Central South Dakota News

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds from South Dakota has announced his membership in the Senate's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus. This group, described as bipartisan and bicameral, aims to collaborate with the Trump administration to identify and eliminate wasteful spending within the federal government.

Senator Rounds stated, "Hardworking Americans deserve to have their taxpayer dollars spent wisely." He criticized the previous administration for not prioritizing the elimination of wasteful government spending. According to Rounds, "The Trump administration is not only prepared but committed to cutting wasteful spending." He expressed readiness to work with Senate colleagues to assist President Trump in reducing expenditures, eliminating unnecessary programs, and streamlining federal operations. Rounds suggested that one approach could be "eliminating the federal Department of Education and returning educational decisions to our states," which he claims would save at least $1.3 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Rounds joins a group of Senators including Joni Ernst from Iowa, John Cornyn from Texas, Ted Budd from North Carolina, Mike Lee from Utah, Rick Scott from Florida, Roger Marshall from Kansas, Eric Schmitt from Missouri, James Lankford from Oklahoma, Dan Sullivan from Alaska, Bernie Moreno from Ohio, Ted Cruz also from Texas, Pete Ricketts from Nebraska, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee, Jim Risch from Idaho, Marsha Blackburn also from Tennessee, John Hoeven from North Dakota, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana and Chuck Grassley also from Iowa in efforts to cut wasteful government spending.