Election results show Iowans support Republicans’ lawmaking agenda, GOP leaders say

DES MOINES — Emboldened by another successful election that empowered them with expansive majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature, Republican state lawmakers on the first day of the 2025 legislative session Monday promised more of the same brand of governing they have deployed over the past eight years.

This will be the ninth legislative session under which Republicans have possessed complete control of the state lawmaking process. Since 2017, Republicans have held majorities in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate to pair with a Republican, Kim Reynolds, in the governor’s mansion.

Last November, Iowa Republicans expanded their numbers to 67 out of 100 in the Iowa House and 34 out of 50 in the Iowa Senate, with one more seat there to be determined by a special election later this month. They are Republicans’ largest majorities since 1970.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, said the 2024 election results made clear what Iowa voters expect.

“The verdict issued by Iowans and Americans leaves no doubt about what direction they want government to take. My message to Iowans is this: We heard you and we’re going to keep doing what we have been doing,” he said.

Whitver, who returned to the Senate floor after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor near the end of last year’s legislative session, said Senate Republicans plan to address the cost of living, cut taxes, create new career opportunities and ensure Iowans “have a safe community to call home.”

“It’s the first day of the 91st GA. It’s time to get to work doing the will of the people,” Whitver said of the General Assembly. “And as I noted, the will of the people is clear.”

Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City who last month was elected to serve as Senate Democrats’ leader, urged majority Republicans to work on legislative proposals with bipartisan support.

As examples, Weiner encouraged agenda-setting Republicans to work on the state’s unallocated opioid settlement funds, Iowa’s cancer rate — which is the second-worst and fastest-rising in the nation, cleaning Iowa’s waterways and creating more options for affordable housing.

Weiner said she learned the importance of bipartisan cooperation from working in the U.S. Foreign Service as a human rights officer and later consul general in postings that included Belgium, Germany, Turkey and Poland, and from her parents, both public servants.

“If I learned anything from my 26 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, it’s that no one person and no single party has all the answers,” Weiner said. “As public servants it is our job to ensure that essential rights and freedoms are guaranteed to all Iowans and to create a state government that is open, transparent and accountable to all.”

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‘We’re not done,’ Reynolds says

Kicking off opening day at the state party’s annual legislative breakfast early Monday in downtown Des Moines, Reynolds heralded state income tax cuts that went into effect beginning this year.

Iowa’s top individual income tax rate will drop from 5.7 percent to a 3.8 percent flat rate for all taxpayers starting this tax year.

“And we didn't just cut taxes, we kept spending in check so that we could continue to help Iowans keep more of their money,” Reynolds said at the Republican Party of Iowa event.

Iowa’s nonpartisan Revenue Estimating Conference projects the state will see a drop of $602 million in state revenues this fiscal year over last. The panel projects personal income tax revenue will fall by about $665 million — a 12 percent drop — in the coming budget year.

Republican lawmakers have said they are confident the state can withstand the projected reduction, noting Iowa has a $2 billion budget surplus, $961 million in its reserve accounts and $3.75 billion in a Taxpayer Relief Fund.

Reynolds said Republican leaders also “returned education back to the basics” — by limiting instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation, banning school library materials with sexual content and curbing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Iowa’s public universities — and raised K-12 teacher pay.

“And guess what? We're not done,” Reynolds said.

She promised Iowa will continue to be an example for other states.

Reynolds mentioned meeting with President-elect Donald Trump last week at his Florida resort, along with several other Republican governors, to game plan his ambitious 2025 agenda.

“Red state governors across this country are ready to help execute his agenda,” she said. “... And I think one of the things that's really exciting that we talked about is that Iowa can really be an example of what he's trying to do,” whether it's cutting taxes, reducing the size of government or education reform.

Grassley, Sinclair cite mandate

House Speaker Pat Grassley said while the November 2024 general election — both in Iowa and nationally — served as a “wake-up call to many,” Iowa House Republicans “woke up a while ago, already delivering lower taxes, providing educational choice” and ushering in a “return to common sense” on immigration and social issues that were concerns for voters.

