Top WH officials encourage Ernst to run again in private meeting

Source: Politico

07/18/2025 07:33 PM EDT


Top White House officials privately met with Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa this week encouraging her to run for reelection in an effort to preserve the GOP majority.

The Tuesday meeting was held at the White House and included President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff James Blair, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to discuss details of the meeting.

The two implored Ernst to run for a third term, telling her the White House would “love to have her in the Senate,” though she has not definitively reached a decision yet, according to one of the officials.

The meeting comes as Senate Republicans have braced for Ernst, 55, to retire. Despite saying last year she intended to run for reelection, she has faced recent setbacks: losing her bid for the No. 3 spot in Senate GOP leadership and facing scrutiny from MAGA allies for voicing early concerns about Trump’s pick for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. She also earned a spate of harsh media coverage when she responded to town hall attendees angry about Medicaid cuts by saying, “Well, we all are going to die.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/18/hed-top-wh-officials-encourage-ernst-to-run-again-in-private-meeting-00464232