Celebrating one year of the Trump administration
One year ago, 77 million Americans made their voices heard. President Donald Trump returned to the White House with a clear mission, to put America first, restore common sense and deliver results for working families. Twelve months later, the results speak for themselves. President Trump is keeping his promises by making Iowa stronger, safer and more economically prosperous.
Four years after disastrous Joe Biden-era policies drove up inflation, weakened our borders and destroyed our energy independence, the Trump administration wasted zero time reversing that course. I am proud of the work I have done with President Trump to deliver results for Iowa, including lowering costs for families, farmers, seniors and small businesses.
As the only member of Congress serving on both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, my main focus remains on growing our economy, reviving manufacturing, supporting our small businesses and making life more affordable for Iowans. Through President Trump’s historic Working Families Tax Cuts, which I helped write, we saw the most pro-family, pro-worker, pro-farmer legislation in our nation’s history.
Simply put, this law delivered the largest tax cuts for working families in American history. As a result of our work, the average tax refund will increase by $1,000, a family of four earning as much as $73,000 will pay no federal income tax at all, and Iowa workers will see up to a $7,200 increase in real wages. Iowa families also will see nearly $32,000 enhanced standard deduction, a permanently expanded child-care tax credit and new investment accounts for newborns. Iowa workers will no longer pay taxes on their hard-earned tips or overtime, and Iowa seniors will not pay taxes on their Social Security benefits.
For small businesses and manufacturers, we made permanent the 20 percent deduction on qualified business income, ensuring that our Main Street enterprises can keep more of their earnings, and strengthened provisions to encourage business investment, job creation and economic growth in communities of all sizes.
The Working Families Tax Cuts also secured major wins for Iowa agriculture. We strengthened crop insurance, increased outdated reference prices for corn and soybeans, invested in homegrown Iowa biofuels, and helped farmers finance new equipment purchases. This law also includes my legislation to increase the exemption for the death tax to $15 million so that our family farms can be passed from one generation to the next, and my legislation to lower the cost of crop insurance for young and beginning farmers. Taken together, these measures will ensure that Iowa farmland stays in the hands of Iowa farmers and the next generation, and away from China and our foreign adversaries.
President Trump also has worked tirelessly to strengthen public safety and reverse the Biden-era open-border policies that invited chaos, made drug cartels richer and allowed violent criminals to roam free in our communities. On his first day in office, he completely secured our border and restored law and order. Since then, illegal border encounters have plummeted, border wall construction was quickly restarted, cartels were designed as foreign terrorist organizations and Border Patrol officers have the resources and support they deserve to keep our country safe.
Securing our border is not just about numbers, it’s also about saving lives. I’m humbled that the first bill that President Trump signed into law included my legislation, Sarah’s Law to honor 21-year-old Iowan, Sarah Root, who was tragically killed by a drunk-driving illegal immigrant. Sarah’s Law ensures that illegal immigrants who harm or kill Americans are detained and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law — not released on bail without answering for their crimes. Thanks to President Trump standing up for the American people, lives are being saved and justice is being served.
Working to support Iowa farmers and manufacturers, President Trump has also negotiated strong trade deals and restored American leadership on the global stage. We have secured historic trade deals with the European Union, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. These trade deals have opened new markets for Iowa corn, soybeans, beef, dairy and pork while ensuring that foreign countries no longer rip off the United States. Thanks to President Trump’s incredible leadership, we are holding foreign nations accountable, eliminating unfair barriers, and putting the Iowa producer first.
The results truly speak for themselves. Billions in new imports, trillions in domestic investment, and hundreds of thousands of new American jobs and opportunities. Just one year in office, President Trump has restored border security, unleashed energy dominance, cut taxes and put working families first.
This is just the beginning. I will continue to work side-by-side with President Trump to lower costs, grow our economy, protect our communities and usher in America’s golden age.
This op-ed was originally published in the Northwest Iowa Review on January 26, 2026.