Joni Ernst
- Previous profession
- The biography lists military service and no other work outside public office.
- Military service
- U.S. Army Reserve, 1993 to 2001; Army National Guard, 1992 to 2015
- First public office
- 2005Auditor, Montgomery County, 2005 to 2011
- Years in public office
- 20of 34 years since 1992, the first year the biography gives for any work
Confirmed from the official recordSource: Congressional Directory for the 119th Congress (2025-2026), February 20, 2026. We saved our copy on October 8, 2026.
What these lines mean
These lines come from this official’s entry in the Congressional Directory, which Congress publishes. Each member’s office supplies or approves its entry. We save our own copy and sort each part of the entry by fixed rules. No AI is used.
Previous profession lists the work the entry names outside public office, in the Directory’s own words. Public office here means an elected or appointed position, staff work for an elected official or a legislature, and party or campaign work.
Lifelong politician means: Congress’s biography lists no occupation outside public office. It also means the entry lists no military service. A person on our side confirms these words before they appear.
Years in public office counts elected and appointed positions only. Staff work and party work are left out. Each year counts once.
Since the current Congress began on January 3, 2025, Ernst has a recorded vote on 38 laws that passed.
This record covers laws that passed. Votes on bills that did not become law are not included yet.
The record in plain language
Of the 118 laws passed since January 3, 2025, 38 came to a recorded vote in the Senate while Ernst is a member. The rest passed the Senate by voice vote or without objection, which records no individual votes.
Ernst votes Yes on the Laken Riley Act on immigration detention; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 tax and spending law; the HALT Fentanyl Act; the GENIUS Act on stablecoins (digital tokens pegged to the dollar); the Rescissions Act of 2025, which cancelled about $9 billion in approved spending; the Secure America Act, a 2026 budget law; the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act; and the Russia and Iran sanctions law.
On funding the government, Ernst votes Yes on the March 2025 full-year funding law; the November 2025 law that ended the 43-day shutdown; the January 2026 funding law for science, energy, Interior and the EPA; the February 2026 funding law for a further group of agencies; and the September 2026 funding extension.
Congress cancelled 24 federal rules by recorded vote in the Senate in that time. Ernst votes to cancel 23 and against cancelling 0, and did not vote on 1. The rules Ernst votes to cancel come from: Interior: Bureau of Land Management (7), Environmental Protection Agency (6), Energy (4), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2), District of Columbia government (1), Treasury: Comptroller of the Currency (1), Treasury: Internal Revenue Service (1) and Interior: Ocean Energy Management (1).
Ernst votes the same way as most Senate Republicans on all 36 of these Yes and No votes.
Ernst did not vote on the defense policy law for fiscal year 2026 and the law that cancels a National Park Service rule that restricted where off-road vehicles could drive in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Votes on laws that passed
Most recent
Authorizes and expands sanctions and tariffs on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.
Keeps the federal government funded at about last year's levels through December 11, 2026.
A package of housing measures intended to increase the supply of homes.
Gives the Department of Homeland Security extra money for border and immigration enforcement, in seven amounts that add up to $69.545 billion.
What this member says about laws and orders
This section has two lists: statements in the official record, and excerpts from this member’s own press releases.
From the official record
Statements from the official record: Not checked yet. A statement appears here after a person reviews our account of the law or order it is about.
From this member’s press releases
No saved press release from this member names a law or an executive order.
Member-requested spending
Member-requested spending: none found in the 4 laws read so far.
Laws read: Public Law 119-37, Public Law 119-74, Public Law 119-75, Public Law 119-86.
Campaign promises
Promises kept: Not checked yet
Not checked yetA person has not reviewed this member’s campaign promises yet. This is what we hold so far.
- Campaign website: the Federal Election Commission’s record of JONI FOR IOWA gives none.Confirmed from the official record
Online ads
No advertiser in the ad libraries we read is tied to this member by an FEC number or an exact name.
Read from Google Ads Transparency Center, its data file of October 7, 2026. Meta Ad Library: Not started. An ad counts when the library last shows it on or after January 3, 2025.
Campaign money
For the 2026 election cycle, Ernst's campaign reports receiving $2,002,592.02 and reports spending $2,307,957.08, as of June 30, 2026.
Confirmed from the official record| What the filing reports | 2026 cycleFEC number S4IA00129as of June 30, 2026 | 2024 cycleFEC number S4IA00129as of December 31, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Money raised (total receipts) | $2,002,592.02 | $2,921,862.70 |
| Money spent (total disbursements) | $2,307,957.08 | $1,655,755.50 |
| Cash on hand (at the end of the period) | $1,934,477.68 | $2,239,842.74 |
| Debts (owed by the committee) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Where it comes from
| Reported as received from | 2026 cycleFEC number S4IA00129as of June 30, 2026 | 2024 cycleFEC number S4IA00129as of December 31, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals, itemized | $763,432.68 | $1,366,043.95 |
| Individuals, unitemized | $233,939.26 | $654,828.81 |
| Other political committees | $637,250.00 | $696,050.00 |
| Party committees | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| The candidate, contributions | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| The candidate, loans | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Committees
- ERNST MAJORITY COMMITTEE Joint fundraising committee · 2024 · FEC committee C00609370
- ERNST VICTORY IOWA Joint fundraising committee · 2024 and 2026 · FEC committee C00610428
- JONI FOR IOWA Principal campaign committee · 2024 and 2026 · FEC committee C00546788
- JONI'S ROAST AND RIDE Joint fundraising committee · 2024 and 2026 · FEC committee C00614198
- JOBS OPPORTUNITY AND NEW IDEAS PAC Leadership PAC · 2024 and 2026 · FEC committee C00566851
Every figure is copied from the Federal Election Commission. The campaign's committee reports each one.
See contributions by size and by state, and the saved FEC files
Who funds this member
Not checked yetWho funds this member: Not checked yet.
Not started. This official's FEC lists are not saved yet.
Reported stock trades
Not checked yetReported stock trades: Not checked yet.
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Where this comes from
We saved our own copy of each official Senate vote file listed here before writing this page. A code beside a file is its fingerprint, a short code that changes if the file's contents change.
