Joni Ernst
Nationalist
Republican
Senator
Iowa
Current Position: Senator from Iowa
Policy Positions
Economic Policy
- For eliminating the Internal Revenue Service
Business & Labor
- Against federal minimum wage; opposes federal minimum wage and believes states should have sole authority to set minimum wages
- For partial privatization of Social Security accounts for young workers
- For partial privatization of Medicare and Medicaid programs
Health Care
- Against the Affordable Care Act; opposes ACA and voted for all three versions of repeal bills in 2017
- Against capping insulin prices at $35; voted against insulin price cap in August 2022
- For defunding Planned Parenthood; introduced legislation allowing states to block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding
Education
- For eliminating the U.S. Department of Education
Environment
- For eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency
- Against the scientific consensus on climate change; rejects climate science and supports only 'very small' governmental regulation to address it
- Against cap-and-trade carbon emissions reduction approach
- For withdrawing from the Paris climate accords
- For the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS); defended RFS and secured E15 year-round availability
- Against the Obama administration's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule; led efforts to scrap the rule
Civil Rights
- Against abortion rights; opposes legalized abortion, voted for fetal personhood amendment, supports federal personhood bill, petitioned Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, and supported overturning Roe v. Wade
- Against net neutrality; opposes preventing internet service providers from blocking or slowing certain content
- Against Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military
- Against government funding of gender-reassignment surgeries
Immigration & Foreign Affairs
- For supporting Ukraine with military aid; voted for $95 billion foreign aid bill including $60 billion for Ukraine
- For U.S. support of Israel; led congressional delegation to Israel and called for U.S. sanctions and weapons to help Israel defeat Hamas
- Against the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration
- For the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by drone strike
- Against admitting Syrian refugees without thorough vetting process
- For supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); submitted resolution endorsing ICE against abolition efforts
Public Safety
- For gun rights; supports open carry legislation and concealed carry reciprocity across states
- Against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6th Capitol attack