DES MOINES – Axios now reports that “a dozen House Republicans mull defying Trump on tariff bill.” The bill is a mirror of the bipartisan legislation Senator Chuck Grassley introduced to reclaim congressional authority in trade policy.  Where are the rest of Iowa’s representatives?

In introducing the bill, Grassley said: “For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch.”

So far, neither Senator Joni Ernst nor members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have signed on to the bill or its House companion despite warnings from agriculture and business leaders of the potential damage from across-the-board tariffs.

Iowans have gotten a slew of bad economic news in the last week:

• Iowa was one of only two states to see its economy contract in 2024 according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis
• There were close to 1000 layoffs in Amana, Decorah, and Dubuque
• The S&P 500 is down 12% in the four days since the Trump Tax announcement 

“DC Joni Ernst and Iowa Republicans are managing to deliver both higher prices and a weaker Iowa economy,”  said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “We need smart trade policy to strengthen the rural economy and create manufacturing jobs, not a president unilaterally creating the biggest peacetime tax hike in American history. It’s time for our representatives in Congress to do their jobs and stop this chaos.”