News from Congress and lots of 2026 campaign maneuvers

Nov. 24 edition of "KHOI's Capitol Week"

Photo by Harold Mendoza on Unsplash

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is always heavy for me.

At this time in 1996, I was in my mid-20s and loving life at my first writing job, covering Russian politics for the Open Media Research Institute in Prague. My colleague Robert Orttung and I were just about done with a book about the 1995 Russian parliamentary elections.

About 30 of us worked as “research analysts” at OMRI, with a focus on the former Communist bloc. We learned two days before Thanksgiving that all of our jobs would be eliminated in a few months. Being laid off at any time of the year is a punch in the gut. The holiday season added to the stress for many of us. If you know someone who’s out of a job now, reach out to see if you can help in any way.

I stayed in Prague for almost two more years, covering Russian politics for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. But I’ve never had a group of colleagues as good as the people I worked with at OMRI.

My husband, Kieran Williams, photographed my old building on a visit to Prague in 2016. The three windows on the ground floor to the left of the main entrance were part of my apartment. (When I lived there, the building was painted an unattractive mustard yellow.)

My apartment was a short walk from the Legions Bridge (Most Legií), which is just south of the Charles Bridge and has wonderful views of the Prague castle. Ondřej Kořínek took the photo on the left in 2012, and Sergey Ashmarin took the photo on the right in 2007 (both are available through Wikimedia Commons).

I walked or took the tram over the Legions Bridge (left) almost every day for three and a half years. As I crossed the bridge on the way home, looking to my right I had a view of the Charles Bridge and the castle.

That was then, this is now. The audio file from our November 24 show is at the top of this post. You can also listen to “KHOI’s Capitol Week” through any podcast platform or smart speaker, and find all episodes from the past three years here.

Here’s your written recap of what Spencer Dirks and I covered during the show. If your email provider truncates this message, you can read it without interruption here.

House finally approves Epstein files bill

Last Tuesday, U.S. House members overwhelmingly approved the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” which requires the Justice Department to release records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in federal custody. All four Iowans joined the nearly unanimous vote for the bill.

I love stories like this, where a unanimous (or almost unanimous) vote on final passage obscures how hard it was to get legislation to the floor. In July I wrote about one example from the Iowa legislature: a law that will help people defend against meritless, retaliatory lawsuits. Last year, my Iowa Writers Collaborative colleague Kali White VanBaale covered the seven-year battle that ended in a unanimous vote to regulate non-medical prescription switching.

None of Iowa’s U.S. House members signed the discharge petition that forced this vote. If it had been up to Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), Zach Nunn (IA-03), or Randy Feenstra (IA-04), the bill would still be in limbo.

After the bill passed, three members of the Iowa delegation touted their votes for “full transparency” and “accountability” on social media. Here are links to posts from Miller-Meeks, Hinson, and Nunn. (I didn’t see any social media posts from Feenstra about this.) But for all their talk about Epstein being a “disgusting pedophile,” they didn’t help bring this bill to the floor. Don’t be surprised if their opponents bring up the Epstein files during next year’s campaigns.

Senate passes Epstein bill by unanimous consent

There had been some speculation that the U.S. Senate would bury the Epstein files bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed hope that the Senate would amend it. Instead, senators agreed by unanimous consent to deem the bill to have passed the chamber as soon as it was sent over from the House.

The majority party normally objects to every unanimous consent request from Democrats. Clearly Republican leaders wanted to put this issue behind them quickly and quietly.

I didn’t see any social media posts from Senators Chuck Grassley or Joni Ernst last week about the bill’s passage. In September, they joined most other Senate Republicans to oppose forcing a vote on releasing the files.

Nunn backs one-year ACA subsidy extension

The House and Senate are not in session this week, taking an extended break for Thanksgiving. When they come back to work, health care reform will be at the top of the agenda. Reality is settling in with some Republicans that thousands of their constituents are facing massive premium hikes for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Around 100,000 Iowans could be affected, including a lot of farmers and self-employed people.

