Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) wants Congress back in Washington, but experts and critics pointed out that it's a curious ask from a lawmaker whose own party leadership shipped everyone home until after the midterms.
The Iowa Senate candidate, already reeling from backlash over her Iran war flip-flop, posted Tuesday that "The House should return to DC immediately to work to pause diesel exports, suspend the gas tax, fully unleash E15 and biodiesel, and work on a diesel relief program for truckers and farmers. Americans need relief and I'll work with anyone to deliver." She was responding to an Axios report that Trump now backs a ban on diesel exports.
It's the latest reversal from the representative, and political insiders suspect internal polling is the cause. Hinson spent months privately calling the war a "political liability" while publicly shrugging it off as "out of sight, out of mind," then pivoted to demanding it end after she'd voted six times to let it continue. Now she's demanding Washington reconvene, days after Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters "the House has done its work" and sent members home to campaign — with Hinson's blessing at the time.
Critics wasted no time. The Lincoln Project needled her twice, first asking "Those internal polls must look crazy, huh?" then reminding her "You voted for this. SIX times. Iowa, vote her out." Anti-Trump GOP strategist Sarah Longwell agreed that the "internals must look scary."
Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu had a simpler suggestion: "Um, have you tried calling your GOP Speaker?" Radio veteran Jamie Dupree made the same point, noting GOP lawmakers "were sent home until after the elections by their own leaders" and now want back in to handle "affordability issues that Republicans avoided in 2026."
Journalist Adam Carlson zeroed in on the timing, asking whether Hinson "just discover[ed]" record diesel prices or "just started caring" after "terrifying internal polling over the weekend." AIPAC Tracker piled on with the reminder that Hinson has voted against ending the Iran war four times this year. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan and Vox's Matthew Yglesias mocked the substance itself, with Yglesias simply writing: "lmao 'fully unleash E15 and biodiesel.'"
Former prosecutor Ron Filipkowski put it most bluntly, calling the statement "performative nonsense to distract from the damage her own votes did to her constituents thanks to the cult leader she obeys."
