Summary

Michael Rounds was born in 1954 and is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from South Dakota. Senator Rounds’ seat is up for election in 2020.

Rounds was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He previously served as the Governor of South Dakota from 2003 until 2011, winning reelection in 2006. From 1991 to 2000, he was elected five times to the South Dakota State Senate. In 1995, his colleagues selected him to serve as Senate Majority Leader, a position that he held for six years.

Senator Rounds is currently serving on the Armed Services; the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Below is Senator Rounds’ voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community. 

Senator Rounds opposed the Iran nuclear deal and supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards terrorists or their families. He opposed the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected the resolution.

Senator Rounds cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, a bill that aimed to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel. In 2018, Senator Rounds cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.

In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.