U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) was “embarrassed” to admit that he had never visited the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown before stopping by on Wednesday afternoon, but Commandant Todd Jacobus and his team were happy to welcome the Congressman and show him around the state’s largest nursing home for about an hour.

Jacobus gave Feenstra a rundown of some important details about IVH, which houses nearly 400 residents and employs about 700 people and currently has a waiting list, before showing him some of the special areas including the cafeteria, a chapel where Activities Assistant Jim Coppoc was leading a music lesson, the art room, the residential floors and the future home of the in-house pharmacy, which is currently located in a basement.

“We believe that if you meet the eligibility requirements to be living at the Iowa Veterans Home, this is the gold standard for long-term care,” Jacobus said, noting that IVH was one of two facilities in the state to receive a quality award last year.

Interim Division Administrator/Licensed Nursing Home Administrator Kelley Oetker also highlighted the longevity of several of the facility’s employees, some of whom have been with IVH for over 55 years. While they were conversing at the future pharmacy site, Jacobus, Operations Executive Administrator Nathan Wilson and Legislative Liaison Mike Olson advocated for HR1970, the Providing Veterans Essential Medications Act, which was introduced by another member of Congress from Iowa, Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks. It would require the federal VA to either pay for the medications or furnish them directly to the State Veterans Homes when a severely disabled veteran requires high-cost medications.

Once the tour was complete, Feenstra sat down with reporters to answer a few questions, some related to IVH and others on more general political topics.

“I’m so impressed with Iowa’s facility and how it’s run, and it’s jaw dropping to see how good this place is and how they take care of the most precious people that we have in this country, those that have served our country. And I just think it’s our duty at a federal level to we are taking care of those who have served — our veterans — and I’m so proud to be here and see that that is what’s happening here,” he said.

On HR 1970, Feenstra expressed general support for the idea that the financial burden for the aforementioned medications should fall on the federal government and not individual states. On the budget, the Congressman said cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security were “off the table,” and he would make sure of it.

When asked about the recent controversy swirling around Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Feenstra said he would “leave it to the administration” on any decisions about Hegseth’s future and whether or not he should resign or be fired. Finally, he was asked whether he would consider running for governor in 2026 since news broke that Kim Reynolds would not be seeking re-election.

“That’s a great question. I’ll tell you, right now I’m focused on fulfilling and making sure that we get Trump’s agenda completed. That is (budget) reconciliation. I’m deep in the weeds on reconciliation right now and getting the big, beautiful bill passed, and then number two is we also have the Farm Bill. That has to get done for our farmers, and that’s my critical focus,” he said. “However, I always want to do what’s best for our state, and I will continue to look at all aspects of what that looks like.”

When Des Moines Register reporter Brianne Pfannenstiel asked Feenstra if that meant he was “keeping the option” of running for governor open, he replied “I think that’s a fair statement.”