Politics

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, speaks on the floor of the House about a resolution to censure him, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (Screenshot from U.S. House webcast)

SD’s Johnson votes yes as House sanctions NY member for pulling fire alarm

BY: - December 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Thursday to censure Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York. The House voted 214-191 along party lines (including a yes vote from South Dakota Republican Dusty Johnson) on a resolution to censure Bowman for pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on Sept. 30 while the […]

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Aug. 10, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

North Dakota’s Burgum slams Republican rules while ending presidential bid

BY: - December 4, 2023

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced Monday he would end his campaign to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. In a statement on suspending his campaign, Burgum criticized the Republican National Committee’s debate structure, saying the fundraising and polling criteria “ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland.” “The […]

COMMENTARY
Gov. Kristi Noem recruits welders to move to South Dakota in one of her office's Freedom Works Here campaign ads. (Courtesy of Governor's Office)

Now it’s the Legislature’s turn to try to scale the Noem wall of silence

BY: - December 2, 2023

It’s likely that journalists in South Dakota allowed themselves a few self-satisfied chuckles last month. This mirth was inspired by watching the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee fail to get the information it was seeking about the Freedom Works Here campaign from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The Freedom Works Here campaign advertisements, which have run […]

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is surrounded by journalists as he leaves the U.S. Capitol after his fellow members of Congress voted to expel him from the House of Representatives on Dec. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

SD Rep. Johnson votes for expulsion as House boots Santos from office

BY: - December 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — New York Republican George Santos on Friday became the sixth lawmaker in history and the first member of the GOP to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. The 311-114 bipartisan vote, which required two-thirds support, followed months of scandal that culminated in a federal criminal indictment and a damning report from […]

"I voted" stickers, as seen on the front of a new brochure from Secretary of State Monae Johnson. (SD Secretary of State)

Secretary of state releases election integrity brochure, urges voters to trust officials

BY: - November 28, 2023

A new brochure from Secretary of State Monae Johnson aims to address common election integrity questions in advance of the 2024 election, according to a Tuesday news release. The brochure, titled “A Guide to Secure Elections in South Dakota,” is designed to explain “different security measures South Dakota has put in place to protect our […]

Students from Louisiana prepare to join the 50th annual March for Life rally on Jan. 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Anti-abortion groups shrug off election losses, look to courts, statehouses for path forward

BY: - November 25, 2023

Anti-abortion groups are firing off a warning shot for 2024: We’re not going anywhere. Their leaders say they’re undeterred by recent election setbacks and plan to plow ahead on what they’ve done for years, including working through state legislatures, federal agencies, and federal courts to outlaw abortion. And at least one prominent anti-abortion group is […]

COMMENTARY
The Senate floor in the South Dakota Capitol at Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Governor shouldn’t be the one to choose replacement legislators

BY: - November 24, 2023

Two Republican legislators from Rapid City have resigned. Sen. Jessica Castleberry of District 35 had to resign so she can get busy repaying $600,000 in pandemic relief funding she received through state government, in violation of the Legislature’s ethics rules. Rep. Jess Olson of District 34 said she resigned for health reasons. According to The […]

The Minnehaha County Administration Building in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

New policy leads to settlement in ballot petitioner rights lawsuit

BY: - November 21, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Minnehaha County commissioners signed off on a settlement agreement Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of violating the First Amendment rights of people collecting signatures for ballot questions. Dakotans for Health sued the county this spring after the commission passed a policy on May 2 that restricted petitioning to a small […]

The White House South Lawn. (Getty Images)

Three presidential debates, one VP debate scheduled ahead of 2024 election

BY: - November 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Democratic and Republican nominees for president would debate three times next year if both candidates agree to a schedule released Monday by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. “The United States’ general election debates, watched live worldwide, are a model for many other countries: the opportunity to hear and see leading candidates […]

President Joe Biden in the White House Rose Garden on Oct. 11, 2023. (Official White House photo by Oliver Contreras)

Biden signs stopgap spending bill, avoiding government shutdown 

BY: - November 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has signed the stopgap spending bill, giving his administration and Congress about two months to work out agreement on the dozen annual spending bills. Those appropriations measures were supposed to become law by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, but disagreement about whether to adhere to the […]

Committee Chair U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) speaks during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Nov. 8, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Congress sends stopgap spending bill to Biden’s desk, averting shutdown for now

BY: - November 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators voted 87-11 to approve legislation Wednesday that would fund the government into next year, clearing the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature. The stopgap spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution or CR, would fund part of the government until mid-January and the rest of the programs within the annual appropriations […]

The U.S. Capitol on April 4, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

With yes vote from SD’s Johnson, House passes stopgap spending bill

BY: - November 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Tuesday to fund the government into the new year, though the measure must pass the Senate by the end of the week if Congress is going to avoid a partial government shutdown. The 336-95 House vote was the first major legislative test for Speaker Mike […]