Last week, Nunn came out in favor of a one-year extension of the enhanced subsidies for health insurance premiums through the ACA. Marissa Payne covered the story for the Des Moines Register.

This is a big change for Nunn, but he’s not alone. A lot of Republicans would like a one-year extension to get them past the midterm elections. By the same token, many Republicans in Congress don’t want any extension. I’ve heard speculation of a compromise around keeping the enhanced tax credits in place, perhaps for two years, with stricter income limits than what Democrats approved through the American Rescue Plan and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act. President Donald Trump is supposedly working on his own proposal.

To my knowledge, the rest of Iowa’s Congressional delegation are not on board with extending the health insurance subsidies.

Grassley told reporters last week that he doesn’t support extending the enhanced subsidies. He said the current program enriches health insurance companies. Miller-Meeks has also suggested that the enhanced subsidies only benefit insurance companies.

Grassley emphasized that the original subsidies enacted with the Affordable Care Act in 2010 still apply for anyone with an income below 400 percent of the poverty level. The problem with that is the “cliff effect”: if you make one dollar more than the threshold, you could face huge unexpected health insurance costs.

Miller-Meeks makes public push for stock trading ban

Over the past week, Miller-Meeks has sought to publicize her view that members of Congress should not be allowed to buy and sell individual stocks.

She’s posted about the issue repeatedly on social media, sent a letter to the relevant House committee chair, and was interviewed about the topic on conservative journalist John Solomon’s show.

Members of Congress have introduced a bunch of proposals, and most of them have the same basic framework: members of Congress and their spouses would be able to own mutual funds or index funds but not buy or sell individual stocks. The idea is that they are privy to a lot of non-public information, and lots of what Congress does can move the market.

Nunn campaigned on this issue in 2022 and has introduced or co-sponsored several bills in this area. He spoke at a press conference supporting a stock trading ban as recently as September. I couldn’t find any evidence Miller-Meeks has co-sponsored such legislation in the past.

Some reporters I follow, including Dave Levinthal, seem to think a stock trading ban could pass soon, with bipartisan support. Past efforts have failed under Democratic and Republican control. If a bill comes to the House floor, it will pass easily. It’s not clear whether Senate leaders would put it to a vote there; longtime Congressional reporter Jamie Dupree is skeptical.

Incidentally, as far as I can tell from reviewing the personal financial disclosures, the Iowa members of Congress don’t currently own individual stocks.

House condemns socialism as Trump meets Mamdani

On Friday, the House approved a resolution “denouncing the horrors of socialism.” It was intended to be a split-screen as New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met with President Trump. But that White House meeting turned out to be much more friendly than many people expected. If you missed it, watch the joint press conference, which was comedy gold. Some of the best clips are in this post from Public Notice.

Nunn and Feenstra missed the vote. Presumably they had other plans; it’s pretty rare for the House to have any floor votes on a Friday, and many members fly back to their districts on Thursdays.

You can read the House resolution here. Having studied Russian history and spent a few years in a former Communist country, I can tell you there’s a big difference between “socialism” as practiced in the Communist bloc and the “democratic socialism” espoused by Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, and some other Democratic politicians.

I had to laugh when I read Ashley Hinson’s post from early Friday afternoon (before the joint press conference): “The Democrat Party has become the party of radical socialism — now led by New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. As a mom and someone who cares deeply about our country’s future, I’m alarmed by how quickly socialist ideas are becoming mainstream. History shows socialism doesn’t create prosperity — it creates tyranny and leads to higher taxes, failing public services, & fewer personal freedoms. I proudly voted today to condemn socialism and oppose its policies. Socialism doesn’t sell in Iowa & it won’t work in America.”

You can’t blame Republicans for expecting Trump to dress down Mamdani. During the New York mayoral campaign, he denounced Mamdani as a “Communist” and “lunatic.”

Grassley donated shutdown pay to local churches

We mentioned during last week’s show that some members of Congress were donating to charity the salaries they received for the period the federal government was shut down. At that time, I didn’t know whether any Iowans were taking that approach.

