Box Elder, S.D. (KELO) — Across the border in South Dakota, Senate Majority Leader John Thune made a stop in Box Elder today.

The Department of Government Efficiency has been busy making cuts to what Senator John Thune calls a federal budget steeped in bureaucracy and overspending.

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“But what I’ve said about DOGE is in terms of the objectives, more power to them. A scrub of the federal government is long overdue. And we’ve needed this for a long time in trying to achieve ways to conduct government activities in a more efficient way. At a lower cost to the taxpayer to me is something I’ve brought up before,” Senator Thune said.

When it comes to tariffs, Thune says he has his own opinions.

He also says people need to give President Trump more time and trust that he knows how to make a business deal.

“I think most South Dakotans’ concerns tend to be economic. I mean it’s jobs, it’s the economy, it’s what the future, our future looks like with respect to, are the opportunities going to be available for them and their families. So a lot of it is economic issues and I think security issues too,” Thune said.

And for constituents who do have concerns, Thune would like to hear from you.

“There are lots of ways of creating that connection with an opportunity to communicate with you in South Dakota, and through the years I’ve always tried to be very accessible. How you do that is there are different ways of doing that but I kind of feel like if anybody wants to ask me a question, you can pretty much find me at some event somewhere,” Thune said.

Thune says he’s been asking a lot of questions and watching closely as the tariffs evolve.

He’s hoping they ultimately lead to better trading relationships around the world and ensure the US is treated fairly by other countries.