WTF Joni?!

Joni Ernst is an enigma

When I was in college, I had a friend who said, “Patrick told me I am a… what’s that word?... enema! He said I was an enema because I’m full of unexplainable contradictions. Do you think I’m an enema?” Maybe Joni Ernst is really an enema. Or maybe she just needs one, because she is full of contradictory shit!

Since I have been in Iowa, I regularly call or write to voice my opinion on decisions being made in Congress. Lately, in fact, I have been calling Joni to voice my confusion over her contradictions and have asked for a reply. Nothing yet. But I do have an inbox full of form letters thanking me for voicing my concerns,

Besides being one of my senators to call, she wasn’t really on my radar until news came out about the town hall, where the skeptical crowd was speaking out against the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and the cuts to Medicaid. I applaud her for actually holding a town hall, unlike Randy Feenstra, our House Representative, who has not shown his face, except for his own campaign events. At this event, a panicky Iowan shouted, “People will die!” Ernst rolled her eyes and said, “Oh my goodness, we’re all gonna die.” This caused quite the uproar on the interwebs, and the next day she put out a video, which I believe she called an apology. In the video, she is talking into her handheld phone as she walks through a graveyard.

“Hello, everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall... I mistakenly assumed that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth. So, I apologize. I'm really, really glad that I did not have to discuss the tooth fairy as well. But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Talk about eye rolls. I nearly sprained my eyeballs, hearing this mean-spirited message to her own constituents. I was not raised with any particular religion. But when I was thirteen, I traveled to Mexico. We visited many cathedrals where I learned about the works of Jesus, and was fascinated by the frescos of the stations of the cross. I came away being a fan. I decided, as King Whistle said in 1990, “Jesus was way cool.” He seemed to embody the principles of civil rights, social justice, and radical kindness that I was raised to value. Since then, it baffles me to hear someone invoking his name while they spew disrespect, lies, or hate. Um, Joni - what are you thinking??

I believe I added something like that as a comment in one of the letters I sent, opposing the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which takes money from social services such as SNAP benefits and Madicaid, in order to lower billionaires’ taxes and fund immigration raids and detentions.¹

I imagine as a result of one of those letters, I have been included in her mailing list and regularly get her newsletters titled “Joni on the Job” and “Make ‘Em Squeal.” The latter specifically highlights her efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending.

Now I don’t know how many of you live near hog confinements but the first time I heard a truckload of hogs driving by with multiple hogs “squealing” more like screaming in pain and terror, I felt sick to my stomach at the horror of factory farming and what we put our fellow living beings through. Every time I see her tag line “Make ‘em Squeal,” I am watching that semi speed down our gravel road with hogs stacked and screaming, and I feel disgust oozing through my body. ( I have to admit, it took me a few years to stop eating factory-farmed beef and pork, and I do still eat chicken. Am I an enema?)

The reason I find Joni an enigma, though, is that she does do some commendable things while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the fraud and grift perpetrated by the commander in chief and his cabinet, whom she has somehow pledged allegiance to, although she isn’t running for a third term.

Since the Biden administration, much of her focus has been on improper use of COVID funds, what she calls “Lazy Bureaucrats,” ie, people working from home, or working in two different departments, and double-billing for their services.² Though not a word on how Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, spent COVID funds on a jet that she has allegedly used for personal use.³

I admire Ernst for speaking out as a survivor of sexual violence in the military and expressing concern about Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense.⁴ But then she turned around and voted to confirm him.

This is from her May 20, “Make ‘em Squeal” newsletter.

“When Americans send their tax dollars to Washington, they deserve to know their hard-earned money will be carefully safeguarded and responsibly spent.”

Yet, fraudsters are ripping off $1.4 billion of taxpayer money every single day. That’s a lot of money to go missing without anyone noticing.

Like I’ve always said, if you can’t find waste, fraud, or abuse in Washington, there can only be one reason: you didn’t look.

Well, folks all around the country are looking, and what they are seeing is shocking.

Doesn’t reading this make one think, ‘Oh, finally a Republican looking at the waste in the Trump administration!’? But no.

I do commend her for wanting more transparency in government, so we know where our taxes are being used. But she shines the spotlight on allegations of fraud and waste commited by “lazy bureaucrats”, and not only doesn’t question Kristi Noem’s $220 million no bid ad campaign,⁵ but she invites Kristi on a motorcycle ride.⁶ Nor does she say a thing about Kash Patel’s use of government jet and security details to go on date nights with his girlfriend and hunting trips.⁷

She has fought for more transparency in spending by the Pentagon, but doesn’t make a peep about the 1-2 billion dollars spent daily on the illegal Iran War. In fact, she has repeatedly voted against the War Powers Resolution, which would eventually put a stop to the poorly planned, wasteful, costly, and damaging actions of Trump and the Pentagon.

She does not push back on Trump’s vanity projects⁸ in DC or the taxpayer money spent to outfit the gift of a personal jet from the government of Qatar.⁹

Crickets from her when it comes to the millions of dollars the Trump family has amassed since he came back into office, with cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and branding during the UFC fight hosted on the White House lawn.¹⁰

“Folks,” she says in the May 20 newsletter, “the fleecing is occurring in plain sight.”

