GOP Presidential Candidates, Sans Trump, Descend on Iowa for Senator Joni Ernst’s Annual Roast and Ride

In many ways, the start of the 2024 presidential election year began Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines — with Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s annual Roast and Ride. 

Eight Republican presidential hopefuls assembled all under one roof, making their case to some 750 Iowans on why they’re best suited to lead the most powerful nation in the world. 

Read the full story

Iowa Senator Ernst and Wisconsin Representative Gallagher Introduce Taxpayer Transparency Bill on Dollars Sent to China, Russia

Two Midwest members of congress have joined forces on a bill aimed at creating transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer money handed out in China and Russia. 

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) have introduced the Tracking Receipts to Adversarial Countries for Knowledge of Spending (TRACKS) Act requiring every penny from a government grant paid to any organization in China and Russia to be tracked and publicly disclosed. 

Read the full story

Iowa Roundup: Tim Scott’s Tennessee Champion, Joe Manchin Courts Iowans Amid Speculation of Third-Party Run

U.S. Senator and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott has tapped a former popular Republican governor to head up his national campaign. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gets a little help from Mother Nature on Mother’s Day weekend. And is Joe Manchin opening doors in Iowa for a third-party presidential run? 

Here’s the roundup from the Hawkeye State presidential campaign trail. 

Read the full story

Ahead of Expected Illegal Immigrant Surge, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst Urges Bill Allowing States to Finish Border Wall

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) blasted the Biden administration for its ongoing failure in addressing the southwest border crisis, which is about to get a whole lot worse when Title 42 ends later this week.

The Iowa Republican said it’s time to move on her Build It Act, legislation allowing states to finish the border wall by using previously purchased materials.

Read the full story

Commentary: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst Says It’s Time to Hit the Brakes on Biden’s Boondoggle Gravy Train

If you paid a contractor to build a house and you agreed to a price and timeline, but the builder blew through the timeline and racked up the price tag, you’d be pretty upset. I bet you’d demand accountability, maybe even a discount.  

Well, when it comes to the federal government and your tax dollars, President Biden seems to be okay with projects that bust the budget, fly past the deadline, and are completely derailed.

Read the full story

Pence Tells Iowans U.S. Must Continue to be ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ in Ukraine

Taking a different position than his old boss on a key foreign policy issue, former Vice President Mike Pence told a gathering of Iowans Saturday that the U.S. must continue to help provision Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. 

While he repeatedly trumpeted “Trump-Pence” successes, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate definitely differs with potential top presidential race rivals, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on U.S. involvement in the war-torn European country. 

Read the full story

At Iowa Foreign Policy Event, GOP Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley Says War in Ukraine is a War ‘We Have to Win’

Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley asserts the war in Ukraine is about freedom and “one we have to win.” 

The former South Carolina governor discussed national security and foreign policy with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) Friday morning in suburban Des Moines at an event sponsored by the Bastion Institute.

Read the full story

Senator Joni Ernst Says Biden Administration Needs to Move More Swiftly on Year-Round E15

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says the Biden administration’s decision on year-round Ethanol-15 is long overdue — and six and a half months too late. 

German-owned Politico reported on Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency will finally propose authorizing the year-round sale of gasoline blends containing 15 percent ethanol in Iowa and other Midwest states. But the rule would not take effect until 2024. 

Read the full story

Senator Joni Ernst Commentary: EcoHealth Can’t Be Trusted with Taxpayer Money – or Bats

Nearly two years ago, I requested an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) into EcoHealth Alliance —the shady organization that funneled taxpayer money into China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to conduct risky research on coronaviruses.

The investigation came after we learned that EcoHealth was spending our tax dollars on dangerous experiments in Wuhan, China, and was not disclosing information about those projects to the public, as required by law.

Read the full story

U.S. Senate to Vote on ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ as Several Groups Question its Constitutionality

Several groups argue the Respect for Marriage Act (ROMA) currently before the U.S. Senate is unconstitutional, and if enacted, will eventually be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bill, HR 8404, was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, on July 18 and passed by a vote of 267-157 the next day. The U.S. Senate took it up on November 14.

Read the full story

Commentary: America Needs a Red Flag Law For Senile Senators

America’s geriatric senators increasingly represent a threat to themselves and to others. Take Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for example. She has filed paperwork to run again in 2024, despite the fact she turns 90 next year and associates say she can’t hold a coherent conversation or remember the names of close colleagues.

This is a woman who has the power to vote to send Americans to war. Just this past spring, she helped pass legislation that sent billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, a country currently at war with a nuclear power. America’s senators have enormous power to harm the country. They have access not just to firearms but to the world’s most powerful military force and even nuclear weapons.

Read the full story

Rep Jim Hagedorn Only MN Leader to Sign Pledge Opposing Any ‘Defund the Police’ Bills, Resolutions, Movements

Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1) is the only Minnesotan leader to sign the Police Pledge, a promise to oppose any bills, resolutions, or movements to defund the police. No other leaders from the state have signed this pledge yet.
Hagedorn signed the pledge Thursday. He credits his decision to American government leadership excusing criminal behavior while blaming law enforcement.

Read the full story

Blackburn Joins Bill to Strip Federal Funding from ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has added her name to a bill that would prevent federal funding from going to cities with “violent anarchist jurisdictions.”