Grassley’s office announced last Thursday that the senator was donating his pay for the shutdown period to three “hometown churches”: First Baptist Church of New Hartford, New Hartford Community Church, and Prairie Lakes Church.

I reached out to staff for all the other Iowans in Congress and didn’t hear back from any of them about whether they were keeping their shutdown pay.

Mike Bousselot not running for governor

State Senator Mike Bousselot made it official last week: he’s not running for governor. In the summer he signaled he was running. But as we mentioned recently, his social media all still said Iowa Senate. I don’t know whether he was counting on support that didn’t materialize or just didn’t see a path to the GOP nomination right now.

I think it would have been so tough for him, given his past work to block eminent domain/pipeline bills and his decision to lead Senate floor debate on the pesticide immunity bill this year. When the Senate finally approved a pipeline bill in May, Bousselot opposed the legislation and claimed during his closing remarks that the bill was serving the interests of “out of state environmental extremists.”

It was telling to me that about two dozen GOP legislators (many of whom had worked with Bousselot in the House or Senate) endorsed Feenstra for governor in July.

Bousselot is only in his early 40s, so has plenty of time to run for governor in the future if the opportunity arises.

Bousselot fleeing to safer Iowa Senate district…

Last week Bousselot confirmed he will seek a second term in the Iowa Senate—but not in the district he currently represents. History is repeating itself here.

After Iowa adopted a new political map in 2021, then Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver abandoned his Ankeny-based Senate district 21 to run in Senate district 23, covering part of Dallas County and outlying areas of northern and eastern Polk County including Grimes, Polk City, Bondurant, stretching all the way down to Runnells.

Bousselot stepped up to run in Whitver’s old district and won by a narrow margin in 2022, even though that was a terrible election for Iowa Democrats overall.

Senate district 23 is a much safer Republican seat, if Bousselot can get the nomination. In last year’s presidential election, Trump carried the Ankeny-based district 21 by about a 2-point margin (50.2 percent to 48.1 percent for Kamala Harris), but he carried Senate district 23 by nearly 17 points: 57.5 percent to 40.8 percent.

…where another strong GOP candidate is already running

The plot thickens: Bousselot doesn’t have a clear shot at the Republican nomination in Senate district 23. Former Bondurant city council member Wes Enos has been running for a while, and has some well-known supporters, including Zach Nunn. (Enos currently serves as Nunn’s deputy chief of staff.) Former longtime Polk County Supervisor Robert Brownell is also backing him.

Enos is well-connected and has worked on many Republican campaigns, including as political director for Michelle Bachmann’s 2012 Iowa caucus campaign.

Meanwhile, the outgoing senator Whitver has endorsed Bousselot.

Add this to the long list of fascinating Iowa Republican primaries for 2026. Turnout should be higher than usual, given the open races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Steen highlights opposition to Satanic Temple

The GOP field for governor looks set now with five candidates: Randy Feenstra, Brad Sherman, Eddie Andrews, Zach Lahn, and Adam Steen.

Steen held a news conference in the state capitol on Monday afternoon to highlight his efforts to block the Satanic Temple from holding a holiday event there. As director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, Steen denied a permit to the Satanic Temple last year. That’s now the subject of a civil rights complaint filed by the ACLU of Iowa. Such complaints are often a precursor to a lawsuit.

Last week Steen called on Governor Kim Reynolds and his successor at the agency, Mark Campbell, to deny the request for a permit for December 13. And just before Monday’s event, Steen got word that the permit was denied. He called it a triumph of “good over evil.” Dozens of supporters were standing behind him in the rotunda, holding these campaign signs:

Steen is obviously playing for the social conservative vote, which is an influential Republican bloc.

He took a few questions from reporters on Monday, so I asked him to be specific about beliefs that supposedly harm children, and how he would reassure Iowans who aren’t Christian that they would be treated equally by his administration. Watch our exchange:

I think the state is on shaky ground legally, when it comes to denying a permit for a Satanic Temple event.

