1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I’m writing as an Iowan who is disgusted by what you’re choosing to tolerate—and what you’re choosing to enable. Why are you okay handing away Congress’s power and treating creeping authoritarianism like it’s normal? Why are you okay watching federal agencies grow more aggressive and less accountable while you stand there, nod along, and call it “law and order”? Why are you okay with the racism, cruelty, and dehumanization hurled at immigrants—people who work, pay taxes, raise families, and contribute to our communities? When did “conservative values” become state-sanctioned cruelty? Iowa Republicans weren’t always like this. Governor Robert D. Ray—yes, a Republican—welcomed Southeast Asian refugees (including the Tai Dam) to Iowa in the 1970s because he believed in human decency, not scapegoating. Don’t tell me Republicans can’t lead with humanity. Iowa has already seen what that looks like. And don’t tell me Republicans can’t hold their own accountable. During Watergate, Republicans like Barry Goldwater, Hugh Scott, and John Rhodes confronted Nixon when his crimes became undeniable—because the Constitution mattered more than party loyalty. So where is your courage now? Why does it seem like not one Republican today will stand up to Trump and this administration for the American people? While you hide behind podiums and press releases, people are dying. On January 7, 2026, a Minneapolis woman—Renée Nicole Good—was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a federal operation. Now federal authorities are accused of blocking state investigators and keeping Minnesota officials away from key evidence. That’s what unaccountable power looks like in real life. If you can’t demand transparency and accountability when a federal officer kills someone in the street, what exactly are you in office to do? Minnesota leaders describe the federal government flexing force over an American state—flooding the area with agents, then trying to control the narrative afterward. That should alarm anyone who still believes in checks and balances. Yet your response is… what? Silence? Shrugs? Party-line obedience? Let me be blunt: your cowardice and complicity are starting to resemble the choices of people in 1930s Germany who told themselves it “wasn’t their job” or “wasn’t that bad.” History records that as enabling. So answer plainly: What line will you not cross? What would Trump have to do for you to oppose him publicly—clearly and without excuses? Why aren’t you demanding independent accountability in Renée Nicole Good’s killing and the federal decision to shut Minnesota out? Why are you okay with immigrants being treated as targets instead of human beings? Your oath is to the Constitution—not to a man, a party, or a movement. If you still believe in the America you campaign about, prove it. If you don’t, then admit it—and own the consequences. I expect a direct response, not a form letter.