Norris joins Senate field, Iowa DOGE touches third rail, Grassley on Trump
August 11 edition of "KHOI's Capitol Week
It’s Iowa State Fair time! I spent part of Saturday sweltering at the fairgrounds and may go back another day this week. Other members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative have been writing about this annual event:
Suzanna de Baca wrote a poem, Funnel Cakes at the End of the World.
Chuck Offenburger is serving as a “cinnamon roll sommelier.”
Connie Taylor has published several columns about state fair food already. I don’t know why on earth anyone would choose a lobster roll in Iowa.
Chip Albright and friends played a set at Pioneer Hall on the first Friday. Jason Walsmith took photos.
Lynn Hicks shared his tips for a trouble-free visit to the fair.
Daniel Finney wrote a humorous take on overlooked state fair traditions.
I also recommend Amber Gustafson’s post, “A Liberal’s Guide to the Iowa State Fair”—especially if you think there’s nothing you’d enjoy doing there.
Spencer Dirks and I were back on the air Monday night to talk about the week in Iowa politics. For those who like to listen to the news, the audio file from the August 11 edition of “KHOI Capitol Week” is at the top of this post. (You can also subscribe to the show on podcast platforms, and find the archive on KHOI’s website.)
For those who prefer a written summary, here’s what we covered this week. If your email provider truncates this post, you can read it without interruption at this link.
Jackie Norris is running for Senate
A fourth Democrat entered the U.S. Senate primary last Tuesday. Jackie Norris currently chairs the Des Moines School Board. She’s also a small business owner and former teacher, and is best known in Democratic circles as the manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 general election campaign in Iowa, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s first chief of staff.
Norris has been highlighting issues that affect kids and families with young kids, especially education and affordable, accessible child care and health care. Spencer and I only had a few minutes to talk about her campaign. You can learn more from Norris’ official launch video, and from my interview with the candidate:
Note: State Representative Josh Turek became the fifth Democrat to announce he’s running for Senate on August 12. We’ll cover his candidacy on next week’s show, but you can watch my interview with Turek on YouTube before then. Here’s the link.
Norris told me she will be “laser-focused on winning the primary,” and she is certainly a serious contender. She should be able to raise a significant amount of money, and her experience working on and managing other campaigns gives her a lot of insight in getting to a win number in a statewide race.
It’s also worth noting that women have won a lot of Iowa Democratic primaries. I’m working on a piece about this.
Ruben Gallego talks up Iowa Democratic prospects
U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona came to Iowa last week to encourage Democrats. He spent part of a day at the Iowa State Fair, met with workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, and spoke to Democrats in Des Moines and Davenport.
I attended one of Gallego’s events in Des Moines on Thursday. He reminded the group that Arizona used to be where Iowa is: a solid red state. Democrats brought it back and he is confident Iowa Democrats can do the same, but that will involve competing at all levels. (While in Iowa, Gallego told CBS News that Democrats need to “not get our asses handed to us in rural America” if the party wants to win nationally.)
Gallego argued that Iowa’s U.S. Senate race is winnable and he is hoping voters here will give him more like-minded colleagues in Washington.
He delivered similar remarks in Davenport; Iowa Starting Line’s Zachary Oren Smith covered that event.
Whenever a politician from another state comes to Iowa, people start speculating about a presidential campaign. Gallego told reporters it’s “too early” to talk about 2028. I doubt he will run for president in the next cycle; he’s just in his first Senate term and has young kids. I have seen him and Arizona’s senior Senator Mark Kelly mentioned as contenders, either as the presidential or VP nominee.
Ernst to announce 2026 plans “very soon”
We still don’t know whether Senator Joni Ernst is running for re-election. At the Iowa State Fair on Sunday, and again at a stop in eastern Iowa on Monday, she said “I will have an announcement coming very soon.”