Despite opposition dismissing these concerns as racist, sexist or “any kind of phobic you can think of,” Grassley said House Republicans remain committed to their agenda.

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“Our bills were characterized as an attack, hateful and divisive. But the reality is that while these issues are emotional, they’ve turned out to be more unifying than they ever were divisive,” Grassley said.

Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, during her remarks said statehouse Republicans’ legislative agendas have been rooted in common sense. And she pledged this year’s Republican-led bills will be the same.

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Sinclair suggested Republicans will look to address work requirements for public assistance programs, immigration, public safety and elections laws.

“Iowans have spoken. They’ve spoken loud and clear. They demand common sense and it is incumbent upon us to continue implementing those common sense solutions,” Sinclair said.

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Grassley again was sworn in as speaker of the House, a position he's held since 2019. His grandfather, Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, administered the oath of office to him.

The younger Grassley touted House Republicans’ creation of a new “Federal and Other Funds Committee,” which will help determine how to best spend federal dollars as Trump has indicated he would grant states more flexibility on how they can spend federal dollars.

He also highlighted the newly established House Higher Education Committee, which he said would take a comprehensive look at Iowa’s higher education system and determine potential changes that best meet workforce needs “and not enforce ideological agendas.”

“Taxpayer investment must be met with taxpayer return,” he said.

He said the state must continue to properly fund education “and ensure our schools are sticking to the core subjects like math, science, reading and history, and staying away from social issues.”

Grassley also emphasized the need for economic relief and addressing property taxes. Multiple property tax cut proposals are likely to emerge this session, he said. Whatever proposal lawmakers send to the governor must prioritize taxpayers over taxing entities, the speaker said.

Grassley said House lawmakers also will be looking to lower costs for Iowans including eliminating sales tax on everyday items, reducing child care and energy costs and expanding affordable housing.

Immigration, he said, “proved top of mind this election.” House Republicans stand ready to partner with the federal government to tackle the issue and “root out crimes related to illegal immigration like drug and human trafficking,” he said.

Grassley said it is also time for lawmakers to take action limiting cellphone use in classrooms “and putting parents in the driver’s seat of their kid’s social media accounts.”

House Democrats’ leader: ‘Iowans expect us to help’

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, urged House lawmakers to work across the aisle but expressed doubt that would be a common practice this session.

She noted the need for lawmakers to find solutions to the problems Iowans currently face, including the ballooning costs of child care, housing and health care.

“Every person in this room loves and cares about our state, we have that in common,” Konfrst said. “Let's let that be our uniting force before us. We have a choice. How are we going to spend those 110 days? Can we work together to make life better for all Iowans, or will the session be spent playing politics?”

“Iowans expect us to help,” Konfrst continued. “They expect us to ease their burden. Will we work together to make life better, or will division rule the day? Frankly, I don't have a lot of confidence already this morning. I hope we can do better.”

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House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, a Republican from Missouri Valley, echoed Konfrst’s call for bipartisanship and asked House members to listen to one another. He also pointed to the Republican supermajorities in both chambers as a sign that most of the state agrees with the party’s agenda.

“This chamber can be a shining example, despite what happens across the rotunda, despite what happens out in Washington, D.C.,” Windschitl said.

“Iowans have approved the agenda that we have moved through this chamber, approved of the agenda that we have moved through this state Capitol, and that's why we need to continue to listen to everybody,” Windschitl continued.

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Whitver thanks well-wishers

During his brief remarks, Whitver thanked the Iowans who wished him well in his recovery. Whitver said the recent news regarding his recovery has been encouraging, and that the tumor has been shrinking.

Whitver’s wife, Rachel, and the couple’s three children joined him for his remarks on the Iowa Senate floor.

“I still have a long ways to go before the tumor is behind me. But I will continue to battle it with everything I have,” Whitver said.

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Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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