Five questions and answers about reconciliation in the U.S. Senate
June 11, 2025
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, accompanied by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.,
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, accompanied by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.,
Rich Nye, senior adviser for education policy to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, testifies at a hearing of the U.S. House
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on June 10,
Indiana Rep. Erin Houchin, left, and South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, both Republicans, speak with reporters inside the U.S. Capitol
Participants in a welding program for minimum security inmates are pictured at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls on Oct.
Demonstrators protest outside a downtown jail in Los Angeles following two days of clashes with police during a series of
(Getty Images) If Republicans in the U.S. Senate pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” as written, 13,000 South Dakotans
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks with the press at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 27, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South
An anti-carbon pipeline sign is set up along the road near Canton. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) Across the Northern Great
The “Wellness on Wheels” program launched in spring of 2024. (Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Health) The South Dakota
Jodi Fick stands in the children’s section of Siouxland Libraries’ downtown Sioux Falls location. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) Her career
Toby Doeden announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota during an event on May 28,
(Johner Images via Getty Images) The South Dakota State Library has secured the second half of its federal funding, which
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to the media during a press conference on March 13, 2025, at the Capitol
Good Samaritan Society Sioux Falls Center, which was recently removed from a remedial program for nursing homes. (John Hult/South Dakota
Federal firefighters digging a fire line. (Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center) You probably don’t see wildland firefighters on the
Mike Quinn and Mike Conder of Arrington Watkins consultants in Phoenix, speak to members of the Project Prison Reset work
A male ring-necked pheasant. (Photo by Travel South Dakota) Hunters bagged more pheasants last fall in South Dakota than they
Volunteers distribute food at Food Bank for the Heartland’s mobile pantry at an Omaha, Neb., elementary school in April. (Photo
The U.S. Supreme Court, on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California
A marijuana plant at the Dakota Herb grow operation near Tea, South Dakota. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Another former South
Hamlin Elementary students line up for their turn visiting a traveling planetarium sponsored by the South Dakota Discovery Center. (Anya
State Reps. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, and Karla Lems, R-Canton, speak to the press after they announced their campaign for
Feeding South Dakota’s Rapid City location on May 30, 2025. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota’s largest hunger-relief organization says
A sign for the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, is seen on its building headquarters on Feb. 18, 2025 in
Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House
South Dakota Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff speaks at a press conference in Sioux Falls on April 25,
The U.S. Supreme Court, on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Friday
President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the
Protestor Pat Braun carries a sign April 23, 2025, in Rapid City, South Dakota, to protest the cancellation of student
Shelly Ten Napel, CEO of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, participates in a debate on Sept. 19, 2024,
Toby Doeden announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota during an event on May 28,
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, May 20,
Billionaire and SpaceX owner Elon Musk said in an interview with CBS News that he was “disappointed” in the U.S.
Rep. Roger Chase, R-Huron, listens to Gov. Kristi Noem during her 2023 budget address on the House floor of the
A January 2025 view of the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) Members of the Governor’s
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen
South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Joseph Graves speaks to the state House Education Committee on Jan. 17, 2024. (Makenzie
The National Public Radio headquarters in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
An equal justice statue stands outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Barbara Collura, CEO and president of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, spoke outside the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery on Feb.
U.S. House Republicans are debating cutbacks to Medicaid, the health care program for lower-income Americans and some people with disabilities.
Sailors carry a casket with the remains of John Connolly at Arlington National Cemetery in March 2025. (Tracey Attlee/Special to
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem delivers her 2025 State of the State address to lawmakers at the Capitol in Pierre
At a farm market in St. Petersburg, Florida, SNAP recipients were able to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards for
Attorney General Marty Jackley listens to testimony at a Project Prison Reset meeting on April 29, 2025, in Springfield. (John
Feeding South Dakota is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization and a member of the Feeding America Network. (Courtesy of Feeding
Highway 170 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Trevor Srednick/Getty Images) The U.S. Senate voted early Thursday to prevent California
President Donald Trump points during a White House event for the release of Make America Healthy Again commission report on
A January 2025 view of the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) An employee in the
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON —
A sign opposing carbon dioxide pipelines stands alongside an eastern South Dakota farm field in July 2024. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota
U.S. Reps. Erin Houchin, R-Indiana, left, and Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, speak to the media during negotiations on a budget
U.S. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., center, speaks to reporters on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at the U.S.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — As House
A section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall near El Paso, Texas, on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
Attorney Jim Leach speaks to the media on April 18, 2025, outside the federal courthouse in Rapid City. (Matt Weiner/Rapid
President Donald Trump arrives with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., for a House Republican meeting at the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, May 20,
The exterior of the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center near Sioux Falls. (Courtesy of USGS EROS Center) A preliminary
A sign held by a teacher at a rally at the Arizona Capitol on June 5, 2024, to advocate for
Representatives with Summit Carbon Solutions hand out information and answer questions ahead of a Public Utilities Commission hearing in Sioux
The South Dakota State Penitentiary, pictured on March 27, 2024. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) The South Dakota Division of Criminal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said
Former USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Basil Gooden, center, visits a grocery store that’s supported by federal dollars on
The U.S. Capitol is pictured on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on
President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on Jan.
From left, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, Gov. Larry Rhoden, Attorney General Marty Jackley, Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden and state House
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday, May 16, 2025, that the Trump administration’s attempt to deport a group of Venezuelans
The U.S. House Budget Committee votes on Friday, May 16, 2025 on a massive reconciliation package. The vote failed, 16-21.
The Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls on May 15, 2025. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) It’s unknown how many immigrants
South Dakota state Rep. Karla Lems, R-Canton, speaks to hundreds of rally attendees at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre
Matthew Schweich, president of the Voter Defense Association, speaks at a “Vote No on L” campaign event in Sioux Falls