential primary, rather than former President Donald Trump. […]

Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson attend a forum at Dakotafest in Mitchell on Aug. 16, 2023. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

At ag forum, Johnson, Thune and Rounds reject ‘loud’ approach to politics

BY: - August 16, 2023

MITCHELL — U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, received applause Wednesday at an agricultural trade show when he countered a call for more aggressive confrontation in politics.  An audience member at a Dakotafest forum on the farm bill asked why Johnson doesn’t attack his colleagues across the aisle with greater vehemence. Johnson said being loud […]

Two B-1B Lancers assigned to the 28th Operations Group, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, take off for a Weapons School Integration mission at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada on May 30, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Wyatt Stabler)

Defense bill passes Senate with Thune & Rounds support, but deep divide with House looms

BY: - July 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators avoided a heated partisan split as they passed the massive annual defense policy package late Thursday —  in stark contrast to the GOP-led House version, in which far-right members included language to restrict abortion access and transgender care for service members. Senators passed the National Defense Authorization Act, 86-11, but lawmakers […]

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, questions witnesses in a hearing of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, in the Cannon House Office Building on Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Congressional Roundup: Foreign ownership, culture wars in the military, child tax credit, and more

BY: - July 15, 2023

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, is supporting another effort to limit foreign ownership of U.S. land. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party recently introduced the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act, with the support of Johnson, who’s a member of the committee. The bill would expand the jurisdiction […]

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, participates in a Senate Banking Committee hearing in March 2023. (Screenshot from committee hearing video)

Congressional Roundup: Rounds advocates for defense and AM radios

BY: - July 1, 2023

A congressional defense spending bill includes about $400 million for South Dakota construction projects, according to Sen. Mike Rounds. Rounds, a Republican, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Earlier this week, the committee sent the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2024 fiscal year to the full Senate. “The NDAA is […]