TRUMP

Iowa politicians are sharply divided after the Trump administration used military force over the weekend to bomb Venezuela and abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, flying them to the US to face narcoterrorism charges.  Statements from Iowa’s Republican congressional delegation were unified in support of Maduro’s capture. They focused on Maduro’s alleged role…

Democrats are threatening to shut down the government unless Republicans restore health insurance subsidies that would otherwise cause Iowa ACA enrollees to pay an extra $1,080 per year for coverage. With just days left before the federal government could shut down, Democrats are insisting they won’t vote for any spending bill that doesn’t protect health…

What happens when a 940-page law tries to reshape America? Let’s see how it would play out in the Hawkeye State. Iowa’s Republican Congressional delegation is primed to provide a stamp of approval to President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” despite the potentially devastating impacts it stands to have on Iowa. The legislation slashes…

Despite its success, Ottumwa Job Corps is among the 99 programs the Trump Administration is shutting down. The closure eliminates over 100 jobs in small town Iowa, displacing the 240 at-risk youths served by the program. When Ajai Long finished high school, she found herself spiraling. Instability at home led her to couch-hop. Couch-hopping left…

Iowa will comply with a federal order to give Social Security numbers and other data to the federal government without resistance. Privacy advocates call it a “dangerous precedent” that violates constitutional protections. One in 12 Iowans — 259,300 to be specific — use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. It’s one of the nation’s…

A progressive veterans group will host Pete Buttigieg for a Cedar Rapids town hall this month to discuss the impact the Trump administration’s policies and DOGE cuts are having on our nation’s veterans. Former US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will take the stage in Iowa this month to discuss the impact federal cuts are…

A veterans voter education group is going after US. Rep. Zach Nunn in a new campaign over the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Progressive veterans group VoteVets is launching an ad campaign calling on Republican US Rep. Zach Nunn to oppose the mounting cuts and layoffs at the US…

Federal cuts are coming home to roost on Iowa farms. More than $11 million in funding that the USDA promised to Iowa’s local food system spoiled overnight, leaving farmers facing even greater unpredictability. Seeds are sprouting in greenhouses. Meat processing dates are locked in at local lockers. Iowa farmers have been planning all winter for…

“What’s going to happen is VA’s not going to perform as well for veterans, and veterans are going to get harmed,” said Michael Missal, who was the VA’s inspector general for nine years until he was fired last month by Donald Trump.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has dismissed more than 1,000 probationary employees just weeks after assuring stakeholders that a federal hiring freeze would not impact operations, raising questions about consistency in the agency’s messaging. Iowa has two major VA health systems in Des Moines and Iowa City.  The Veterans Affairs department claimed in January…