Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Senator, Chuck Grassley, have weighed in after President Donald Trump’s more than 80-minute State of the Union Address Tuesday night. Reynolds says she was pleased to hear the president discuss the importance of fair trade and called for the quick approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). “Mexico and Canada are Iowa’s number one and number two trading partners,” she says. “Having a strong trade agreement with these countries, such as the USMCA, is critical to the ag and manufacturing communities in Iowa and across the entire nation.” While many Democrats are referring to the president’s address as more of a pep rally than a report on the state of the union, Grassley says it was important for him to highlight the many accomplishments over the past two years with tax cuts and regulatory reform leading to a booming economy with near record unemployment. He also said the case President Trump made for border security was fair. “A physical barrier is a commonsense part of a broader border security plan,” Grassley says. “A deal to avert another government shutdown should include these priorities as well as end government shutdowns once and for all. Improved interior enforcement and the use of human and technological resources at the border would also help restore the rule of law when it comes to immigration.” Lawmakers are working two extra days at the beginning of next week, trying to come to a compromise that would forestall another government shutdown Feb. 15.
