Joni Ernst announced this week she will vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the nation’s next secretary of defense, it underlined President-elect Donald Trump’s immense sway over Congress and the grassroots in Iowa as he returns to the White House.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense is one step closer to receiving the GOP votes he needs to sail through his Senate confirmation process after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst – once a critical holdout in her support of Pete Hegseth – revealed Tuesday she would indeed give his nomination the green light.

Some MAGA-minded Republicans have suggested Kari Lake, an Iowa native, should challenge U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in a primary in 2026.

Trump’s defense secretary. By Karoun Demirjian Reporting from Washington Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, announced on a local news radio show on Tuesday that she would vote to confirm ...

Joni Ernst. And her appearance in the state could ... which will work to support MAGA and "America first" candidates and agendas. James McLaughlin said she thinks that, second to Trump himself ...

Look at Nebraska's just-completed Senate race to see that fealty to Donald Trump wouldn't guarantee Ernst keeps her seat, writes .

Letters published Jan. 13-19, 2025, deal with state government and the resolution of Des Moines' Greenwood Park art installation saga.

Three days ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, many of his most prominent Cabinet choices have sailed relatively unscathed through their hearings and are poised to win confirmation as Republican senators rallied around them and appeared largely unwilling to defy Trump’s wishes.

As far as Pete Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of Defense goes, Senator Joni Ernst was the ball game, and it was over in the second inning. Given her years of advocacy on behalf of women in the military and against sexual assault,

After spending a better part of the last decade investigating extremism, I have learned one thing is consistent: circular firing squads.

Incoming Trump administration officials and lawmakers are making outreach to nonprofits to facilitate research for the Department of Government Efficiency.