¶ Overview
Hinson defended the “Department of Government Efficiency” and was a member of the DOGE caucus. DOGE-driven cuts and downsizing were affecting the federal government’s ability to deliver services to seniors. More than 701,239 Iowans relied on Social Security benefits.
DOGE-driven cuts were making it difficult for Iowa veterans to receive care. DOGE-driven cuts led to layoffsacrossIowa. DOGE-driven cuts led to cancelled grants for research in Iowa’s higher educational institutions.
¶ Hinson Defended DOGE Cuts That Threatened Social Security, Iowan’s Livelihood And Iowa’s Economy
¶ Hinson Supported DOGE Cuts
¶ Hinson Praised DOGE
Hinson Was Defending DOGE On Television. Representative Ashley Hinson posted, “I joined @NEWSMAX to talk about @DOGE’s successes rooting out government waste. Here’s my reaction to the Democrats defending the egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars uncovered” [Twitter, @RepAshleyHinson, 2/22/25]
[AUDIO] Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was “Exposing All These Really Terrible Things That Taxpayer Money Has Been Spent On.” “You know, I think DOGE is doing what DOGE does well, which is exposing all these really terrible things that taxpayer money has been spent on. And yet the Democrats want to double down on business as usual.” [Jason In The House, 3/9/25]
Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was “Making The Government More Efficient & Effective For Taxpayers.” Representative Ashley Hinson posted, “Must-watch interview. The DOGE team - led by @elonmusk - is making government more efficient & effective for taxpayers.” [Twitter, @RepAshleyHinson, 3/30/25]
Hinson Claimed That DOGE “Uncovered Egregious Abuses Of Taxpayer Dollars.” Representative Ashley Hinson posted, “Every year, tax day is a glaring reminder of just how much the government takes. This year, it is even more frustrating as @Elon & @DOGE have uncovered egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. We are taking historic steps to root out waste and lower taxes for everyone, especially working families, while strengthening essential services so Iowa small businesses can grow, farmers can continue feeding & fueling the world, and families can succeed.” [Twitter, @RepAshleyHinson, 4/15/25]
Hinson Defended DOGE And Claimed That Money Saved Could Be “Redirected Toward Economic Channels.” According to Iowa Public Radio, “Hinson also reiterated her defense of the Department of Government Efficiency, saying that the money saved on government expenditures could be meaningfully redirected toward economic channels. ‘I would much rather see that go to places that are going to incentivize that trade access and market development, which are going to make us more competitive,’ she said. ‘I think the point of DOGE is to make sure those services are available to Americans long term, and we can strengthen those programs.’” [Iowa Public Radio, 4/25/25]
Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was “Exactly What The Federal Government Needs.” According to the Iowa Independent, “‘I think that this is exactly what the federal government needs,’ Hinson told reporters in February 2025, according to a Des Moines Register report flagged by the organization American Bridge 21st Century. ‘Taxpayers voted for accountability and transparency.’” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
- Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was “Exactly What The Federal Government Needs.” According to the Des Moines Register, “‘I think that this is exactly what the federal government needs,’ she said in a call with Iowa reporters Thursday. ‘Taxpayers voted for accountability and transparency.’” [Des Moines Register, 2/6/25]
¶ Hinson Was A Member Of DOGE Caucus
Hinson Was A Member Of The House DOGE Caucus. According to the Gazette, “ Hinson, a member of the House DOGE Caucus, reiterated she’s committed to supporting Trump’s and Musk’s efforts ‘cutting waste, fraud and abuse so we can sustain the key programs and investments that Iowans do care about.’” [Gazette, 4/3/25]
¶ Hinson Claimed That It Was “Critical” To Continue DOGE Spending Cuts
[AUDIO] Hinson Claimed That “It Is Important That We Are Doing DOGE At Every Level.” “And it is important that we are doing Doge at every level. Right. I think it's really, really important when we think about those happening. It needs to happen at the school district level, it needs to happen at the county level and it needs to happen obviously is happening at the federal level.” [Tele-Townhall, 4/1/25]
- Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was Important And That It Needed To Happen At Every Level Of Government. According to the Iowa Independent, “She advocated for replicating DOGE at the local level during an April 2025 telephone town hall. ‘It is important that we are doing DOGE at every level,’ she said in response to a question from a constituent about whether she’s doing anything to address rising property taxes, which fund local school districts in Iowa. ‘I think it is really, really important — when we think about DOGE happening, it needs to happen at the school-district level, it needs to happen at the county level, and it needs to happen — obviously, it is happening at the federal level.’” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
Hinson Claimed That It Was “Critical” To Continue DOGE Spending Cuts. According to the Des Moines Register, “‘It is absolutely critical that we continue that work,’ Hinson said. ‘I know Elon is no longer the public face of it, but that work is ongoing and those process improvements are happening every single day.’” [Des Moines Register, 3/12/26]
Hinson Claimed That DOGE Was “Systematically Across All Cabinet Secretaries.” According to the Des Moines Register, “‘That is where DOGE is right now, and it’s systematically across all cabinet secretaries,’ she said. ‘So they are changing the way government’s doing business.’” [Des Moines Register, 3/12/26]
