Tag: mike rounds
Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) Speaks Out Against Trump's Big Lie

GOP Senator Bravely Urges All To Get "Louder" On Trump's Election Lies

A Republican senator who previously insisted that the 2020 presidential election was fair is now urging members of his political party to get "louder" about former President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud.

Speaking to the Associated Press earlier this week, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) stressed the importance of gaining the trust of the American people as he suggested how they could achieve

“If we want to keep the trust and gain the trust of more individuals that are wondering, we have to probably say it a little bit louder and in more places that many of us normally either aren’t invited to talk or have chosen not to get into the fray,” Rounds said.

Instead of just echoing Trump's claims of voter fraud like many of his colleagues, Rounds has conducted numerous interviews and made it clear that he did look into the claims of voter fraud. While he acknowledged there are some “irregularities,” he insisted there is no evidence of the type of widespread voter fraud that would have enabled Trump to overturn the full outcome of the presidential election.

As expected, the South Dakota senator has faced backlash for his remarks. Responding to Rounds' statement, Trump released a statement describing him as a “jerk.”

While his remarks have led to immediate backlash from the former president and other members of his own political party, the second-term senator has made it clear that he is standing by what he believes. He also insists there is a way for lawmakers to show their loyalty to their constituents.

“We have to be more aggressive in reassuring conservatives that their vote counts,” Rounds said, adding “to give them reassurance that they can trust us and that we will speak the truth. And even if it’s the hard truth that’s hard to swallow, we’re not going to lie to them.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Senate vote of bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Biden’s Popular Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate Over GOP Opposition

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

The Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to invest $550 billion in infrastructure. But most Republican senators voted against it.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed 69-30. All of the no votes came from Republicans.

The package will provide a historic investment in transportation, water systems, broadband, and electrical grid infrastructure.

In March, President Joe Biden proposed a $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan, which included these and other infrastructure investments.

After months of negotiations, a group of 21 senators from both parties agreed in June on a framework for a bipartisan plan. Days later, Biden signed on.

Polls have shown the public strongly in support of the legislation. Large majorities of Democratic and independent voters backed the plan, as did a plurality of Republicans.

But one key Republican opposed it: former President Donald Trump.

Trump promised as a candidate in 2016 to invest in infrastructure and "build the next generation of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sea ports, and airports." Like many of his other pledges, he did not follow through— blowing up bipartisan negotiations to punish congressional Democrats for pursuing oversight of his administration.

On July 26, Trump warned Senate Republicans not to give "the Radical Left Democrats a big and beautiful win on Infrastructure" by passing the bipartisan package.

Two days later, he threatened that if the Senate GOP gives "a victory for the Biden Administration and Democrats," he and his followers will "never forget" and "lots of primaries will be coming your way!"

After those warnings, two of the Republicans who helped negotiated the deal flip-flopped and came out against it: Indiana Sen. Todd Young and South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds. Rounds missed the vote for family reasons.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

GOP Defends NRA Despite Evidence Of Waste, Fraud, And Abuse

GOP Defends NRA Despite Evidence Of Waste, Fraud, And Abuse

Republican lawmakers are calling a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday against the National Rifle Association an attack on gun ownership while ignoring the charges of "fraud and abuse" contained in the filing.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise tweeted in response to the suit: "Violent crime is skyrocketing in NYC. What's New York's Democrat Attorney General focused on? Launching politically motivated attacks against the Second Amendment & NRA. Make no mistake: Making it harder for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves is the far-left's agenda."

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Trump Republicans Care Less About Workers Than Hogs

Trump Republicans Care Less About Workers Than Hogs

Reprinted with permission from DCReport.

Donald Trump and Republican legislators behave as if the lives of the immigrants working in meatpacking plants are worth less than the lives of pigs in a slaughterhouse.

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), a former GOP governor, asked Trump to intervene to keep meatpacking plants open during the pandemic.

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