Iowa Rep. Hinson takes credit for federal funds she voted against

Over $829 million is flowing to the Upper Mississippi River for lock and dam repair, and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) is thrilled at the chance to take credit.

The only catch: Hinson called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — where the money for updating these locks and dams originated — “Washington gamesmanship at its worst.” When she voted against the bill, she said it was “the biggest leap toward socialism this nation has ever seen,” and said Iowans had sent her to Washington D.C. to fight against such bills.

Now, Hinson wants credit after she “helped lead” her colleagues in a push for the upgrades to be prioritized, she said in a press release.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who crossed the aisle in November to help the infrastructure bill pass the Senate, said in the same press release “When I voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, I was voting for exactly this type of federal support for critical infrastructure that Iowans depend on.”

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Elena Kuhn said in statement Wednesday, “Ashley Hinson’s sad and desperate attempt to take credit for funding she opposed is a slap in the face to the farmers, small business owners, and communities that will benefit from these ‘game-changing’ investments in Iowa’s infrastructure”

It’s hardly the first time Ashley Hinson has actively mislead her constituents. She previously accused the Democrats of wanting a “blank check” during the fight to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a catastrophic federal default in December.

When she was called out and her claim labeled false by numerous fact checkers, Hinson lashed out on Facebook by doubling down on the false rhetoric.

“Democrats tried to suspend the debt limit until 2022 to have a blank checkbook to spend your money how they want to.”

Hans Isakson, economist and professor emeritus at the University of Northern Iowa, said in an op-ed for the Des Moines Register that Hinson’s rhetoric was “dangerous talk.”

“The truth is that suspending the debt limit must be done not only to pay for the Trump tax cuts but also to make Social Security payments, not only to pay the salaries of all government employees including the military but also to pay all of the obligations already incurred by the federal government,” Isakson wrote.

Kuhn said on Wednesday that Hinson repeatedly standing in the way of infrastructure investments and its benefits and then turning around and attempting to lie about it “is Washington gamesmanship at its worst.”

Follow Zach Cunning on Twitter @zcheartlandsig