Governor's wish list for lawmakers, Ernst backs Hegseth, and more
Jan. 20 edition of "KHOI's Capitol Week"
I’ve watched every Condition of the State address on television or online since I started writing about Iowa politics in 2007 (and some before that). But last Tuesday was my first opportunity to watch from the press bench in the Iowa House chamber.
There are a lot of formalities I wasn’t aware of, like groups of House members being sent to escort the governor and to inform members of the Iowa Senate that the House is ready to receive them in joint convention. My husband, Kieran Williams, told me these draw on centuries-old parliamentary traditions from Britain. But unlike the House of Commons in London, the Iowa House does not ritually slam the door in the face of the official who approaches to bring them to the House of Lords for the monarch’s opening address to parliament. (That tradition symbolizes the independence of the Commons.)
I joined Kathie Obradovich, Dave Price, and Zachary Oren Smith last week to talk about Governor Kim Reynolds’ speech and other topics for the Iowa Down Ballot podcast, which you can find on podcast platforms or by subscribing to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Sunday roundup.
Spencer Dirks and I spent a fair amount of our January 20 program talking about Reynolds’ wish list for the legislature, along with other news. The audio file is embedded above, or you can find “KHOI’s Capitol Week” on any podcast platform or smart speaker. The full archive (going back to February 2021) is available on KHOI’s website.
Acknowledging MLK Day
With the inauguration and so much legislative news to cover, Spencer and I didn’t have much time to talk about the national holiday on Monday. But we did briefly honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by sharing a couple of our favorite quotes from the civil rights leader.
Some trivia I forgot to mention on the show: Senator Chuck Grassley is the only person still serving in the Senate who voted in 1983 against establishing a federal holiday to honor MLK. Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky is the only current House member who voted against that bill. Representative Steve Scalise voted in the Louisiana legislature against a state-level holiday.
I didn’t have time to write a new Bleeding Heartland post about MLK Day this year, but here’s my piece from January 2023: Where Kim Reynolds stood during "times of challenge and controversy."
Donald Trump’s inauguration and early actions
Iowa Republicans partied in Washington on Sunday night, but I couldn’t tell yesterday who was able to attend the indoor swearing-in ceremony, aside from our state’s members of Congress. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) posted this photo on X/Twitter:
I flagged a few comments Republican politicians posted about Trump on social media Monday. On next week’s show we will have more Iowa reaction to Trump’s barrage of executive orders and plans. Some of them could have a huge impact on Iowans.
The governor’s Condition of the State
There was a lot to unpack in Governor Kim Reynolds’ Condition of the State address, including more bipartisan ideas than we’ve seen in the recent past. If you missed it, you can watch the video here or read the full text of her prepared remarks. (She stuck very close to the script.)
Among other things, we noted what Reynolds said (and didn’t say) about Iowa’s high cancer rate. She didn’t mention radon, for instance. It’s also ironic that she is talking about cancer prevention now, when two years ago she successfully pushed to remove HPV and the HPV vaccine from the mandatory sex ed curriculum for middle school and high school. The HPV vaccine is effective at preventing several forms of cancer, but it’s important for kids to get it before they become sexually active.
The governor threw out a few other health-related proposals that could get bipartisan support. But her plan to seek a federal waiver to impose new work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. I don’t have current numbers on how many Iowans would be affected, since most people on Medicaid are children, seniors, or people with a disability. But if past experience in Arkansas is any guide, new bureaucratic hoops could cause a lot of eligible people to lose their Medicaid coverage.
Democratic State Representative Josh Turek told me last week he is going to try again to pass his “Work Without Worry” bill. This would allow more disabled Iowans to get back in the workforce, or in some cases work full-time, without jeopardizing the Medicaid coverage they need.
We also talked about the governor’s thoughts on increasing child care slots, expanding pilot programs, and integrating child care with pre-school to avoid the “mid-day pickup problem.”
Reynolds told the Des Moines Register last week “she didn't take the approach of pushing for all-day preschool for 4-year-olds because she was worried it would be financially damaging for child care providers to lose the 4-year-olds they care for.” Democratic legislative leaders noted in remarks to reporters that none of the governor’s ideas would make child care more affordable.
As expected, the governor’s proposal on cell phones in schools will set a floor for districts: students must put their phones away during instructional time. School districts would have the flexibility to go further, also banning kids from using their phones between classes or at lunch. The governor also has some ideas about math instruction which is similar to a bill lawmakers adopted last year on “the science of reading.”
Reynolds also recycled one idea: requiring high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship exam before graduation. She proposed that as part of her wide-ranging education bill from 2023, better known for its school book bans and “don’t say gay or trans” provisions. House Republicans took the citizenship exam idea out of that bill.
For the first time, the governor endorsed a hands-free driving bill. As we discussed on last week’s show, a broad coalition is pushing for a better law to address distracted driving. Democrats and many Senate Republicans have supported that policy for a long time. The sticking point will be House Republicans.
