Washington, DC (RI) — All but one member of Iowa’s congressional delegation attended Wednesday’s inauguration.
Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat, endorsed Biden just before the Iowa Caucuses. Axne said at the time that Biden was the one candidate who had the experience and the heart to bring the country together. On Wednesday morning, she tweeted that the inauguration is “the start of working to unify, heal and build the country back better than ever before.”
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion, a Republican, posted a statement on Facebook on Wednesday morning. Hinson says she’s among the thousands of Iowans who voted for Trump, but “in a democracy you don’t always get the result you want and it’s time to move on.”
Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa, issued a statement Wednesday morning. She tweeted what she described as her sincere willingness to work together with Biden on COVID relief, infrastructure, and rebuilding the economy.
Also on Wednesday morning, Miller-Meeks and Hinson signed onto a letter with a group of other Republicans in the U.S. House. The letter said: “the partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans does not serve a single American.”
Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst attended the inauguration. Grassley tweeted a photo from his vantage point and said he looks forward to working with Biden and Vice President Harris on behalf of the people of Iowa. Ernst called the inauguration a “sacred tradition” and, in a tweet, Ernst described herself as an eternal optimist who hopes to work with the Biden-Harris Administration in a bipartisan way to deliver for the American people.
Congressman Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull is in Iowa. He was to attend “senior night” for his daughter’s basketball team at Dordt University this Wednesday evening, then return to DC this Thursday.
