WASHINGTON, D.C. The fallout of the 2024 election finds several South Dakotans at the center of the decision-making that will take place over at least the next two years. From control of the most powerful deliberative body in the world to key posts in Congress to the leader of one of the most consequential federal departments, South Dakotans are positioned to be at the table when decisions are made.
Here’s a look at who they are and what they do:
U.S. Senate
John Thune, 64, Senate majority leader
When Republicans won a three-seat majority in the U.S. Senate in November, the fourth-term senator was on the cusp of claiming the top job in the Senate. One week after that election, the Republican Senate caucus voted to make Thune its majority leader, winning the leader position on the second ballot.

Thune could have a tricky time navigating the Senate’s relationship with President Donald Trump. The Senate has its own customs and rules and is, by design, a deliberative body. In his first term, Trump clashed repeatedly with then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when McConnell insisted on upholding the powers of the Senate. Trump has already called on the Senate to make his cabinet nominations recess appointments.
But regardless, Thune is in the most powerful position a South Dakotan has been in since the last South Dakotan to be majority leader, Tom Daschle, the man Thune beat in 2004.
Mike Rounds, 70, U.S. Senator
South Dakota’s junior senator enters his 10th year on Capitol Hill as an increasingly influential lawmaker. Assigned to some of the Senate’s most powerful committees — Armed Services and the chamber’s Select Committee on Intelligence — the Pierre native has been on the front lines of the federal government’s advancements in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, regulation, and implementation.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rounds has legislative oversight of the nation’s military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy, benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System, and other matters related to defense policy. His position on the Select Committee on Intelligence will likely give him a firsthand look at any AI initiatives that come from the White House and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, being headed by tech mogul and Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Jackie Barber, 46, United States Senate Secretary
A South Dakota native is tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations in the U.S. Senate, not just leading the majority caucus.
Jackie Barber of Onida was sworn in as the 35th secretary of the United States Senate on Jan. 3.
Prior to taking the head clerk role for the U.S. Senate, Barber served as the director for the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. She’s also been chief counsel for the Senate Rules and Administration committee, the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Forestry and for the House Agriculture Committee.

She credits her South Dakota roots for her success.
“Growing up in Onida, I learned the value of community and teamwork,” she said. “Those lessons have guided me every step of the way.”
Barber earned her law degree at the University of South Dakota.
U.S. Congress
Dusty Johnson, 48, U.S. House of Representatives
South Dakotans only have one representative in the people’s House, but Rep. Dusty Johnson has become an increasingly influential player on Capitol Hill. Entering his fourth term in office, the Mitchell resident and former chief of staff to Gov. Dennis Daugaard is known as a policy wonk and a bipartisan deal broker.

And he’s leaned into that reputation, helping rally support among the House Republican caucus for Speaker Mike Johnson in the last Congress and serving as chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group that touts itself as pragmatic conservatives who find “commonsense solutions in Congress.”
While his support for the president had been tepid during Trump’s first administration, that appears not to be the case entering 2025. Johnson is already carrying Trump-backed legislation calling for the U.S. to repurchase the Panama Canal, recently met with the president at Mar-a-Lago, and will be involved in vetting any White House policy proposals and initiatives dealing with a key foreign adversary as a member of the House’s Select Committee on China.
Executive Branch
Troy Meink, 59, Secretary of the Air Force (pending confirmation)
Meink, a Lemmon, South Dakota, native and 1988 graduate of South Dakota State University, has been selected by Trump to lead the Air Force. Though he flew as a navigator in the Air Force following his commission from SDSU’s ROTC program, Meink gravitated to satellites and space, earning advanced degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He’s been serving as principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

“He is solidly from a space background, unlike any other secretary of the Air Force,” Harrison told Defense News. “I think that it must be intended to send a message that the Trump administration means business when it comes to the Space Force and the prioritization of the Space Force.”
His selection to be Air Force secretary has led defense industry insiders to question whether more resources will be devoted to Space Force. Todd Harrison, a senior defense policy fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Defense News that the pick was “consequential.”
Kristi Noem, 53, Secretary of Homeland Security
The South Dakota governor was the first in the nation to send her state’s National Guard troops to the Texas border to help stem the flow of illegal migration, and the decision likely earned her a promotion.
Trump nominated her to be his Homeland Security director, a position that under federal law oversees Customs and Immigration Enforcement. During the November election, illegal immigration was one of the issues that drove people to the polls after the Biden administration.

She joins Border Czar Tom Homan in deporting individuals, focusing on those who have committed crimes. Noem’s nomination cleared the Senate’s Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee on a 13-2 vote Monday before the Senate confirmed her appointment Saturday. The Castlewood native was confirmed on a 59-34 vote.
Luke Lindberg, 35, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (pending confirmation)
South Dakota Trade President and CEO Luke Lindberg awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate to take over a key diplomatic role in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nominated by Trump to serve as under secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, the Harrisburg resident’s new gig would have him brokering trade deals in foreign markets for farmers and ranchers. If confirmed, Lindberg would oversee Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs staff in 95 offices in foreign countries.

“Luke will work to make sure American farmers and ranchers get the smart trade deals that they deserve,” Trump wrote on social media when announcing Lindberg’s nomination earlier this month.
Lindberg comes to the position with familiarity among Trump and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. The son-in-law of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Lindberg served as chief of staff and chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States during the president’s first stint in office.
