A new poll shows handling crime is now a relative strength for President Donald Trump, which outranks his handling of immigration and the economy.
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson on Thursday highlighted energy policies included in Republicans' massive tax and spending bill signed into law last month by President Donald Trump.
Hinson also voiced support for stepped-up immigration enforcement, and responded to questions about tariffs, the future of wind energy in Iowa and redistricting during a conference call with reporters.
Hinson, a Republican from Marion who represents northeast Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, said the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" would restore quarterly oil and gas lease sales, expand tax credits for biofuels and refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Former President Joe Biden's administration sold nearly 300 million barrels from the reserve, including a 180-million-barrel sale in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. The sales pushed the SPR to the lowest level in 40 years, according to reporting by Reuters.
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Hinson said the package is aimed at bolstering domestic energy production while giving consumers more choice.
"This is transformational legislation," Hinson said. " ... By advancing smart permitting reform, ensuring tax certainty for energy producers and rejecting harmful mandates, we can and will secure an affordable, reliable American-made energy future."
Hinson said the bill represents "a new golden era of energy dominance" and argued it would restore jobs, encourage investment and give families freedom to choose the cars they drive. She also pointed to Iowa's role as a leader in renewable fuels, saying the legislation ensures biofuel benefits "can be passed on to Iowa farmers."
Hinson supports stepped-up ICE enforcement in sanctuary cities
On immigration, Hinson praised reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up enforcement operations in so-called sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago. She said Iowa does not have sanctuary cities because of actions by state leaders, but argued federal law must be upheld.
"We should not be helping to support cities that are not following federal law," she said. "I want to see a signal to the country that this lawlessness will not be tolerated."
Hinson noted that ICE has already arrested thousands of people in Los Angeles as part of the effort and the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which included funding to allow for "up to 1 million deportations a year" as well as additional detention capacity.
Hinson backs 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy
Asked about the future of wind energy, Hinson said she supports an "all-of-the-above" approach that includes renewables, nuclear, natural gas and expanded production across the board.
Drawing on Iowa's position as a leading renewable energy producer, she argued for balance -- supporting wind and solar while also preserving traditional energy sources to maintain grid stability and energy reliability.
Hinson said she's continuing to have conversations with industry leaders on reducing regulatory hurdles that delay new energy infrastructure, underlining a push to remove red tape and boost production across multiple energy sectors.
"I do think renewables play a role, especially in Iowa," she said. "But we also need more natural gas and more nuclear. Those are the places where we need certainty."
Republicans' tax and spending law rolls back clean-energy tax credits for wind projects, significantly reducing future financial support. While construction can continue until mid-2026 for some projects, facilities placed in service after Dec. 31, 2027, will lose eligibility for these credits, making new wind energy development less financially viable and potentially slowing its growth.
Visiting Iowa's Ames National Laboratory earlier this month, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said wind energy production will need to start standing on its own.
Wright said wind power has matured after 33 years of subsidies and should now compete without government aid.
Nearly 60% of the energy generated in Iowa is produced by wind, according to state data, and the wind energy industry employed nearly 4,000 Iowans in 2021 and accounts for at least $22 billion in capital investment in the state, according to the Iowa Environmental Council.
The fossil fuel industry received $620 billion in government subsidies in 2023, according to calculations from the International Energy Agency.
Iowa Republican U.S. Joni Ernst, who joined Wright during his visit of the Ames lab, said she is working with the administration to ensure projects that have already been approved for tax incentives receive them, but that she agrees the time has come to allow the incentives to expire.
"It doesn't mean our wind energy is going away. It just means that those tax credits will be phased out," Ernst said. "We understand that we've reached a mature level within the industry, and so as with any tax credit you want it to further or start a project, but at some point we need to face away from that and then look at other new, innovative technology that's coming forward and invest in those types of technologies."
Hinson and fellow Iowa Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks also joined Wright during a press conference at the lab in Ames earlier this month.
Iowa's other Republican U.S. senator, Chuck Grassley, said guidance released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for wind and solar projects seeking to qualify for clean energy tax credits "seems to offer a viable path forward for the wind and solar industries to continue to meet increased energy demand."
"Renewables are an essential part of the 'all of the above' energy equation," Grassley said in a statement. "I'll continue speaking with industry leaders to ensure those in Iowa and nationwide are afforded a smooth off-ramp, as Congress intended."
Known as the "father of wind energy," Grassley authored the first ever federal wind tax credit in 1992.
Grassley has said he worked with other Republicans "to provide wind and solar an appropriate glide path for the orderly phaseout of the tax credits," and that like Ernst he also is working to ensure credits already awarded to projects are honored.
Climate Power, a strategic communications firm highlighting how clean energy investments benefit local communities, criticized Trump and Iowa Republicans for opposing clean energy, warning that will cost Iowa jobs and raise energy prices.
The group projected that repealing federal clean energy tax credits could increase the average family's utility bill by $170 within a decade, while Iowa could lose 10,900 clean energy jobs by 2030 and 15,400 by 2035. Climate Power argued the rollback undermines Iowa's clean energy industry, hurting both workers and consumers.
Hinson defends Trump trade policies amid John Deere layoffs
Thursday's press call also touched on agricultural concerns after Moline-based John Deere announced plans earlier this month to lay off 230 workers at plants in Iowa and Illinois, citing weak commodity prices and rising tariff costs that have reduced customer demand for its equipment. The company said that it had already incurred $300 million in tariff expenses year-to-date and forecast that full-year tariff costs would reach nearly $600 million.
In a statement, Deere & Company attributed the layoffs to a decrease in demand and lower order volumes, saying: "This is a challenging time for many farmers, growers, and producers, and directly impacts our business in the near term."
Hinson defended the Trump administration's trade policies and said work is underway to expand market access for Iowa farmers.
"President Trump is never going to abandon Iowa farmers and producers," she said. "Restoring that dominance when it comes to the global order of trade doesn't happen overnight, but the number one thing I've heard from farmers is they want access to markets so they can continue to feed and fuel the world."
Hinson praises Iowa's redistricting model, rejects federal mandate
In response to a question about whether Iowa's nonpartisan redistricting system should serve as a national model, Hinson praised the state's process but cautioned against federal intervention.
"Iowa is a model for other states to follow," she said. "But I do not want a federal takeover of all elections. Other states and their voters need to be speaking up about their redistricting process."
Hinson criticized Democrats for what she described as decades of gerrymandering, saying Republicans are "finally fighting back." She also criticized Texas Democrats who left the state to block GOP redistricting legislation as engaging in "a political stunt."
"We're going to keep delivering on common sense policies and bringing more people into the Republican Party," she said.
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