Joni Kay Ernst (née Culver; born July 1, 1970) is an American politician and retired military officer serving since 2015 as the junior United States senator from Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served in the Iowa State Senate from 2011 to 2014 and as auditor of Montgomery County from 2005 to 2011. As Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee from 2023 to 2025, after ha... show more