Fourth in a series on the new Iowa law that removed legal protection against discrimination for transgender and nonbinary Iowans, as well as any path for the state to officially recognize their gender identity.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley has denied that GOP leaders threatened to block progress on unrelated legislation as a way to convince reluctant Republican lawmakers to vote for a bill targeting transgender Iowans.

Grassley made the comments during his weekly “gaggle” with statehouse reporters in the House chamber on March 13. Here’s the relevant exchange:

I asked the question because in the days leading up to the February 27 floor debate on Senate File 418, some who worked in or around the legislature questioned whether House leaders had the votes to pass the bill. In the end, 60 of the 66 House Republicans voted for its passage, with five Republicans voting no on the floor and a sixth later indicating he would have opposed the legislation.

Several factors could have persuaded ten or more wavering lawmakers to support the anti-trans bill. They may have changed their mind after learning more about its provisions. They may have feared backlash from the grassroots, including social conservatives and MAGA Republicans, who might get behind a GOP primary challenger.

I also heard speculation that the holdouts faced pressure from the speaker or from committee leaders, who had the power to keep members’ legislation from advancing by the March 7 “funnel” deadline. Most policy bills not approved by at least one standing committee before that date are considered “dead” for the remainder of the 2025 session.

Bills that don’t make statewide news can nonetheless be important to lawmakers and their constituents. So I asked Grassley whether he or House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl had warned any members “that if they didn’t vote for the gender identity bill, that certain legislation that they really cared about either wouldn’t get through the funnel or wouldn’t be brought to the floor for debate.”

Grassley was adamant: “We have not operated that way in the caucus, and I don’t know how much clearer I can be.” He noted that members who voted against the gender identity bill have been running legislation on the House floor, or had their bills brought to the floor. That’s accurate: five of the six Republicans who opposed the anti-trans bill—State Representatives Austin Harris, Brian Lohse, Michael Bergan, Chad Ingels, and Norlin Mommsen—floor managed at least one bill during House debate between March 10 and March 13. However, those non-controversial measures weren’t necessarily the members’ top legislative priorities.

Grassley added, “So I think that that’s completely untrue. Anyone that’s sharing that clearly doesn’t know the dynamic of our caucus. But, you know—the caucus function and us getting our bills done should not be impacted by decisions that individuals make on bills.” He noted that some GOP lawmakers had voted against bills “that maybe aren’t as significant,” and said leaders expect to be informed about such plans “so we can make good decisions before we bring things to the floor.”

Indeed, earlier on March 13, four House Republicans voted against a bill that would allow foster parents to consent to routine medical care for children in their care, six voted against a bill on local boards of adjustment, and five voted against a bill on court-appointed public defenders.

In a previous Q&A with reporters, Grassley denied threatening to remove House Republicans from committee chairmanships if they didn’t vote for the anti-trans bill. At this writing, none of the GOP opponents have lost their positions on any legislative panel.