Sen. Joni Ernst and other members of Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown in speeches Saturday.
They spoke at Ernst’s tenth and final “Roast and Ride” fundraiser in Des Moines, the annual motorcycle ride and pig roast that has previously featured GOP presidential candidates.
Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to extend tax credits that help people pay for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and that they reverse cuts and changes to Medicaid that were passed earlier this year.
Republicans control the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, but they need some Democrats in the Senate to agree to extend federal government funding.
Ernst called it the “Schumer shutdown” after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“He shut down the governmentt to appease the far left,” she said. “His pointless political games have come at a price.”
Ernst said Democrats should vote to continue government funding first and find health insurance solutions later.
“I am hopeful we get the government open, we actually have serious talks about fraud and waste within the program, and then how do we actually make a difference and make health care affordable for those folks that truly do need that support?” she said.
ACA enrollment begins Nov. 1, and about 100,000 Iowans are facing, on average, a doubling of their insurance premiums, according to KFF.
Iowans who do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare often buy insurance through the ACA.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Republicans are treating the shutdown like a vacation.
“Why can’t Iowa’s representatives show some Iowa work ethic instead of spending the weekend at Joni Ernst’s Republican fundraiser?” she asked. “They should be working with their Republican colleagues to find a deal to open the government and prevent a spike in Iowans’ health care premiums. Don’t they think Iowans are paying attention?”
This year, the event raised money for the Blue Star Mothers of Iowa and was paid for by a super PAC called Mission Iowa.
Ernst also responded to the news that President Donald Trump intended to pay members of the military while other federal government employees are not getting paid. She said all federal workers should be paid, but troops should be paid first.
“I have got experience with this, having served as a battalion commander when we went through a shutdown years ago. You know, we really had issues in keeping up the readiness for our national service,” Ernst said. “…It’s a little different when you are a young enlisted soldier and you make next to nothing in the first place.”
Second District Rep. Ashley Hinson is running to be the Republican nominee for Senate. She said the government shutdown is hurting veterans, seniors, troops and border patrol agents. And Hinson said Democrats are asking to increase government spending by $1.5 trillion.
“That is not a negotiation in my mind, that’s a ransom note,” she said. “And we are not going to be held hostage by Chuck Schumer and the radical left.”
Republicans celebrate ICE arrest of Des Moines superintendent
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rode a motorcycle alongside Ernst Saturday to the state fairgrounds and gave the final speech of the event.
She touted her agency’s arrest of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts.
Noem said she is focused on deporting “the worst of the worst” to protect U.S. citizens. She said Roberts was “pretending to be a citizen” and previously faced drug and weapons charges, all while interacting with children and making a six-figure salary.
“And now he’s away from your children, and he’s being brought to justice as well,” Noem said.
Ernst and 4th District Rep. Randy Feenstra thanked Noem for Roberts’ arrest.
“We owe her something,” Feenstra said. “Secretary Noem, you helped apprehend and capture the Des Moines superintendent who was illegal since 2024.”
Roberts was issued a final notice of removal in May 2024, and according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has lacked work authorization since December 2020. He was hired by the Des Moines school district in 2023, and district officials have said Roberts indicated he was a U.S. citizen and provided a driver’s license and social security card to prove work eligibility.
Roberts is being held in federal custody and is facing new charges for possessing guns while being in the U.S. without legal status.
Republican officials praise Ernst as her time as an elected official nears its end
Ernst announced in September she would not run for reelection in 2026.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, who also decided to not run for reelection in 2026, said the final Roast and Ride was bittersweet.
She said her political journey has always been intertwined with Ernst’s. They both went from being elected to county government in southern Iowa to representing the same Senate district in the Iowa Legislature, and then on to higher office.
“And who would’ve guessed back then, in those local government days, that one of us would become Iowa’s first female United States senator in 2014, and the other would become Iowa’s first female governor in 2018?” Reynolds said. “Not too bad for a pair of rural Iowa girls.”
Reynolds said she admires Ernst’s record of serving with strength and humility in the military and government.
Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, said he hoped Ernst could feel the respect and love for her in the room at the Roast and Ride.
“You surpassed every single expectation that we can have in a people’s representative … And I know I speak for every single person in this room of the pride we feel that you are ours, and we are yours,” Kaufmann said.
Ernst was asked if she plans to formally endorse Hinson to fill her seat. She said Hinson has her full support, “and you may hear something more official a little bit later on.”
Former state Sen. Jim Carlin and Joshua Smith are also running for the Republican nomination for Senate.
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn is running as a Libertarian.
Six Democrats are running for Senate: former state lawmaker Bob Krause, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Director Nathan Sage, former state Rep. Richard Sherzan, state Rep. Josh Turek, and state Sen. Zach Wahls.