- Hinson Claimed That DOGE Cuts Were Continuing. According to the Iowa Independent, “According to the Des Moines Register, Hinson told the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale in March that DOGE’s cuts are continuing: ‘It is absolutely critical that we continue that work … that work is ongoing and those process improvements are happening every single day.’” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
¶ Hinson Tells GOP Activists That DOGE Was Still Alive
Hinson Told Republicans In A Closed Door Gathering That DOGE Was Not Disbanded. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “US Rep. Ashley Hinson told a closed-door Republican gathering in Lake View this month that the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is still very much operational. When an audience member lamented that DOGE had disbanded, Hinson corrected him saying, ‘It’s not.’ ‘Elon [Musk] was a good person to get that initiative going, but he was a little bit of a firebrand,’ she said, talking about the billionaire who led DOGE. ‘… But the work continued at these agencies to try to uncover a lot of this waste.’” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
¶ Hinson Was Booed While Touting DOGE
[VIDEO] Hinson Was Booed While Touting DOGE. “At a recent chamber event that I was at Illinois County, I received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the work that DOGE is doing. (crowd jeers) Waste, fraud and abuse. And we can sustain key programs and investments. And no one has sought to tackle this difficult task head on and see it through until we had President Trump.” [Clayton County Town Hall, 05/28/25]
¶ DOGE Threatened Social Security
¶ At The Social Security Administration, Trump Administration Had Forced Mass Layoffs, Longer Wait Times and Frequent Website Crashes
HEADLINE: "Social SecurityStops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 6/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
¶ Hinson Celebrated The Reopening Of Decorah's Social Security Office That Was Closed Because Of DOGE Cuts She Supported
HEADLINE: Hinson Celebrates Reopening Of Social Security Office Closed By DOGE Cuts She Supported [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
Hinson Claimed That The Decorah Social Security Office Reopened Due To Her “Relentless Advocacy.” According to the Iowa Independent, “Hinson’s June 10 press release announcing the reopening cited her ‘relentless advocacy’ of reopening the office. ‘The fact that this office was closed for six months was unacceptable,’ Hinson said. ‘I wasn’t going to take no for an answer on this. Service is now resumed, and I will keep fighting to protect Social Security for all of our Iowa seniors.’” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
- Hinson Claimed That The Closure Of The Decorah Social Security Office Was “Unacceptable” And That Her Advocacy Led To The Restoration Of the Office. According to a press release from Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, “The Decorah Social Security office is now open after months of Rep. Hinson’s relentless advocacy to restore local access to critical services for Northeast Iowa residents. Rep. Hinson and community leaders released the following statements. ‘The fact that this office was closed for six months was unacceptable. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer on this. Service is now resumed, and I will keep fighting to protect Social Security for all of our Iowa seniors.’ — Congresswoman Ashley Hinson” [Press Release – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, 6/10/26]
Decorah’s Social Security Office Closed In Part Due To Low Staffing From DOGE Cuts. According to the Iowa Independent, “The office had been closed since the end of 2025 due to a lack of staffing. DOGE’s cuts to the federal workforce were behind the layoffs of more than 8,000 Social Security Administration employees between January 2025 and April 2026, including 32 in Iowa, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
- Decorah’s Closure Was A Result Of A Retirement As DOGE Was Reducing Staff In The Social Security Administration. According to KCRG, “ The office closed when the last staff member at the office retired last year. That retirement hit as the Trump Administration had slashed the federal workforce as part of its DOGE efforts to cut what it calls government waste. The Office of Personnel Management shows the federal government has shed 278,000 jobs since President Trump took office in January 2025, including 8,000 from Social Security Administration. Overall, Social Security employment has fallen from 61,869 in 2023 to 49,683 as of this past January.” [KCRG, 6/10/26]
Decorah’s Social Security Office Was Apart Of A Trend Of “Ghost Offices” That Were Unable To Function Due To Staffing Shortages. According to the Iowa Independent, “According to a report by KCRG-TV9 in Cedar Rapids, the Decorah office had been closed due to the retirement of its sole remaining staff member in late 2025. The closure, the outlet reported, was part of a national trend of ‘ghost offices,’ Social Security field offices left unable to function for months at a time by staffing shortages.” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
- DOGE Cuts Left Social Security Field Offices Critically Understaffed. According to the Iowa Independent, “On the day of his inauguration in January 2025, Trump created DOGE and used it to slash the federal workforce by 271,000 jobs, according to a December analysis by the libertarian Cato Institute think tank. Federal employees were offered early retirement incentives, and many of those who left were not replaced. Those workforce reductions left Social Security field offices across the country critically understaffed.” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
Some Decorah Residents Had Driven 90- Miles To Get Social Security Assistance At Other Offices During The Closure. According to the Iowa Independent, “KCRG noted in its report that some Decorah residents had driven 90 miles in each direction to get Social Security assistance at other offices during the closure.” [Iowa Independent, 6/15/26]
¶ DOGE Harmed Iowa’s Economy
¶ DOGE Harmed Farmers