Dueling endorsements in Democratic IA-Sen primary

Two Democrats running for U.S. Senate rolled out new endorsements last week. Council Bluffs Mayor-elect Jill Shudak is backing Zach Wahls. That got a lot of people’s attention because Council Bluffs is Josh Turek’s hometown.

Shudak has strong ties to organized labor, and the Wahls campaign has emphasized its support from labor union.

During a call with reporters last Tuesday Shudak said, “I know what it takes to win southwest Iowa, and I know what it takes to win over Republican voters, and that means not looking at people as D’s, R’s or I’s, but looking at them as our neighbors.” She added, “We need a senator who’s willing to sit down with folks, no matter what their party is, no matter how they vote, and have real conversations. And that’s what Zach Wahls has done.”

I’m not aware of any bad blood between Shudak and Turek. The Republican mayor whom Shudak just defeated (Matt Walsh) had endorsed Turek’s re-election bid to the Iowa House, and Turek didn’t endorse in the recent mayoral election. Shudak said during the press call that she’d be happy to support Turek if he becomes the nominee: “We have two great candidates here in Iowa, and it’s amazing to see, and it’s amazing that I have an opportunity to be friends with both of them. So it is a tough situation for me.”

Turek was the guest on Julie Gammack’s Potluck podcast on Monday, and I asked him if he considers himself a pro-labor Democrat. He said his campaign expects to roll out some labor endorsements soon. He also mentioned that he’d like to top the 97 percent pro-labor voting record of his political hero, Senator Tom Harkin. According to Turek, he has a 100 pro-labor voting record in the Iowa House.

Meanwhile, some prominent Democrats endorsed Turek last week, including former Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson and more state legislators. (Click here to view the whole list.) One of the new endorsers is State Representative Elinor Levin, who represents part of Iowa City. She joins two other Johnson County members of the Iowa House (Adam Zabner and Amy Nielsen) who previously announced their support.

Joe Mitchell lands MAGA endorsements in IA-02

In the second Congressional district, covering much of northeast Iowa, former State Representative Joe Mitchell announced support from three House Republicans with good MAGA connections. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio said Mitchell “will be an unapologetic champion for lower taxes, fewer regulations, and America-First policies that keep our country safe and free,” and “has proven he’s the right candidate for this critical race.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota said, “If House Republicans are going to stay in the majority and continue delivering for the American people, it is vital we send bold conservative candidates like Joe Mitchell in Congress.” Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also endorsed Mitchell.

Although most Iowa voters probably have not heard of any of these people, endorsements like this signal to donors across the country that House GOP leaders want this guy.

I’ve been surprised that so many have already endorsed Mitchell (who only moved to northeast Iowa a couple of months ago) over State Representative Shannon Lundgren. The third declared GOP candidate in this district is State Senator Charlie McClintock.

House majority whip backing McGowan in IA-04

Also last week, Emmer endorsed Siouxland Chamber of Commerce leader Chris McGowan, calling him “exactly the kind of battle-tested conservative we need in Congress.” Several weeks ago Jim Jordan endorsed McGowan.

Over the summer, I saw former Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl as the front-runner in this Congressional primary, but I have revised my view on that. Not only has McGowan raised far more money, he has lined up support from Republicans well-known to donors across the country.

It may have helped that McGowan has built up relationships through many lobbying trips to DC through his work for the chamber, whereas Windschitl said in July that he had never been to Washington.

Ben Carson backs Ryan Rhodes in IA-04

It’s a crowded Republican primary in that fourth Congressional district, and last Thursday, Dr. Ben Carson endorsed Iowa Tea Party founder Ryan Rhodes. Carson is a neurosurgeon and served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the first Trump administration.

Carson said in a video statement,

“In my many years of public service, I’ve come to recognize true character when I see it. Quiet strength, unshakable faith, and a servant’s heart that puts people above politics – that is exactly what I see in my friend, Ryan Rhodes. […]

Ryan Rhodes is the rare leader who combines gentle humility with courage of a lion. I’ve watched him defend life, liberty, and biblical truth without apology. […]

That is why with full confidence I proudly endorse Ryan Rhodes for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District. He will fight for your values, protect your freedom, and bring the kind of commonsense, God-honoring leadership that our nation so desperately needs.”

