Ashley Hinson’s Record on Water Pollution Faces Scrutiny in Senate Run

Iowa’s Hinson Faces Scrutiny Over Environmental Votes Amid Senate Run

Amid her campaign for the U.S. Senate, Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson’s voting record on environmental regulations, particularly concerning water pollution and hazardous chemicals, is drawing significant attention.

A recent poll by Food & Water Action in January 2026 revealed that 58% of Iowa voters consider water quality and pollution as serious issues. As concerns about water pollution rise, Hinson’s legislative actions are under the microscope.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), resistant to water, are used in a variety of consumer products. These chemicals have been linked to health risks such as cancers and birth defects when present in drinking water.

Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, explained to NPR that PFAS are “contaminating many rivers, many lakes, many drinking water supplies. And we’re finding them not only in the environment, but we’re finding them in people.”

In 2022, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) identified PFAS in at least 12 of Iowa’s drinking water sources.

Hinson’s voting history includes her 2021 decision against the PFAS Action Act, a bill aimed at empowering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address PFAS contamination with federal cleanup standards. Though it passed the House, the bill was halted by Senate Republicans.

From 2023 to 2025, Hinson voted four times to restrict the breadth of the Clean Water Act, including supporting measures to cut federal oversight of polluted waters.

In 2023, she backed a proposed amendment that would have curtailed the EPA’s role in addressing interstate water contamination. The amendment was not adopted.

Hinson has also been a supporter of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a controversial Trump administration initiative that made significant budget cuts. These cuts are now accused of delaying a Defense Department PFAS cleanup at 140 military sites, including two Air National Guard bases in Des Moines and Sioux City, which have reported high PFAS levels.

Des Moines Water Works had previously warned that PFAS at these military sites endangered the drinking water of 50,000 residents in central Iowa.

Reflecting on DOGE’s implementation, Hinson stated last year, “I think that this is exactly what the federal government needs,” emphasizing voter demand for “accountability and transparency” (source).

Hinson is campaigning to replace retiring Senator Joni Ernst, with her Democratic opponent to be selected in a June 2 primary.