Ernst told reporters last year that she planned to seek a third term. As time goes on I am more inclined to think she isn’t running, as is widely rumored in Washington. She hasn’t scheduled as many public events this summer as last year. Although she hired a campaign manager in June, she doesn’t seem to be staffing up at the level I would expect for an incumbent seeking re-election.
I assumed the senator would confirm her plans at the “Roast and Ride” event in October. But that’s two months away—does that qualify as “very soon”?
Xavier Carrigan running for Congress in IA-03
A third Democrat has launched a campaign in Iowa's third Congressional district, which includes most of the Des Moines metro area. I was out of town when Xavier Carrigan made his bid official, and we haven’t had a chance to talk yet. So I relied on reporting from the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Radio when preparing for our show.
Speaking to the Register, Carrigan sounded a lot like Senator Bernie Sanders: "I'm completely and utterly fed up with the sole representation of the billionaire class, the oligarchy class of a nation.” He considers himself a working-class candidate and argues we need more of those in Congress. A lot of Democratic activists support that approach, but we haven’t seen candidates in the Sanders mold be successful in recent Iowa Democratic primaries for U.S. House or Senate.
Having only just moved to Iowa in 2023, Carrigan will face an uphill battle against the better-known Democratic contenders. State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott and State Representative Jennifer Konfrst have been campaigning for months around IA-03 and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rob Sand tours water works, talks water quality
State Auditor Rob Sand toured the Des Moines Water Works on Thursday and spoke to reporters afterward about what he learned there. He told us he had listened to a presentation about the nitrate removal process and the geography of the watersheds that supply the Des Moines area. He also looked at historical data on nitrates in the water and talked with staff their future plans. Sand said he had many questions and got “very helpful answers.”
Sand criticized the Republican-controlled legislature for defunding nitrate monitoring systems across the state. He said those cost “a tiny amount of money” and were measuring an important problem. He said the people in charge of Iowa “are moving us in the wrong direction.”
As for solving Iowa’s water pollution problems, which prompted a lawn watering ban for much of the Des Moines metro this summer, Sand doesn’t have a plan yet. He argued that if you are going to be governor, you need to “have a really good understanding of the facts.” He’s taking the time now to learn more about the issues and have conversations with stakeholders to build consensus for policies that are “realistic” and “practical.”
Asked about a recent scientific report commissioned by Polk County, which found agriculture was the source of most nitrate and phosphorus pollution, Sand said he had read it and wants to talk with the authors. (He wasn’t able to attend a presentation at the Harkin Institute because it conflicted with one of his town halls.). He also wants to talk with activists and family farmers. He said sometimes farmers aren’t getting the help they need from the state or federal governments to implement conservation practices, which made me think his eventual plan may involve more state funding for such programs.
I asked Sand about one of the leading arguments against him from the left: that he won’t support regulation of agricultural pollution because he is so dependent on large campaign donations from his in-laws, and they made their fortune through conventional agriculture. He said “a lot of people are making an emotional reaction rather than a factual one.” He described his in-laws’ company as an “Iowa success story” and said it largely makes pet food, soup stock and soup broth, an immune system supplement, and a pharmaceutical grade substance given to pigs.
Sand added, “If you think I have trouble standing up to powerful interests, I don’t think you’ve noticed how much the insiders in Des Moines hate me, because I’ve done my job.”
Water quality is shaping up to be a salient issue in the Democratic primary for governor. Julie Stauch has been talking about the issue from her earliest days as a candidate and recently called for some bold policies, such as returning livestock zoning authority to county governments, enforcing a moratorium on new large animal confinements, a cap on CAFOs, stricter manure management and fertilizer input policies.
During last Thursday’s press conference, Sand repeatedly promised to offer “realistic” proposals, which suggested to me that he may argue Stauch’s ideas are not realistic.
This issue is extremely important to many Democratic voters. Hundreds of people watched a presentation on the recent Polk County report. Chris Jones’ writing about water pollution at The Swine Republic is reaching a large audience. Iowa’s high and rising cancer rate is getting more attention as well. Iowa Starting Line is running a series on cancer in Iowa, including possible links to pesticides and other environmental pollutants.
I don’t hear Republican candidates talking much about water quality, so I don’t know whether it will be at the center of next year’s general election campaign.
DOGE task force recommends changing IPERS
Iowa’s DOGE task force held its third meeting last week and released 45 draft recommendations. The one that got the most attention would alter the state’s main public pension system, known as IPERS, to be more like what some private companies offer, like a 401(k).
If there is a third rail in Iowa politics, it is probably changing IPERS. An estimated 300,000 to 400,000 potential voters are either current or former public employees of some kind. For workers, it’s much better to have a defined benefit plan like IPERS, which guarantees a certain amount received in retirement, as opposed to a defined contribution plan, which goes into an investment fund but doesn’t guarantee a specific level of benefits.
I think there’s very little chance Republican legislators will go out on a limb to please Governor Kim Reynolds, a lame duck who vetoed the eminent domain bill they wanted. At least ten Iowa House Republicans have posted on Facebook that they are against changing IPERS. A few examples:
Steven Holt wrote, “While I recognize concerns about IPERS, I want to reassure Iowans that there is virtually no interest in making changes to it. We have one of the best funded retirement systems in the country.”
Ann Meyer wrote, “I want to be clear: I have no interest in making changes to IPERS.”
Austin Harris wrote that any proposal to reduce or eliminate IPERS benefits “will be DEAD ON ARRIVAL.”
Megan Jones posted, “The votes aren't there. I haven't even heard of anyone say they'd introduce it.”
The only idea that might have a chance is changing the pension plan for future public employees. But that would be problematic for different reasons. Jane Bloomingdale, who chairs the House State Government Committee, told me in an email, “I would agree with many of my colleagues and I would be opposed to changing or reducing any existing employee benefits.”
We didn’t have time to mention this on the show, but Democrats would be thrilled to have arguments about IPERS at the center of 2026 campaigns. Sand warned in a statement that the DOGE proposal could reduce retirement benefits for current workers, and said “Weakening IPERS will stop many people from taking public service jobs, leaving the public worse off and more key roles unfilled.”
DOGE task force backs merit pay for teachers
The DOGE task force is also likely to recommend merit pay for teachers. Task force member Terry Lutz argued that Iowa’s per-pupil spending on education is higher than the national median, even though the state’s education rankings are slipping. He said, "We need to get Iowa back on track with our education system, rank back in the top 10 nationally and reward those folks that help us get there.”
Republican legislators may be more open to this idea.
Teachers unions are adamantly against merit pay because it is subjective and can be used to reward administrators’ favorites. If you base teacher pay on student performance, that can be unfair to teachers who work in schools with lower socioeconomic indicators. It is also hard to measure, since some teachers are with students for most of the day while others only see them for one class period.
Randy Richardson and Bruce Lear just collaborated on a Bleeding Heartland post that walks through the arguments against merit pay. They also note that “merit pay has been tried multiple times in Iowa without success.” Read the whole piece for more details.
In June, some DOGE task force members raised the idea of consolidating Iowa counties. That would require a state constitutional amendment (a years-long process) and would have little chance of getting through the legislature. So it appears DOGE will suggest less controversial efficiency measures, such as consolidating or sharing services and technology across counties, using cloud services more in local government, and establishing a “red tape hotline.”
The task force will meet again in late September and are supposed to publish a report by September 29. There may be a few things the governor could do by executive order, but the major reforms would require legislative action in 2026.
State may privatize prison health care workers
Unrelated to the DOGE task force, a battle may be brewing over whether to privatize the health care system in Iowa’s state prisons. We didn’t have time to cover this in early July, when the Cedar Rapids Gazette first reported on the idea.
The Iowa Department of Corrections has said “no final decisions have been made,” and that the department is exploring options as one way to achieve "long-term financial sustainability.”
Iowa Senate Democrats wrote to Department of Corrections Director Beth Skinner last month, urging her to oppose any privatization of these medical services. About 200 health care staff work for the department.
Iowa losing SNAP-Ed funding soon
Iowa Public Radio reported last week that Iowa will lose $3.1 million in funding for a program called SNAP-Ed under that big budget reconciliation bill that President Donald Trump signed in July. SNAP-Ed “paid for nutrition experts who worked to improve access to healthier foods at food pantries and taught low-income Iowans to prepare healthy meals. It also supported gardens that donate fresh produce to food pantries.”
Many other changes to the SNAP program, such as work requirements for more adults and forcing states to pay a higher share of the benefit and administrative costs, won’t take effect until after the 2026 elections. But these cuts are going into effect right away this fall.
Iowa Public Radio reported, “It’s not clear how these programs and staff will be affected by the loss of funding. Spokespeople for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach declined to provide details about the impact.”
In the spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cancelled more than $11 million in funding that had been approved during the Biden administration to help schools, child care facilities, and food pantries buy locally grown food.
Reynolds in DC to celebrate SNAP food restrictions
Governor Reynolds was in Washington last week to cheer on Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who signed waivers for six more Republican-controlled states to limit foods that people can buy with their SNAP benefits. Iowa’s waiver request was already approved in May. Effective January 1, 2026, Iowans will not be able to use SNAP benefits to purchase any food item eligible for sales tax, such as soft drinks, candy, and sweetened snacks.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also attended the event. He hailed SNAP restrictions as part of the “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) movement, and said they would help solve the country’s “chronic disease crisis.”
Hunger advocates broadly oppose these changes.
Brooke Rollins attends Iowa State Fair
The governor and USDA secretary were together again at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday. Rollins announced $152 million in USDA investments for rural development projects in Iowa. Most of the money will come in the form of loans. Robin Opsahl reported for Iowa Capital Dispatch,
Approved projects include a $37 million loan for the Guthrie County Hospital in Guthrie Center to expand and renovate its facility, a $5 million grant and $39 million loan for the City of Emmetsburg to replace its wastewater treatment facility, and a $27.7 million loan to the Southern Sioux County Rural Water System for the building of new wells, a treatment plant and transmission lines in Plymouth and Sioux counties.
Rollins also competed in the Governor’s Charity Steer Show–apparently she is the first sitting U.S. secretary of agriculture to do so. She and Reynolds exchanged some trash talk about their steers at the press conference.
Rollins depicted President Trump as a champion for rural America. Since she only took three questions from reporters, I didn’t have a chance to ask about the impact of tariffs.
During the press conference, Rollins also mentioned relocating some USDA headquarters to “move the power out of Washington” and have the government be closer to the people they serve. But she dodged a question from Katarina Sostaric of Iowa Public Radio about why Iowa was not included in the federal agency’s first round of moves (to cities in North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Colorado, and Utah).
Rollins indicated “there are more announcements coming” about office moves, and she highlighted the Iowans who have been appointed to senior USDA roles.
Chuck Grassley puts hold on Treasury nominees…
Politico reported on August 4 that Senator Chuck Grassley has placed a hold on three of President Trump’s nominees to the Treasury Department. The article called the move a “significant escalation of the battle between key Republican lawmakers and the administration over renewable energy tax breaks” in that big budget reconciliation bill.
I was intrigued that Grassley’s office did not issue a press release about this. Rather, he put a notice in the Congressional Record on August 1. Senator John Curtis of Utah also joined the hold but didn’t announce that publicly.
Politico explained,
The actions follow a so-far unsuccessful effort by a handful of Senate Republicans to meet with Treasury Department officials to express their unhappiness with the agency’s expected clampdown on wind and solar projects’ use of the tax credits. Trump ordered the restrictions in an executive order issued days after Congress enacted the law July 3 — much to the dismay of the senators whose yes votes had been crucial to getting the president’s top legislative priority through the Senate.
I don’t know how long these holds will last. It’s no surprise that Grassley doesn’t want to publicize his beef with the president’s appointees.
…but silent as Trump fires inspectors general
I wanted to flag an op-ed column in The Hill by Mark Lee Greenblatt, the chair of the Council of Inspectors General. He sharply criticized Grassley for not standing up against Trump’s move to fire nearly 20 inspectors general across the federal government this year.
Greenblatt, who was himself fired as IG of the Department of the Interior, wrote that Iowa’s senator “has fancied himself as the patron saint of America’s inspectors general. […] But Grassley’s support has mysteriously vanished into thin air as President Trump is systematically decapitating our nation’s highly effective watchdogs.”
I learned a lot from this piece and recommend reading it in full. Greenblatt gave Grassley credit for helping to pass legislation in 2008 and 2016 that protected inspectors general. “He raised Cain when President Barack Obama fired an inspector general without a sufficient explanation.”
It’s a different story this year.
Grassley’s longstanding reputation as a champion of inspectors general has made his silence, and at times complicity, all the more jarring. His retreat has left a void at a time when independent oversight is under siege, threatening the very accountability mechanisms that protect taxpayer dollars.
Without a vocal advocate in Congress, inspectors general face increasing political pressure, retaliation and diminished authority. The stakes are enormous: A weakened oversight community means more waste, more corruption and less faith in government.
I reached out to the offices of both Grassley and Ernst for comment on this column, because as we reported on “KHOI’s Capitol Week” in January, they were founding members of a Senate Inspector General Caucus. I didn’t hear back from staff for either senator.
Follow-up on Grassley v. Trump over blue slips
Last week, we talked about Trump bashing Grassley over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s “blue slip” tradition. The senator discussed this spat on his latest “unrehearsed interview” with hand-picked reporters, usually from small media outlets. I try to listen to these every week because Grassley’s staff have never allowed me to participate in his regular conference calls with other news organizations.
Grassley said Trump had called “a mutual friend in Iowa” to complain about the blue slips. The senator explained to this unnamed friend why every Republican and Democrat wants to keep the blue slip tradition, which allows senators to put a hold on judicial nominations for their home states. He said Trump had benefited from the tradition because he was able to fill 23 vacancies for District Courts (including five in Texas, five in Florida, four in Missouri), which existed because Republican senators didn’t return blue slips during the Biden administration. If Democrats hadn’t honored the blue slip, Grassley said, Trump wouldn’t have been able to make those appointments.
Grassley also noted blue slips “can be used for negotiations.” He said that when Joe Biden was president, he held up two Democratic nominees for U.S. attorney in Iowa. “I finally negotiated one Republican and one Democrat” to get out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (I wasn’t aware that this happened.)
Grassley said he explained all of the above to the mutual friend, who said Trump had never told him about that, “and so he was misinformed.” The senator also sounded annoyed by the president’s “personal insult” after he’d been working for two months to get Emil Bove (Trump’s former criminal defense attorney) confirmed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He had given a speech on the Senate floor in support of Bove about a half-hour before Trump made those social media posts criticizing him over the blue slips.
He speculated that some 30-year-olds working in the White House don’t know anything about how Congress operates. If that’s the case, Grassley said, they misled Trump. Bottom line: “The president personally insulted me, and I’m distressed by it.”
That’s all we had time for this week. Thank you for reading or listening! Spencer and I will be back soon.
When I briefly worked for a Democratic Senator 20 years ago, Grassley had the respect of his Democratic colleagues. I suspect they find it hard to understand how that same guy they worked with for years accepted the firing of the IGs and supported so many clearly unqualified nominees including some that he vouched for.
Thank you Laura for another fact and information filled 'Capitol Week'. It frustrates me however that one could easily call both of our US Senators spineless. What they are doing and not doing, are equally egregious. Please continue with your great reporting which enables all of us to shed light on these two Iowa Senators.