Welcome back to the first Weekly Round[s] Up of 2026. After a well-spent holiday with friends and family, it was straight back to work in Washington, D.C. My week quickly filled with meetings, briefings and votes, setting the tone for a busy start to the new year. Outside of D.C., I also had the opportunity to travel and attend two events. One at the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas to learn more about the work being done there and another in Rapid City for a welcome home ceremony honoring the South Dakota Army National Guard. More on both of these events and the rest of my week in the Weekly Round[s] Up:

 South Dakota groups I visited with: Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council and SD rancher Eric Jennings.

Met with South Dakotans from: Rosebud and Spearfish.

Other meetings: Rwandan Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana; Amanda Eversole, CEO of Financial Services Forum; and USPS Inspector General Hull (more on that later!).

On Friday I visited the southern border in Texas with a few Senate colleagues. We met with Border Patrol Agents and discussed new improvements under the Trump administration. Under the previous administration, there were 10.5 million illegal border crossings, marking a record-high level of illegal immigration. Compare this to today, for the seventh consecutive month, U.S. Border Patrol has released zero illegal aliens into the United States.

Additionally, over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend a welcome home ceremony for The South Dakota Army National Guard’s 109th Engineer Battalion. This group started in San Diego, CA and transitioned to Eagle Pass, TX during their 13 month deployment. They operated in one of the most active and challenging regions along the southern border and assisted in the apprehension of more than 21,000 individuals attempting to cross the border illegally. The return of the 109th Engineer Battalion highlights the resilience and dedication of South Dakota National Guard Soldiers.

Briefings: I attended two Senate Select Committee on Intelligence briefings, a Cyber Operations Quarterly Briefing and a classified briefing on Venezuela. Click here to watch my video on social media recapping what we learned (that we’re able to share!).

Senate Bible Study and Prayer Breakfast: On Tuesday I attended Senate Bible Study where we started a new study titled “Buoying Your New Year’s Resolution to Study the Bible.” I also attended our Senate Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday morning.

Votes taken:  6 – This past week I voted on multiple nominees including Keith Bass to be an Assistance Secretary of Defense, Joshua Simmons to be General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, Sara Bailey to be Director of National Drug Control Policy, and Alexander Van Hook to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana (All Yeas).

Additionally, I voted Nay on both the Whitehouse Air Plan Approval South Dakota CRA and on the motion to discharge the Kaine War Powers Resolution (Venezuela).

Steps taken: 57,095 steps or 27.05 miles.

Videos of the Week:

I filmed videos after my meeting with Inspector General Hull on Thursday. Click the links to watch part one and part two.