The U.S. Capitol on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
The U.S. Senate confirmed Ron Parsons on Tuesday as South Dakota’s new U.S. attorney.
Senators voted 51-47 to confirm a lengthy list of presidential nominees that included Parsons. Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, Republicans from South Dakota, each voted in favor of the list.
This will be Parsons’ second stint as the top federal prosecutor in the state. He previously served in the job during the first Trump administration.
Thune congratulated Parsons in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.
“Ron has already proved he has what it takes to be a great U.S. attorney, and I know he’ll continue to work hard for the people of South Dakota,” Thune said.
Parsons has degrees from the University of Minnesota and the University of South Dakota’s Knudson School of Law. He succeeds Alison Ramsdell, who was appointed during the Biden administration.
Parsons’ confirmation came after a Senate rule change, spearheaded by Thune, that allows the chamber to confirm some of the president’s appointees in large batches instead of one at a time. The change followed weeks of frustration from President Donald Trump and numerous Republican senators, who were exasperated by Democrats slowing down the confirmation process for lower-ranking nominees.
States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.