USDA Eliminated $11.3 Million In Iowa’s Local Food Programs Which Resulted In Tens Of Thousands Being Lost By Iowa Farmers. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “The cuts deepened in March, when the USDA eliminated $1 billion in local food programs nationally, including $11.3 million in Iowa. Around 300 Iowa farm families were left facing large financial losses. Ashley Wenke of Pleasant Grove Homestead near Montezuma told the Register the cuts amounted to ‘tens of thousands of dollars in losses for our farm.’ Another farmer said, ‘We’re going to hustle, but we’re going to lose money.’” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
While DOGE Fired Agricultural Researchers And Rural Support Staff, Hinson Continued To Support DOGE. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “Hinson defended the cuts throughout. The Gazette reported in March 2025 that even as DOGE fired tens of thousands of federal workers—including agricultural researchers and rural support staff—Hinson said she supported DOGE’s work and had ‘a chance to hear directly from Elon.’” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
Iowa Farmers Reported Understaffed Local Farm Service Agency Offices. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “By April 2026, Iowa farmers were reporting understaffed local Farm Service Agency offices following DOGE layoffs. Maisah Khan, policy and partnership manager at the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation, said farmers were already seeing impacts at local Farm Service Agency offices, which she described as understaffed. ‘Those were the offices that served rural farmers, that served under-resourced farmers. They were the one-stop shop for farmers to go to our agencies to get resources, to learn about best practices,’ she said.” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
An Iowa Farmer Claimed That Cuts Were Making It Harder To Bring The Next Generation Into Farming. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “Van Buren County farmer John Whitaker told WQAD that the cuts were making it harder to bring the next generation into farming. ‘With the price of land and the price of machinery, we’ve got to have a way to get young people started in agriculture,’ he said.” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
¶ Farmers Haven’t Received Their Money Due To DOGE-Led Cuts
Shanon Jamison, A Farmer In Iowa, Was Supposed To Receive A $69,000 Federal Reimbursement But Didn’t Due To Trump’s Spending Freeze. According to the Washington Post, “Shanon Jamison, a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa, learned in late January that her $69,000 federal reimbursement for a cover crop to boost soil health and slow erosion was frozen due to an executive order from President Donald Trump.” [Washington Post, 2/20/25]
Jamison Never Received The Money And The Debt That She Owned Was Accruing Interest. According to the Washington Post, “After The Washington Post contacted the lawmakers’ offices Wednesday, spokespeople said Ernst and Miller-Meeks were advocating for Iowa farmers. But Jamison still doesn’t have her money, and the debt she owes is accruing interest.” [Washington Post, 2/20/25]
2025: $10 Million In Farmer Payments Were Frozen. According to the Iowa Starting Line, “In February 2025, the Des Moines Register reported that roughly $10 million owed to Iowa farmers had been frozen—payment for soil conservation work they had already completed under federal contracts. The freeze came at a particularly difficult moment: US farm income had fallen about 28% over the prior two years, and farmers were lining up financing for the upcoming planting season.” [Iowa Starting Line, 5/27/26]
¶ DOGE Cuts Led To Layoffs And Closures In Iowa
Headline: Fired Federal Employees In Iowa Warn Of Bigger Economic Impacts [KCRG, 2/19/25]
338 AmeriCorps Volunteers Lost Their Jobs Due To DOGE Cuts. According to We Are Iowa, “A total of 338 AmeriCorps volunteers in Iowa are now looking for opportunities elsewhere after their positions were suddenly cut. AmeriCorps is a very broad agency that enlists volunteers to assist with everything from education to disaster response. In some cases, the federally funded agency even helped people pay off their college tuition. The cuts are a part of the Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration's efforts to reduce government spending.” [We Are Iowa, 4/30/25]
DOGE Shutdown Seven Federal Offices Across Iowa Including IRS Offices. According to Iowa’s News Now, “The federal government is shutting down seven offices across Iowa as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative under the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The closures, which include IRS offices in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, are intended to reduce government spending, but inconsistencies in reported savings have raised questions about how much money, if any, is actually being saved.” [Iowa’s News Now, 3/10/25]
¶ DOGE-Led Cuts Resulted In The Loss Of Grant Money From Iowa Higher Education Institutions
Headline: Federal Research Funding Canceled In Iowa Includes Medical, Student-Driven Studies [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 9/16/25]
Seven NIH Grants Were Cut By The Federal Government Which Included Research Into Alzheimer’s And Genomes. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, “ National Institutes of Health grant terminations hit the University of Iowa hardest out of the dozens of universities housed in the state this summer, according to a national project working to compile grant dollars that have been frozen or canceled entirely as President Donald Trump and his administration seek to end federal funding for certain research. There are seven National Institutes of Health grants identified by Grant Witness to have seen some funds terminated in Iowa, with only one seeing possible reinstatement. They run the gamut of research — from cancer to cochlear implants, Alzheimer’s to vaccine messaging, genomes to access to research careers.” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 9/16/25]