Friday at a round table discussion with Black community leaders at Creative Visions in Des Moines, IA, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said she supported renaming military bases that honor Confederate generals even though Republican voter’s in her home state are giving her “crap.”
Ernst discussed her support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) amendment in the Defense Authorization Bill that would require the renaming all military bases honoring the Confederacy.
President Donald Trump threatened to veto the bill if it includes the Warren amendment.
Ernst said, “I could care a whit if we keep those names because they were Confederate generals. I supported Elizabeth Warren and her amendment.”
She continued, “I’ve been getting heck from my own party. Again we keep going back to party and Republicans this and Democrats that. I’m willing to take that from my own party because it’s the right thing to do. Those bases never should have been named after Confederate generals. It was horrible. So I agree.”
She added, “I have taken a lot of crap from supporters here in Iowa that are like, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t have done that.’ But I think it’s the right thing to do. And so I’m willing to take that because I do believe we should change those base names.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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