U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson caused some angst in the House Republican caucus this week when he removed Representative Mike Turner as chair of the Intelligence Committee, supposedly due to “concerns from Mar-a-Lago,” among other considerations. But there were no unpleasant surprises for Iowa’s delegation as committee assignments were finalized for the 119th Congress.
The Iowans rank low in seniority among House Republicans, with Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) beginning his second term, and Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), and Randy Feenstra (IA-04) each starting their third terms. Nevertheless, all will continue to serve on influential panels.
Senator Chuck Grassley is the longest-serving U.S. senator in Iowa history and among the ten longest-serving members of Congress from any state. He returned this month to two prominent roles as chair of the Judiciary Committee and Senate President pro tempore—the third in line for the presidency after the vice president and U.S. House speaker. Meanwhile, Senator Joni Ernst now chairs a committee for the first time.
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS FOR IOWA’S HOUSE MEMBERS
Miller-Meeks landed a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2023 and will continue to serve on that panel. Her subcommittee assignments are Health; Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals, and Communications & Technology.
Last August, Miller-Meeks took a stand on one tricky energy policy issue facing the GOP majority as they attempt to repeal many Biden administration policies. She was among eighteen House Republicans signed a letter warning Johnson not to repeal all of the energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats enacted in 2022. Some of those tax credits have spurred massive investment in red districts.
Miller-Meeks will continue to serve on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, a position she has held since her first term. Not surprisingly, given her medical background, she is a member of the subcommittee on health.
Miller-Meeks also leads the Conservative Climate Caucus, a Republican group she joined in 2021, when then Representative John Curtis of Utah formed the caucus. She became vice chair of the caucus in January 2023 and formally replaced Curtis (who was just elected to the U.S. Senate) as caucus chair in April 2024. About 80 House Republicans were members of the caucus last year; Miller-Meeks was the only Iowan.
Hinson landed a seat on the House Appropriations Committee in her first term—a rare feat—and stays on that panel. Her office announced on January 15 that she will serve on three Appropriations subcommittees: Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration. She said in a written statement,
I am honored to continue serving on these influential subcommittees and ensure Iowans have a seat at the table during the government funding process. My mission has been, and always will be, to save taxpayers money while investing in key programs and Iowa’s priorities. Under President Trump, we have a historic opportunity to restore fiscal sanity and start ensuring Washington budgets like Iowa families do, and I look forward to delivering.
It will be extremely challenging for House Republicans to pass any spending bills without help from Democrats, given the small majority (currently 219 to 215, with one vacancy).
Hinson will also continue to serve on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. I’m curious to see how Hinson—one of the most vocal supporters of banning TikTok—reacts to the news that President Trump will “most likely” extend TikTok’s deadline to sell to a non-Chinese-buyer after he takes office on January 20. A law banning the popular app is set to go into effect on January 19.
Nunn maintained his positions on the House Agriculture Committee and Financial Services Committee. His predecessor, Democrat Cindy Axne, also served on both panels. On Financial Services, Nunn will serve on two subcommittees: Capital Markets, and National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. His Agriculture subcommittee assignments are General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit, and Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
Nunn also serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors the People’s Republic of China’s compliance with standards on human rights, the rule of law, and other matters.
Feenstra holds two assignments as well: Agriculture and the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which will shape tax policies. His official website does not list subcommittee assignments, and his staff did not respond to Bleeding Heartland’s inquiry about the matter.
Incidentally, the House Republican Study Committee’s website lists Hinson, Nunn, and Feenstra as members from Iowa. However, only Hinson announced that affiliation on her official website. The Republican Study Committee has advanced many controversial proposals over the past five decades. Its latest budget plan, released in March 2024, would make unpopular changes to Social Security and Medicare. The plan also called for rolling back Affordable Care Act subsidies and regulations, and endorsed a nationwide abortion ban.
