Free Republic

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is trailing her Democratic challenger for Iowa's Senate seat, putting a once-safe GOP race in doubt, according to an early poll.Ernst, 49, has support from 43% of likely Iowa voters compared to 46% who told Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll researchers they'd cast a ballot for Democrat Theresa Greenfield. Another 7% remain undecided.J. Ann Selzer, whose firm Selzer & Co. conducted the poll, said this was the first survey fielded since Ernst, a President Trump ally, first ran for the Senate in 2014, which showed her behind her opponent.“Symbolically, that's certainly meaningful, even if Theresa...

A Senate Republican is standing up for a GOP colleague in his contentious reelection bid, despite opposition from President Trump. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will speak at a Phoenix fundraiser for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in support of the senator's reelection campaign against a pro-Trump challenger, according to azcentral.com. Ernst will appear at a Young Republicans meet-and-greet event on Sept. 7, followed by a "Women for Flake" fundraiser the next day, Flake's campaign told the paper.

<p>Two Republican senators have split from their colleagues in calling for Donald Trump’s alleged rape of the author E. Jean Carroll to be investigated. Carrol, an advice columnist for Elle magazine, claims in an upcoming book about “hideous men” in her life that the US president forced himself on her in a changing room at New York’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996. She describes a “colossal struggle” in which Mr Trump entered her “halfway – or completely, I’m not certain”.</p>

GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 09/30/19 06:00 AM EDT 13,753 Republican senators scrambling to protect President Trump from a formal impeachment inquiry are attacking the credibility of the whistleblower who filed a complaint. GOP lawmakers are asserting the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the actions detailed in the complaint and question whether the person had a political agenda. “It doesn’t come from a person with personal knowledge. It’s like I heard these people say this, and now I’m reporting it. I think that is pretty bizarre,” said Sen. John...

WASHINGTON — Even as they are set to acquit President Trump in his impeachment trial this week, Senate Republicans appear to be increasingly breaking with his defense that he did nothing wrong. © Erin Schaff/The New York Times “I think he shouldn’t have done it — I think it was wrong,” said Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, center right. “Inappropriate, was the way I’d say it. Improper, crossing the line.” On Sunday, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who was a key vote against calling witnesses in the Senate trial, expanded upon his criticism that Mr. Trump was “crossing the line”...

Republican senators on Tuesday began vocalizing their opposition to Stephen Moore, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, amid widespread criticism that the economic commentator is unfit for the job. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) both told reporters that they’re not confident in Moore, whom many economists have called out as a partisan pick more known for promoting conservative fiscal policy than for having any economic expertise. Ernst, the first Republican to speak out, told CNN it was “very unlikely” that she’d support Moore’s nomination and that she didn’t believe he would be...

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Sunday she would rather not see the U.S.-Mexico border close despite threats by President Trump to prevent certain groups of migrants from crossing into the U.S. "We would prefer that we keep it open, so let's work really hard to make sure that we're addressing the asylum seekers before they actually come over the border," Ernst said on CNN's "State of the Union."The Iowa Republican was responding to Trump's suggestion that he may close the southern border if Mexico does not agree to hold migrants while the U.S. processes their asylum claims. "I think the...

Two Republican senators said Tuesday the rape allegation made against President Donald Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll should be explored to determine the veracity of the allegation against the President -- even as many Senate Republicans sidestepped questions over the matter and defended Trump. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said both Trump and Carroll should be questioned about the alleged assault. "I think anybody that makes an accusation like that, they should come forward," Ernst said when asked if Carroll should be believed. "But obviously there has to be some additional information. They need to interview her. They need...

en. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said President Donald Trump has "a number of flaws" but she supports many of his policies. When asked about Trump's comments about women and the disabled, she said, "Would you say they're character flaws? I think it's more than character flaws. Well, and I think that we have a president that has a number of flaws," she said at a Tuesday town hall meeting in Iowa, according to KTIV in Wall Lake, Iowa. She then said she and the president share the same opinions on a number of policy issues. "I think I support a majority...

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said on Tuesday that President Trump's frequent trips to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida bother not only her, but other members of the Republican caucus. "I do wish he would spend more time in Washington, D.C.," Ernst said during a town hall meeting. "That's what we have the White House for." Since he took office, Trump has spent seven out of the last 13 weekends at his self-described "Southern White House" in Palm Beach. The visits have stirred controversy, in part because of the enormous costs associated with such frequent travel. One estimate of the weekend...

Multiple Republican senators broke with President Trump on Wednesday after he announced on Twitter than transgender troops would be banned from serving in the military. In separate statements, GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Richard Shelby (Ala.), and Orrin Hatch (Utah) all criticized Trump for his decision that Obama-era rules allowing transgender troops to serve would be reversed. McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, ripped the call and said that Trump shouldn't be making policy announcements via tweet. “The President’s tweet this morning regarding transgender Americans in the military is yet another example of why major...