Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a former member of Donald Trump’s veepstakes shortlist, will speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday on national security.
The Army veteran pulled herself out of the running for Trump’s running mate, saying she wanted to focus on Iowa instead.
This isn’t Ernst’s first time in the national spotlight. In 2015 she gave the Republican rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Her speech is widely remembered for her anecdote about wearing bread bags over her shoes as a child to keep them dry.
Last year, Ernst began hosting a new annual event called the Roast and Ride, a cattle call event which last year drew several presidential hopefuls, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The second annual Roast and Ride is scheduled for late August.
Ernst recently sponsored legislation that would ban Meatless Mondays from the military.
She won her seat as Iowa’s junior senator in 2014, and that campaign was best known for her ad about castrating hogs.
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