OLD AND NEW ROLES FOR GRASSLEY AND ERNST
As mentioned above, Grassley took up the gavel again as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He already presided over the confirmation hearing for Pam Bondi, Trump’s choice for attorney general, and will run the confirmations of some other controversial picks, such as Kash Patel to lead the FBI.
Grassley will continue to serve on three other Senate committees: Budget, Finance, and Agriculture. He’s a longtime member of all three panels. He’s also on the Joint Committee on Taxation.
This is Grassley’s second go-around as Senate pro tempore, a position given to the most senior member of the majority party. He held that position from early 2019 to January 2021. His website explains,
Grassley is the second Iowan in the nation’s history to serve as President pro tempore. The only other Iowan to hold the office was Sen. Albert B. Cummins, who ascended to this leadership position in 1919, 100 years before Grassley was first elected to the role in 2019. Cummins served as Senate pro tempore in the 66th, 67th, 68th and 69th Congresses.
As Bleeding Heartland reported in November, Ernst is out of Senate GOP leadership for the first time since 2018. She lost out to Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas in her bid to move up from the fourth-ranking position to Senate Republican Conference chair, the number three role.
On the plus side for Iowa’s junior senator, she now holds the gavel for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee—her first opportunity to chair a panel. In a January 7 news release, she said she “will prioritize cutting government red tape, giving Iowa entrepreneurs a seat at the table, and improving access to child care in rural communities.”
Ernst continues to serve on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees, and rejoined the Homeland Security and Government Affairs panel in the new Congress. She said in the same news release, “Through my work on these committees, I will continue fighting for a Farm Bill that prioritizes our farmers, supporting our small businesses, keeping Iowans safe at home and abroad, slashing government spending and overreach, and making Washington squeal.”
IOWA’S SENATORS CREATE NEW INSPECTOR GENERAL CAUCUS
Both Grassley and Ernst belong to many Senate caucuses, which don’t have the power of a standing committee but can signal a member’s policy preferences. Ernst took a leading role in the so-called DOGE caucus, which will support Elon Musk’s plans to cut federal government spending. But she won’t have much ability to implement those ideas, since she doesn’t serve on the Appropriations or Budget committees.
On January 15, Ernst announced the creation of a bipartisan Inspector General Caucus, which “will work to ensure the executive branch watchdogs are empowered to properly identify and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse.” Other senators mentioned in the release were Grassley, Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, and three Democrats: Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Gary Peters of Michigan, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
The release included the following comments from Iowa’s senators:
“Inspectors general serve a vital role in uncovering waste in Washington and must be empowered to continue looking out for taxpayers,” said Ernst. “From identifying billion-dollar boondoggles to exposing a federal workforce that is permanently out of office, their work has been invaluable in my decade-long mission to uncover waste and make Washington squeal. I look forward to this caucus continuing to allow IGs to do tremendous work and find more ways to downsize government and eliminate inefficiencies.” […]
“Inspectors General play an essential role in protecting taxpayer dollars and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the executive branch,” said Grassley. “I rely heavily on these independent watchdogs when carrying out my constitutional responsibility of oversight, and I’m glad to join Senator Ernst’s effort to support their invaluable work.”
Staff for Grassley and Ernst did not respond to Bleeding Heartland’s questions about the new caucus, such as: how would senators respond if Trump moves to replace one or more inspectors general with loyalists? Does the incoming president have the prerogative to appoint a new slate of inspectors general across the federal government?
In 2020, Trump sidelined five inspectors general and rebuffed Grassley’s demand for an explanation. At that time, Grassley threatened to block the confirmation of two presidential appointees unless Trump explained his reasons for removing the inspectors general. But the senator didn’t follow through with that threat.
Top photo was first published on U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson’s official Facebook page on February 28, 2023. Front, from left: Hinson, Senator Chuck Grassley, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Back, from left: Representative Randy Feenstra, Senator Joni Ernst, Representative Zach Nunn.