The bill, carried by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), defines an anarchist jurisdiction as a city or state that abdicates its constitutional duty to its citizens to uphold the rule of law, or fails to provide police, fire, or emergency medical services to its residents, according to Blackburn’s office.

Read the full story

Marsha Blackburn Joins Fight to Obtain Data Needed to Confront Human Trafficking

  Last week U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, along with fellow Republican Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Joni Ernst of Iowa introduced legislation to reauthorize a provision of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. This, according to a joint statement Blackburn released Friday. The TVPRA would commission a two-part comprehensive federal study on human trafficking by the Department of Justice. While the TVPRA had called for biennial comprehensive studies on the issue, the only study ever completed and submitted to Congress was in 2009. The senators’ legislation would therefore provide the first comprehensive study of human trafficking by the federal government in more than a decade, the press release said. “Human trafficking is modern day slavery, and is a shameful scourge on our society,” the Blackburn said. “In Tennessee, we know all too well how this tragic crime has infiltrated our communities in both the physical and virtual space. In order to confront human trafficking, we need accurate data that informs both law enforcement and Congress and enables us to eliminate it from Tennessee communities.” Senator Hawley weighed in, saying, “human trafficking is evil.” He added: It is modern-day slavery, and it undermines our most basic…

Read the full story

Blackburn Joins Other Pro-Life Senators in Introducing Bill to Halt Use of Taxpayer Dollars in Funding Abortion Services

  U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined several colleagues to introduce the Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act to halt the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion services. “Sixty percent of Americans oppose their tax dollars being used to fund abortions,” Blackburn said in a press release. “We should honor their wishes by ending the use of public funds. The pro-life community should not be forced to directly or indirectly fund this abhorrent practice.” Co-sponsors are U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS). The House version is H.R. 833, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-04). The Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act is supported by the Susan B. Anthony List. In January, Blackburn introduced her first bill in the Senate, The Tennessee Star reported. That bill – S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act – would strips all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, of federal funding under Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Of the Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act, Cramer said, “Abortion providers do not deserve taxpayer subsidies. While current law prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions, companies like Planned Parenthood still receive millions of…

Read the full story

Senator Joni Ernst Commentary: We Must End the Killing of Late-Term Babies

by Joni Ernst   At five months, an unborn baby can detect light, hear sounds, swallow, and even experience taste. These unborn babies have nails on their fingers and toes, and hair has just begun to grow on their heads. These babies feel pain. They scrunch their eyes, clench their hands, or pull back their limbs—just like any other child experiencing pain. They are even treated as patients during fetal surgery procedures, and giving them pain medication is standard practice. By any definition, unborn babies at five months’ development are in all ways babies. While modern medicine recognizes these unborn lives can experience pain, there is no federal law protecting these vulnerable humans from abortion. As a result, every year in our country, thousands of lives are painfully ended through this practice. This is unacceptable. Last week, during his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump called to pass legislation—the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—which would recognize these unborn babies as the children they are. The bill would prohibit the abortion of unborn babies at 20 weeks post-fertilization and provide them the same protection from pain and suffering that all children deserve. Multiple states, including my home state of…

Read the full story

Senators Rally Support for Small Business Saturday

by Molly Prince   Senators from both sides of the aisle urged constituents on Saturday to shop at small businesses in support of their local communities in what has become the annual shopping holiday known as Small Business Saturday. “Happy Small Business Saturday! Take some time today to shop small in your community,” tweeted Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. “Whether it be the mom and pop store in town or the local grocery store, we should support our small businesses that depend on us for their livelihood.” Republican Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and David Perdue of Georgia noted that small businesses are making communities stronger. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kansas Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts referred to small businesses as the “backbone” of their states’ economies, and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin called them the “heart of our economy.” Some Senators even provided fun facts to express the importance of buying local. Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Cory Booker of New Jersey noted that small businesses create two out of every three net new jobs, and Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota added that 10 percent of all U.S. businesses are owned by veterans. Republican Sen.…

Read the full story

Marsha Blackburn: Phil Bredesen is Schumer’s ‘Number One Recruit’

Chuck Schumer, Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn

ADAMS, Tennessee–Democrats nationwide are interested in the Volunteer State right now, and it has everything to do with advancing the liberal progressive agenda, U.S. Senate Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn told a crowd in Adams Friday night. Blackburn’s opponent for that senate seat is former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is especially interested in this race, Blackburn said. “Chuck Schumer has said Phil Bredesen is his number one recruit,” Blackburn told the crowd of about 200 people. “Phil Bredesen and Tennessee is Chuck Schumer’s path to majority leader. We all know if Phil Bredesen were to go to D.C. what would be the first vote he would take? Chuck Schumer — that’s exactly right. A vote for Chuck Schumer for majority leader.” If Chuck Schumer is majority leader, and the Democrats control the U.S. Senate, then hard-core leftists will control many committee chairs, Blackburn said. U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein of California, for instance, would control the Judiciary Committee, Blackburn said. “That is the end of all these conservative judges and Supreme Court justices,” Blackburn said. President Donald Trump has thus far appointed one-seventh of the members of our federal judiciary. Those people are Constitutionalists…

Read the full story