Mary Clare Jalonick, Author at The Rapid City Post

Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the Capitol Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Senate delays August recess for now as Trump presses for more confirmations

August 1, 2025

A stalemate over the pace of confirmations has delayed the Senate’s yearly August recess for now as President Donald Trump declares that his nominees “should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT.” Democrats have slowed the confirmation process by forcing procedural votes on almost all of Trump’s picks. Caught in the middle is Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who says he will keep the Senate in session over the weekend to hold confirmation votes while also trying to negotiate a deal with Democrats. The two sides haven’t come to agreement yet and it’s unclear if Trump would be onboard with any bipartisan deal.

Republicans consider changing Senate rules to speed confirmation of Trump nominees

July 30, 2025

Senate Republicans are considering changing Senate rules to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump’s executive branch nominees, forcing a possible clash with Democrats as Trump pressures them to fill dozens of administration posts before they leave town for the monthlong August recess. Trump’s pressure comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune has already more than doubled the number of executive branch and judicial confirmations compared to Trump’s first term by holding the Senate in session for more days and longer hours all year. Still, Trump says he wants more, and Democrats are delaying a vote on most every nominee, arguing that Trump’s picks are extreme.

Sen. Cory Booker in angry outburst says ‘complicit’ Democrats need a ‘wake-up call’

July 29, 2025

In a rare public outburst on the Senate floor Tuesday, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took his Democratic colleagues to task, saying the party “needs a wake up call!” Booker angrily screamed at two of his shocked Democratic colleagues and blocked the passage of several bipartisan bills that would fund police programs, arguing that President Donald Trump’s administration has been withholding law enforcement money from Democratic-leaning states. The surprise Senate spat over police bills that have broad bipartisan support strikes at the heart of the beleaguered Democratic party’s dilemma in the second Trump era as they try to find a way back to power.

FILE - Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, sits Manhattan criminal court during Trump's sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via AP, Pool, File)

Senate considering nomination of ex-Trump defense lawyer for lifetime appointment to appeals court

July 22, 2025

The Senate has narrowly voted to begin considering the nomination of former Trump lawyer Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge. On Tuesday, at least one Republican opposed, and Democrats are vowing to try to slow his confirmation. Bove is a former criminal defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, and he is now a top official at the Justice Department. His nomination for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has come under intense scrutiny from Democrats after a fired department lawyer said he suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands. Bove denies the claim.

FILE - Whitney Hermandorfer of the Tennessee Attorney General's Office speaks before a panel of judges, April 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Senate confirms Trump’s first judicial nominee of his second term

July 14, 2025

The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s first judicial pick of his second term, voting along party lines to approve Whitney Hermandorfer as a judge for the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hermandorfer worked for Tennessee’s attorney general. The Democratic-led Senate under former President Joe Biden confirmed 235 federal judges, and the Republican-led Senate in Trump’s first term confirmed 234 federal judges. The two presidents each worked to reshape the judiciary, with Trump taking advantage of a high number of judicial vacancies at the end of President Barack Obama’s term and Democrats working to beat Trump’s number.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is seen with other Republican House members after the passage of President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Takeaways as Congress sends tax and spending cuts bill to Trump’s desk

July 3, 2025

The House has passed the massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump calls “beautiful,” getting it to his desk a day before the July 4 deadline that he had set. The 887-page bill includes spending cuts, tax breaks, military spending, money for deportations and other longtime GOP priorities like cuts to Medicaid and renewable energy programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that under the bill 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Sunday, June 22, 2025, after the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to destroy the country's nuclear program. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Intelligence leaders are set to brief Congress on Trump’s Iran strikes

June 23, 2025

Members of Congress are hearing directly from President Donald Trump’s intelligence leaders about the strikes on Iran. The House and Senate will be receiving classified briefings Tuesday, just three days after Trump directed strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and a day after Iran struck a U.S. base in Qatar. Democrats in Congress, along with some Republicans, have questions about Trump’s unilateral decision to launch military action. Many of them argue he should have come to Congress for approval — or at least provided more justification for the attacks. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard will be among the officials briefing Congress.

FILE - A handgun with a silencer and two magazines are shown at a gun range in Atlanta, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane, File)

GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns

June 22, 2025

The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns. It advances a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill. The House bill would remove silencers from a 1930s law that regulates firearms that are considered the most dangerous, eliminating a $200 tax on the accessories and also removing a layer of background checks.

‘Shocked’ and ‘sickened’ Democrats react with fury to video of Padilla’s removal

June 12, 2025

Senate Democrats were shaken to the core after seeing videos of officers aggressively pushing California Sen. Alex Padilla out of a news conference with the Homeland Security secretary and eventually restraining him on the floor outside the room. Democrats have been beaten down politically for months as President Donald Trump has returned to power and ruled Washington with a united Republican Congress. But the Democrats’ anger exploded as they skipped their traditional Thursday flights home and stayed on the floor to speak out against the incident. They called it the latest and most inflammatory example of what they say is Trump’s gradual assault on democracy.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Senate rejects effort to block arms sales over Trump’s dealings with Qatar and UAE

June 11, 2025

Senate Republicans have blocked an effort by Democrats to temporarily block arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in response to President Donald Trump’s dealings in the region. Democrats forced the procedural vote Wednesday to protest Qatar’s donation of a $400 million plane to be used as Air Force One and a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed company using a Trump family-linked stablecoin, a form of cryptocurrency. Senators voted to block the Democratic effort led by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. Murphy forced the votes under a mechanism known as a joint resolution of disapproval that allows the Senate to reject arms sales.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican senators to watch in the maneuvering over Trump’s big bill

June 9, 2025

The Senate has set an ambitious timeline to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping legislation to cut taxes and spending. But getting it on the Republican president’s desk by July 4 will require some big decisions, and soon. Republican senators are airing concerns about different parts of the legislation, including cuts to Medicaid, changes to food aid and the impact on the deficit. To push the bill to passage, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other negotiators will need to find a compromise that satisfies both ends of their conference. And they’ll need to ensure those changes don’t threaten support in the House.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., flanked by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., center, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speak with reporters after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Thune’s first big test as Senate leader has arrived with Trump’s tax bill

June 4, 2025

Only six months into the job, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a massive challenge as he tries to quickly pass President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending cuts package. While most of his Republican senators are inclined to vote for it, he can still only lose four votes. To get it done by July 4, Thune has to figure out how to balance the demands of different Republicans. It’s a complicated and risky undertaking, one that is likely to make or break the first year of Thune’s tenure and his evolving relationship with Trump.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senate clears way to block clean air standards in California, including vehicle emission rules

May 21, 2025

Senate Republicans have voted to establish a new precedent that will allow them to roll back clean air standards in California, including a rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The winding series of Senate procedural votes that went late into Wednesday evening could have profound implications on California’s longstanding efforts to reduce air pollution. Republicans established a new, narrow exception to the Senate filibuster, and Democrats strongly objected to the move. The votes cleared the way procedurally for Republicans to bring up three House-passed resolutions that would block the rules. The Senate could pass the resolutions later this week.

Mary Clare Jalonick.