Rhodes raised a fair amount of money in the last quarter, so could have the resources to compete district-wide before the June primary.

I don’t normally put a lot of stock in endorsements, but if Trump wades into this primary, his pick could be decisive.

More details on poll showing Nunn behind in IA-03

Last week we discussed a poll of the race in Iowa’s third Congressional district. I returned to that topic for two reasons. First, I wanted to correct the record: this was not an internal poll commissioned by State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott’s campaign, as I said on the show. It was an independent poll by Change Research.

The survey showed Trone Garriott leading Nunn 53 percent to 40 percent and State Representative Jennifer Konfrst leading Nunn by 50 percent to 42 percent.

After our show aired, a few readers wanted to know whether the poll got that result after reading positive statements about the Democrats and negative statements about Nunn. I obtained the questionnaire, and you can read it here. The survey didn’t paint anyone in a negative light—although the wording was not necessarily how each of these candidates would describe themselves.

Here’s what the Change Research respondents saw about each of the three candidates:

• Jennifer Konfrst is the Minority Leader of the Iowa State House of Representatives. She first ran for the State House to advocate for everyday working Iowans and is running for Congress to defend healthcare access for Iowas, take on government corruption, and stand up for our veterans.

• Zach Nunn is in his second term as your Congressman, after years as a state legislator in Iowa where he helped Gov. Reynolds deliver on a conservative agenda. Now he’s doing the same in Washington, standing with President Trump to bring economic growth and opportunity to all Iowans.

• Sarah Trone Garriott is a mother, minister and state senator who worked across party lines to protect public schools and lower taxes. She took on her own party and fought for term limits and a ban on insider trading for politicians. In Congress, Sarah will continue to be an independent voice and prioritize lowering costs for hardworking Iowa families.

Dark money group spends heavily to promote Brenna Bird

We spent a few minutes talking about my reporting on the television commercial many Iowans saw last month, which praised Attorney General Brenna Bird as tough on crime. We mentioned the ad on “KHOI’s Capitol Week” a few weeks ago, but since then I was able to learn more about the ad buy and the polling that inspired it.

I wrote more over the weekend about the Fund for Economic Independence and their pro-Bird commercial. They claim to have invested $600,000 in running the ad.

I am still flabbergasted by how poorly Bird did in polls commissioned by the Fund for Economic Independence. Granted, there’s a lot we don’t know about the polls, and a dark money group would have incentive to exaggerate how effective their ad was.

Even so, it’s astonishing that Bird trailed Democratic attorney general candidate Nate Willems in September by 46 percent to 39 percent. After the ad aired on TV stations and streaming services across Iowa, Bird and Willems were tied at 41 percent in a ballot test. Her favorability was still underwater.

I would guess that this episode will help both candidates raise money—Bird, because it shows she’s in trouble, and Willems, because it shows this race is winnable. I forgot to mention during the show that Bird was just in Mar-a-Lago for a high-dollar fundraiser on November 12. We’ll find out how much both candidates have raised in mid-January, when campaign finance disclosures are due.

Reporter Trump called “Piggy” has an Iowa connection

Earlier this month, President Trump deflected a question about the Epstein files by saying, “Quiet. Quiet, Piggy.” The reporter he tried to silence was Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg News, and I wrote a piece about her at Bleeding Heartland over the weekend.

Lucey covered politics and the statehouse for the Associated Press for four years before moving to Washington at the beginning of the first Trump administration. She stayed on the White House beat for the AP and (beginning in 2019) for the Wall Street Journal. Since March, she’s been covering the White House for Bloomberg.

I really admired how she stayed composed during that gaggle on Air Force One. Several minutes later, she asked Trump about his recent MRI, following up twice when he didn’t answer the question. Catherine Lucey is not easily rattled!

That’s all for now—thanks for reading or listening, and have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

P.S.: If you need inspiration, here are some of my favorite ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers.