It was another wild week of living in the heads of Elon Musk and Donald Trump. As a plane landed upside down, Elon’s “DOGE” efforts oversaw the firing of about 400 people from the Federal Aviation Administration, including individuals specifically focused on air safety. The Federal Emergency Management Agency fired hundreds. Veterans Affairs fired more than a thousand – and then asked some of them to return to their jobs. A top Social Security official resigned rather than giving access to sensitive information on recipients to DOGE. The Washington Post found that only 34% of Americans approved of Musk’s role in the federal government. As the U.S. House of Representatives were in recess, members of Congress were booed by constituents in townhalls over DOGE. Also while they were gone, the Senate passed a federal budget at loggerheads with the proposed (but not yet debated or passed) House budget. The grievously under-qualified Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI director, with only two Republicans opposing him. Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and regurgitated Putin-Orwellian talking points about how Ukraine actually started the war with Russia. As he celebrated Black History Month at the White House, his federal agencies were banning them from their departments. As of closing bell on Friday, it was the worst week of the stock market for 2025. Here in Iowa, John Deere laid off another 100 workers in Ankeny. As a Republican member of Congress released a bill proposing to make Trump’s birthday a national holiday, his White House social media accounts shared a crowned image of him declaring “long live the king.” In a warning sign which his communications team brushed off, 62% of voters told CNN that Trump hadn’t been doing enough to bring prices down.
Here’s what’s happening in your state.
Extremists Take Aim at Iowa’s Civil Rights Code
You may have noticed that this session of the Iowa General Assembly had so far been significantly more civil than the last two years. Most of our votes have been unanimous. We haven’t had big fights over controversial issues like vouchers, defunding special education, or most of the culture wars.
Well, that all changed because of Republican Representative Steve Holt last week. After we had gaveled out on Thursday, it was discovered that he’d filed House Study Bill 242 to remove gender identity protections in Iowa’s Civil Rights Act. These protections were added in 2007 and supported by legislators from both parties. It’s a bipartisan part of history that many of us are proud of.
If passed, this would mean that transgender Iowans could be terminated from jobs if they were suspected to be transgender. They could be thrown out of apartments, refused service at hospitals, denied scholarships, turned away from restaurants, the list is endless – all on the suspicion of being transgender. Political debates have gotten heated and have split down surprising lines over the last few years, but my impression from folks across the state is that the vast majority of Iowans don’t support this kind of crackdown on their fellow Iowans.
Holt is trying to ram this bill through the legislative process as fast as they can. A subcommittee has already been scheduled for 11:00 AM tomorrow (February 24) in Room 103 at the Capitol. If you can attend to show your opposition, it would be greatly appreciated.
The only groups registered in favor are fringe groups like the Family Leader. Those opposed include LGBTQ advocacy groups, legal groups, and faith groups like the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, and the Iowa Interfaith Alliance. Unfortunately, no businesses or Iowa industry groups have registered their opinion on the proposal (which most privately admit has a ghastly impact on efforts to try and bring people and families to grow our state).
At 66 votes, you would think that Republicans wouldn’t have brought this forward if they didn’t easily have the votes to pass it. I honestly don’t know whether they do or don’t, but there have been some impressive statements coming out of their ranks. Republican Representative Austin Harris said he will “oppose stripping Iowans of their civil rights protections with every fiber of my being.” Republican Representative Brian Lohse said he couldn’t “in good conscience, vote to take away existing statutory rights from Iowans currently holding them, especially when it means the prospect of being denied basic human needs.” I suspect there may be more Iowa House Republicans who feel this is harsh, unnecessary, and a real waste of time for our legislature. If you’re contacting House Republicans this week, please approach them with your concerns and an open mind. A sizable share of them may be working up the courage to do the right thing.
Extreme Republicans Banning Vaccines
Another hot button in our political dialogue has centered on vaccines. During the pandemic, Democrats were criticized for promoting vaccines too much. Republicans like Donald Trump and Kim Reynolds shut down the nation and state before falling into pandemic and vaccine skepticism. The caricature of the left was that they would force vaccines on everyone, regardless of whether they wanted them. The caricature of the right was that they would try to ban vaccines altogether. The latter became reality this week in Iowa.
Republican Senator Doug Campbell introduced Senate File 360 to the cheers of the antivaxx crowd. If passed, it would ban the administration of any “gene-based vaccines” in the state of Iowa. The bill has a list of definitions of vaccines with both mRNA and DNA vaccines included – so it would touch most vaccines that you’re familiar with.
I hope this bill is too extreme for even Iowa’s Republicans, but it’s disappointing that anything like this would even be filed. It also shows some of the whiplash you can get following the logic of their legislators on their extreme fringe. Republicans in both chambers regularly demand increased funding for livestock vaccines and enforcement measures. One of the rare instances where Midwestern Republicans have spoken out against DOGE relate to cutting vaccine development, vaccine provision, and outbreak measures – for livestock. Although these folks are quick to criticize humans accessing vaccines, I’ve never heard of any these fringe legislators opposing vaccine funding for livestock or taking measures against any of us carnivores who eat that livestock who had those vaccines. In fact, I’m pretty sure any Republican legislator opposing either would get a primary pretty quickly. It’s striking then that we have Republicans supporting a ban on vaccines for all the rest of us.
If they don’t have money for vaccines, though, House Republicans are braying in their support for strange health measures for our schools. While they don’t accept the science around vaccines, their House File 114 from Republican Representative Jeff Shipley would provide state funding for schools to provide micronutrients, mineral supplementals and light therapies to our children. If you want to shine lights on your face in your own house, that’s certainly your business. But the idea that the scientific evidence for it is strong enough to justify state funding for it in our schools while doubting polio vaccines is frankly laughable. The House Education Committee – including purple district representatives like Dan Gehlbach and Ryan Weldon – approved it and moved it to the floor.
To sum it all up for one week in the Iowa General Assembly, the extremists want to ban vaccines for those who want them. They want to spend billions on vaccines for livestock. And all they’ve got is face flashlights for our kids.
Brenna Bird Reverses on Section 504
I’ve heard from a lot of you on Attorney General Brenna Bird’s attacks on Section 504. I’m not going to spend a lot of time here because Bleeding Heartland has done some exceptional reporting on it if you want to dig in more on the details. But in a nutshell, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act guarantees rights for Americans with disabilities and was a predecessor for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hundreds of Iowa students depend on it to ensure access to schools and other accommodations in our daily life.
Since her slim election victory, Bird hasn’t done much in the way of prosecuting cases or holding bad actors in the state of Iowa accountable like her predecessors. Instead, she’s been intent on photo ops showing her support for Donald Trump (above) or signing on to national lawsuits that burnish her national credentials with Trump-minded folks. It appears that she thought that signing on to Texas v. Becerra would be another way to jump into the culture wars – this time to challenge the idea that Section 504 was protecting transgender students.
After an outcry from hundreds of Iowans across the state from both parties, she initially said that her signing on to the lawsuit was being misconstrued for political reasons. Some media outlets, unfortunately, went along with her statements that she wasn’t challenging the legality of all of Section 504, but just the parts focusing on gender. When parents pointed out that her lawsuit literally said that all of Section 504 had to be declared unconstitutional, she spent much of the week trying to walk it all back as quickly as possible.
There’s a lot more to read on it, but it shows a few things. Good journalism still matters. Blindly following the Trump bandwagon can have harsh consequences for folks on the ballot next year. Voters from both parties don’t want politicians messing with our kids. And there are real issues that we can all agree on that matter a lot more than one craven politician trying to further her national career aspirations.
The Impact of DOGE on Ames
A lot of this DOGE stuff can feel very abstract – some think it’s merely happening to faceless bureaucrats off in Washington, D.C. The last week has shown, though, that it’s hitting a lot closer to home. The Register shared that many Iowans had been laid off at the USDA in Ames on February 14. Aside from the concerns about people losing their jobs, it has real-world impacts for Iowa as we see farm after farm being hit with bird flu. They reported:
“The effect of the cuts on the USDA’s efforts to monitor and control bird flu are unclear. The disease is a particular threat in Iowa, the nation’s largest producer of eggs and also a major producer of turkeys. Millions of birds in infected Iowa flocks have been destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease in the current outbreak, which began in 2022, and the losses have resulted in shortages of and inflated prices for eggs. The Iowa Department of Agriculture on Wednesday reported yet another outbreak, among a turkey flock in Sac County.
Bird flu also has spread to dairy cattle — the focus of the scientists Vore was working with. Other federal scientists have been trying to gauge the potential for its spread among humans, most of whom so far have suffered only mild symptoms when infected.
A spokesperson for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig’s office on Tuesday said the layoffs had had no effect on the department’s bird flu response. But the USDA acknowledged that, as NBC News reported Tuesday, it was seeking to rehire key workers in the bird flu response that it said it had accidentally laid off. And Politico reported that about a quarter of the employees had been laid off in a USDA office that coordinates the work of labs around the country that keep tabs on bird flu.”
Iowa Public Radio reported similar concerns and interviewed a USDA employee who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation:
“A. said at least 55 people, including nine animal caretakers, were escorted off the USDA campus on Feb. 14.
‘No one has really had time to process and react to this,’ A. said. ‘Friday was filled with a lot of tears. I have never seen so many grown men cry in a day. But I mean, they hit us in the gut. We were not prepared for the level of cruelty that we saw.’
A. said the animal caretakers’ unit was disproportionately affected. These employees feed and care for thousands of poultry and hundreds of herd animals, including cattle, bison and deer.
There were discussions about culling animals without dedicated staff to make sure they were fed and properly cared for, A. said. The scientist isn’t aware of that happening yet and said the remaining employees are trying to fill in the gaps, even though many are not paid for this work.
‘We take it very seriously, how we treat our animals here,’ A. said. ‘I think our animals are treated better than [Elon] Musk treats his employees, and I think any Iowan — any Midwesterner — would understand that statement.’”
This is likely the tip of the iceberg for these kinds of stories in the coming weeks. Budget discussions in Congress will make that more urgent. And members of Congress – especially our own – will likely be even less willing to address them in townhalls between now and the elections next fall.
The Good…
Despite another week of silly bills, we also saw quite a few good ones from folks in both parties. The vast majority of these won’t be passed or even considered in a committee, but it gives a good perspective on what things could be like with a more moderate legislature.
House File 490 from Democratic Representative Eric Gjerde would ensure the provision of emergency veterinary medical services for police service dogs while on duty. House File 447 from Democratic Representative Davn Gosa would allow school districts to levy to pay the costs related to school safety and security measures. The bill specifically includes weapon detection systems, door monitoring systems, and school security personnel.
House File 462 from Democratic Representative Jerome Amos and other House Dems (myself included) would remove the statute of limitations for civil actions relating to sexual abuse. House File 431 from Democratic Representative Austin Baeth and other House Dems (again including me) would remove the statute of limitations for sexual abuse along with human trafficking and the exploitation of a minor. House File 432 from Democratic Representative Jeff Cooling would increase the eligibility for financial assistance for apprenticeship programs. House File 487 from Republican Representatives Brian Lohse and Brett Barker would legalize fentanyl test strips, among other items.
We had another chunk of great legislation from my friend Democratic Representative Josh Turek this past week. His House File 424 is the reintroduction of his “work without worry” program so that disabled individuals wouldn’t risk loss of health coverage and services if they were able to seek some gainful employment. His House File 425 would remove the requirement of a prescription or prior authorization for the repair of complex rehabilitation equipment. House File 426 would continue the coverage for durable medical equipment if it had already been approved for people with a permanent disability and they had no significant change in their condition. House File 427 would provide Medicaid coverage for power standing devices for people with permanent physical disabilities. House File 485 would exempt the sales tax for adaptive driving equipment. His House File 489 with Democratic Representative Austin Baeth would provide increased funding for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa.
My friend and next-door neighbor on the House floor Democratic Representative Dave Jacoby offered House File 474 which would strengthen puppy mill inspections. His House File 476 would provide funding for schools who want resource officer programs. His House File 478 would require local prevailing wage rates on public improvements for public bodies. And I have to admit that I agree with his House File 484 which would allow Iowa’s political parties to decide whether they want primaries or caucuses for presidential elections.
We saw a number of bills from Democratic Representatives Kenan Judge and Lindsay James on mobile home parks and manufactured home communities – both places that don’t really get much of any attention at our statehouse. House File 482 would only allow the cancellation of rental agreements in mobile home parks and manufactured home communities if a tenant materially violated a rental agreement. House File 481 would prevent more than one rent increase per year in mobile home parks and manufactured home communities unless reasonably necessary.
…And The Bad
Aside from the other bad bills this past week, we had a few more doozies slip through. House File 448 from Republican Representative and Moms for Liberty leader Samantha Fett would allow “social studies” courses on Hebrew scriptures or the Bible in public schools. It would also allow public schools to display religious monuments or symbols. As someone who went to a Catholic school for some of my elementary education and as a parent who takes my son to Communion classes every Wednesday night, I can tell you that I don’t want a politician’s religious viewpoints in my public school. Similarly, I don’t want the government’s viewpoints forced in my church either. She also offered House File 445 which would relax the timing requirements to participate in the wildly-unpopular voucher program.
Aside from his minerals and light therapies, Republican Representative Jeff Shipley introduced House File 423 to make it a felony for doctors to prescribe the widely-used abortion pill mifepristone. His House File 428 would hold law enforcement agencies liable if anyone claimed one of their officers potentially violated their right to keep or bear arms. His House File 430 would nullify “any red flag law” that directs the confiscation of a gun. Red flag laws are supported by members of both parties – including Donald Trump – to get weapons out of the hands of mentally ill people making threats against schools and other public places online. Taken together then, these bills would drastically reduce options for law enforcement when dealing with suspected school shooters. When officers and school officials say they didn’t know what they could and couldn’t do after a school shooting happens, these are the kinds of decisions that they’re talking about. This makes our kids, our officers, and our communities significantly less safe. This sure doesn’t seem like backing the blue to me.
We saw some troubling news for the state in general as well. As you can see in the Axios chart above, the change in unemployment for Iowa compared to our neighbors isn’t looking great. KCRG shared that we’ve been named as the worst state for bridges once again. Almost 15,000 of our bridges need repairs. Just think of how many we could fix if we weren’t spending a billion dollars on vouchers.
And the worst of the worst was a white supremacist group marching through the streets of Des Moines yesterday. Of course, they covered their faces so their families and their employers wouldn’t know who they were. As a state representative, I try to be as respectful as I can in all situations. In this case, though, I shared with reporter Dave Price the one word I’d use to describe the spewing of such hate while refusing to show their faces to everyone else: chickenshit.
Green Shoots in Marion County
Finally, my antidote for the perennial doom and gloom of the Capitol is always one thing – getting out and talking to people. I jumped at the chance last week to head over to Knoxville and headline the annual soup luncheon for the Marion County Democrats. I was thrilled to get to lead a long discussion with my good friend and Iowa Farmers Union Executive Director Matt Russell. I talked about the need to stay engaged, to recruit local candidates, to register voters, and most of the other things that I’m passionate about. Matt talked about the impacts of federal decisions on the farm economy and the real need for rural organizing right now.
Although the topic of conversations were tough, the crowd was much bigger than I expected. The Marion County Dems are one of my favorite county parties, so I’m admittedly biased, but their enthusiasm was off the charts and recharged me more than they’ll know. The best news of the day was that a House candidate that I was trying to convince to run again was already there collecting donations and speaking about his candidacy. There are now 6 top-tier candidates that I thought we’d have to beg to run again who have already decided to throw their hat in the ring for next year. That’s a lot earlier than ever before, which means we’ll have more time to get their campaigns organized and funded. I’ll also be hitting the road with my friend Representative Kenan Judge to talk with them in person about how he knocks Democratic, Republican, and Independent doors year round. I think that means we’re going to be on the doors yet this summer, which is immensely exciting.
I’ll be in Fort Madison for Nannette Griffin this coming weekend. Then I’ll be in Davenport for the Scott County Dems the week after. Then I’ll be joining Representative Austin Baeth and Senator Janet Petersen for a townhall here in the district on March 8. I hope to be joining the Warren County Dems later in March. Whether it’s a weekday or a weekend here in the district or around the state, I hope to see you soon.