Reynolds boasted that her state government reorganization plan was “DOGE before DOGE was a thing.” Now she is appointing a task force to look for efficiencies in local government. You could almost see State Auditor Rob Sand’s head exploding at a Wednesday morning news conference. His office has been running a “PIE” program to promote local government efficiencies and cost-saving measures for six years, and he has urged lawmakers to make that program mandatory for the state auditor’s office.
Side note: Sand will file a monster campaign fundraising report today (January 21). We’ll be talking about that next week, but I’d bet the farm that he will run for governor in 2026.
Near the end of her speech, Reynolds said she will try to recruit more Illinois businesses to move across the Mississippi River. She also wants to cut unemployment taxes for employers, which will get major pushback from Democrats. Businesses have already received several tax cuts under the Reynolds administration, and as State Senator Janice Weiner pointed out last week, we’ve seen a lot of layoffs around Iowa.
I’m always intrigued by which of the governor’s ideas don’t make the cut into her big speech. We flagged a few ideas Reynolds didn’t mention during her Condition of the State, but will ask legislators to approve: paid family leave for state employees, a reform of the Certificate of Need process for establishing new health care facilities, and some policies major utility companies want.
Finally, a reminder: last year Reynolds introduced her big anti-LGBTQ bill in late January. She didn’t say anything about those policies in her Condition of the State. So don’t rule out the possibility of a big (and likely unpleasant) surprise.
Judicial branch, National Guard asks of the legislature
I also attended the joint sessions to hear the annual Condition of the Judiciary and Condition of the Guard addresses. Both were well-delivered speeches.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen offered a creative solution for the perennial problem of judicial salaries, and suggested one way to pay for it would be to reduce the number of magistrates around the state. She also called for increasing the pay of contract attorneys and listening to the needs of youth in the juvenile justice system. State Representative Brian Lohse, the top appropriator in the House on these issues, was supportive of the “Kansas plan” for judicial pay, though he said he would need to see more details. I did not hear back from State Senator Julian Garrett, the top appropriator for the justice system in the upper chamber.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn delivered the Condition of the Guard and asked legislators for some fixes that could help Iowans serving in the military (all branches, not only the National Guard). House Republicans have already scheduled subcommittee meetings on a couple of bills proposed by the state Department of Defense, so I think those have a good chance of passing.
A plan to buy part of Minnesota?
State Senator Mike Bousselot announced last Tuesday that he will introduce a bill to allow Iowa to buy the nine counties on the southern tier of Minnesota. I haven’t seen the bill text, and am inclined to view this concept as attention-seeking behavior rather than a serious legislative proposal. But I will keep an eye on this story.
Bousselot is the new chair of the Iowa Senate Commerce Committee, and I wonder whether making news about buying part of Minnesota is a way to distract reporters from other bills he plans to run this year. He was the lead on the 2023 bill curtailing the state auditor’s powers, and he didn’t reveal that plan until just before the legislature’s “funnel” deadline in February.
News about the Iowans in Congress
We had about eight minutes to cover news about the Iowans in Congress. We started with Senator Joni Ernst coming out in support of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defense secretary. Over the weekend, I published a deep dive on who had Ernst’s ear, and who didn’t, as she considered this manifestly unqualified nominee.
Everyone who was paying attention could see that Ernst was going to come around to backing Hegseth, given the intense pressure campaign from the right. Also worth noting: later this month, Iowa native Kari Lake is coming to West Des Moines for a GOP event. Some MAGA types have urged Lake to challenge Ernst for the 2026 nomination. Ernst already has one declared primary challenger, but I don’t see him as a serious threat to win a statewide GOP primary.
Ernst announced last Wednesday that she was creating a new bipartisan Inspector General caucus, which Senator Chuck Grassley also joined. I wrote more about this at Bleeding Heartland.
Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) wants strings attached to disaster aid for California, which is dealing with the most costly wildfires in U.S. history. He doesn’t want to reward what he calls bad behavior by California’s Democratic trifecta. I think this is somewhat dangerous territory for Iowa, which needed a lot of federal disaster aid in 2024 and may face more natural disasters this year.
Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) joined the House DOGE caucus last week. In a statement, she said she looked forward to working with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—which I found funny, since less than a week later, Ramaswamy is out at DOGE. I explained why I see this political move as a sign Miller-Meeks is eager to avoid a well-funded GOP primary challenger. She had a very underwhelming showing in the 2024 primary against little-known David Pautsch.
Finally, we had about a minute to talk about my attempts to get a comment from Grassley’s office after a former FBI informant pleaded guilty to fabricating bribery allegations against President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. As I covered in detail here, Grassley spent months publicizing those false claims in 2023. But he’s had nothing to say since Alexander Smirnov admitted to making the whole thing up.
Thanks for reading or listening! We’ll be back in the same time and place next week.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so grateful for your reporting even though I often finish reading your material muttering "God help us".
Thank you!