Yes it is Joni, perpetrated by the Trump administration and his cabinet.

What I wonder is- who is her allegiance to and why? She is not running for re-election. Could she have visions of a cabinet position someday? Or Governor?

What I can tell is that her allegiance is not to all Iowans - those who need medicaid, rural hospitals, or SNAP benefits, considering her vote for the “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

Her allegiance is not to her constituents, who are suffering from high gas prices or farmers who are struggling to afford diesel and fertilizer, considering her votes against the War Powers Act and the damage the Iran War has caused our economy.¹¹

Her allegiance is not to the everyday bureaucrats who help the country run, considering how often she uses the word bureaucrats as if it were a dirty word.

Her allegiance is not to fellow service members’ families who have lost loved ones in this senseless war. Or her fellow female service members, considering she voted to have an abusive, incomptent, unqualified, TV host as Secretary of Defense, who has blocked promotions for women and people of color.¹²

Her allegiance is not to the ecosystem of Iowa when she decries spending on planting pollinator-supporting wildflowers along the highways.¹³

Who does she pledge her allegiance to? Not the Jesus I know, that’s for sure. What would her pledge of allegiance look like on the 250th birthday of this nation?

This is mine:¹⁴

I pledge allegiance to those who believe in taking care of one another. Who do not judge on the skin color, accents, status, job title, or identity. Who see harm and work to repair - no matter who is at fault.

I pledge allegiance to the ebony damselfly with its velvet black wings and oil on water irredecent twig of a body. I pledge allegiance to the white puffs of clouds drifting in formation across the deep blue expanse of Iowa sky.

I pledge allegiance to the pockets of blue surrounded by red, the red dots in blue bubbles, to those who think with their brains and hearts, not their algorithims, bank accounts, or election odds.

I pledge allegiance to the branches filled with birds, twittering, cheeping, chittering, screeching. To the red flash of cardinal and to pheasants standing watch on the roadsides, decked out like going to a fancy dress ball.

I pledge allegiance to the gosling crossing guards - the two adult geese who monitor gaggles of youngsters who waddle their way across roads or bike paths.

I pledge allegiance to the children I’ve met who have walked hundreds of miles across borders, through jungles, cities, and deserts to join family in this nation, looking for safety and security.

I pledge allegiance to the gender queer youth who declare their identy despite the confusion and vilification coming from generations before. To their cis, straight peers who are at ease with ambiguities and the full spectrums that are present in our lives - and always have been.

I pledge allegiance to the prairies where roots tendril deep and flowers nourish birds, butterflies and bees. Whose subtle colors and swaying grasses once covered 90% of this land and now only exist on 1%.¹⁵

I pledge allegiance to the growing movement of landowners and sustainable farmers who buck the system of corporate factory farms and big ag. Who struggle to maintain happy and healthy land, food, animals, and community.

I pledge allegiance to those who cling to the remnants of our democracy and who strive to learn from mistakes made in the overreliance on capitalism.

I pledge allegiance to the pockets of forests within city limits, the beings who inhabit them and the people who value and care for them.

I pledge allegiance to the young people who, despite having grown up in the age of social media and smartphones, are critical thinkers and are able to rise up and speak out against the injustices that surround them.

I pledge allegiance to the music makers, the pen and paint pushers, the body movers. To those who make art, words, humor, beauty, and sorrow to help others think and feel.

I pledge allegiance to my cat.

1. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/one-big-beautiful-bill-a-prMedicaideliminary-assessment/

2.

I’m curious how much taxpayer money is going to the time she spends finding the perfect allitererations for he snarky Senate statements.

3. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/02/26/gov-kim-reynolds-says-she-only-flew-for-official-use-in-state-patrol-plane/

4. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/05/congress/ernst-declines-to-support-hegseth-00192776

5. https://people.com/incomplete-list-of-what-kristi-noem-220m-ad-campaign-bought-including-horses-makeup-and-items-from-a-magic-store-11934634

6. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/10/11/ernsts-final-roast-and-ride-filled-with-talks-on-shutdown-dmps-superintendent-arrest/

7. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-probe-fbi-director-kash-patel-fbi-gulfstream-jet/

8. https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/05/13/trumps-other-vanity-projects-will-cost-1625-million-in-addition-to-14-billion-ballroom-possibly-funded-by-taxpayers/

9. https://thehill.com/opinion/lindseys-lens/5423497-hegseth-rerouting-pentagon-funds-to-refurbish-qatari-jet-into-air-force-one/

10. Too many stories to site, but here’s a good rundown compiled by Senator Chris Murphy. https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-six-weeks-in-this-white-house-is-on-its-way-to-being-the-most-corrupt-in-us-history

11. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00129.htm

12. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/03/pete-hegseth-navy-promotion-list

13. I cannot for the life of me find her newsletter that I saw about this, but in my search I came across this beautiful post. Enjoy the flowers. Ernst’s opinions are referenced in the comments at the end. https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2025/07/02/a-red-white-and-blue-iowa-wildflower-celebration/

14. I generated this, inspired by this post from the fabulous Laural Moulton:

Two Vultures Fly to Vegas

15. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/07/how-americas-prairie-was-nearly-destroyed-and-why-it-should-be-restored/