The Republican who’ll be the new member of Iowa’s congressional delegation next year is hoping to be appointed to the House Ag Committee, the panel that will write the 2023 Farm Bill.
Congressman-elect Zach Nunn, who’s from Bondurant, is also aiming for a seat on the House Committee on Financial Services. The panel oversees the nation’s housing, banking, real estate and insurance sectors.
“This year, more than ever, we need to have some real responsibility in helping tame the economy,” Nunn said.
Sometime in 2023, congress will have to vote to raise the debt ceiling so the federal government can pay its bills. Nunn expects the Republican-led House to seek spending concessions from Democrats before agreeing to increase the debt limit.
“I think this is going to be a big stick that the House is going to hold over both the Senate and the administration,” Nunn said, “so we need to get to a point where we feel comfortable that our budget is not only sustainable, but it’s returning real economic growth back to our states and the private sector.”
Nunn is back in Iowa after a week in Washington, D.C. for new member orientation sessions. Starting in January, all six members of Iowa’s D.C. delegation will be Republicans.
“This is the first time we’ve all been Republican in the Senate and the House since the Eisenhower Administration,” Nunn said.
But Nunn suggested with a Republican-led House and Democrats in control in the U.S. Senate, there’s a chance to pass “pragmatic bills” that both parties can support.
“You know, the 80% of things we all agree on can be things that we can move forward with directly,” Nunn said.
Nunn posted a photo of himself with a bipartisan group of freshmen lawmakers on social media last week. Nunn said he intentionally sought-out newly-elected Democrats.
“It’s an amazing freshman class. Both the Republicans and Democrats put forward some really stellar candidates who ended up winning,” Nunn said. “…I made a point to reach out to some of my Democratic colleagues in similar districts, particularly farm states like Illinois across the river here, to have breakfast with and say: ‘This might be the best opportunity to forge a friendship, before we get into what happens in Washington, people go to their sides of the court and they never get a chance to talk to each other.'”
Nunn, a former Air Force intelligence officer, recently reconnected with people at U.S. Cyber Command. “I was privileged to work as professional staff under the Obama-Biden Administration on the National Security Council,” Nunn said. “I’ve reached out to those colleagues as well at the staff level.”
Nunn finished 2145 votes ahead of Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne in Iowa’s third district race. The third district stretches from Clarinda to Ottumwa and up to Des Moines.