Mike Rounds sworn into office as newest US senator from SD
WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Mike Rounds was sworn in as South Dakota’s newest U.S. senator on Tuesday, making the state’s congressional delegation all Republican for the first time in more than 50 years.
Rounds took his oath of office in Washington as his South Dakota counterpart, Sen. John Thune, looked on in the Senate chamber. Rounds, who was governor for two terms, replaces retired Democrat Tim Johnson and joins Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress for the final two years of President Barack Obama’s second term.
Rounds defeated three opponents on Nov. 4 as part of a Republican wave that wrested control of the Senate from Democrats. The first piece of legislation he’s backing is a key measure for the GOP that would authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was central to Rounds’ campaign in South Dakota.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell exhorted his colleagues to support the proposal from the Senate floor shortly after the inaugural ceremonies were completed.
The White House said on Tuesday that Obama would veto the measure to approve the pipeline, which would move oil from the Canadian tar sands through South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines headed to the Gulf Coast.
“The president has to do what he thinks is right, but we have to do the same thing,” Rounds told The Associated Press. “We’ll be happy to have that discussion with the White House and the political ramifications that come with it.”
Rounds was to tick off another first on Tuesday afternoon by attending his initial committee meeting: a Senate panel on armed services. He also will serve on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Both Thune and Johnson escorted Rounds in for his oath, which he called “very special.” Thune was instrumental in Rounds’ Senate campaign and said in a statement Tuesday that he looks forward to working with his colleague on issues ranging from the pipeline approval to repealing portions of the Affordable Care Act. Republican Rep. Kristi Noem is South Dakota’s voice in the U.S. House.
Even Rounds’ desk will be meaningful to him and historic for his state. It belonged to former three-term Sen. Peter Norbeck, a Republican who was key to establishing the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the 1920s.
Rounds, who now shares Norbeck’s credentials as both a South Dakota governor and U.S. senator, said the late politician serves as “a great role model.”
