Gov. Kim Reynolds answered questions alongside former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on economic policy at the Free Enterprise Summit hosted by the Common Sense Institute of Iowa in Des Moines March 11, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday there may be some economic difficulties caused by the Trump administration’s cuts to federal spending and workforce, but the overall trajectory to reduce government size and spending will bring positive changes.
Reynolds spoke alongside former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey at the Common Sense Institute of Iowa’s Free Enterprise Summit. It was the first event for the Iowa chapter of the Common Sense Institute, a Colorado-based think tank focused on research and promotion of free market enterprise. CSI Iowa presented Reynolds with the “2025 Free Enterprise Trailblazer Award” for her work on tax policy and government alignment in Iowa at the event, alongside having her answer questions with Ducey during a “fireside chat” session.
Joe Murphy, board chairman of CSI Iowa and president of the Iowa Business Council, asked Reynolds and Ducey for their perspective on President Donald Trump’s first 60 days in office. Since Trump’s inauguration, he has taken actions toward mass deportations and worked with billionaire Elon Musk through the Department of Government Efficiency, the temporary organization also referred to as DOGE, to make major cuts to the federal workforce and spending on research, grants and programs like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Ducey said he believes many of the measures taken by Trump and his allies are positive, saying he supports measures to “secure our borders,” reduce government regulations and lower taxes. However, Ducey — the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery — said as businesses rely on certainty and predictability, some business owners may be troubled by the fluctuation in the markets caused by Trump’s actions.
“I know that the president ran on this agenda, and he won on this agenda,” Ducey said. “And I think it’s important that he communicates why he’s doing certain parts of the agenda, so that the consumer — and consumer confidence — the small business person, business formation, isn’t slowed by … the patch we’ll have to go through to get to the other side.”
Reynolds seconded these comments, saying, “I think it is going to be bumpy for a while.” However, she said she was supportive of the actions taken by Trump during his first months in office and was encouraged that the administration was receptive to ideas about putting more power in the hands of state governments, like returning some block grant funding to states.
“This is a different administration from the first go around,” Reynolds said. “I think they’ve spent the last four years really preparing for this opportunity. They’ve hit the ground running, the pace is incredible. You know, we’re $36 trillion in debt, adding $2 trillion every year in interest, and that’s not sustainable. And so I really appreciate the perspective that they bring to the table to really look at waste, fraud, abuse — and just the growth and overall bureaucracy — to look for opportunities to make government more efficient and more effective and to get better outcomes.”
When asked about international outlook on “free enterprise,” Reynolds praised Argentinian president Javier Milei, a libertarian. Under Milei, monthly inflation has significantly fallen in the country, but his policies have also caused poverty rates to increase.
“I think that’s a great example of finding, you know, really driving free enterprise and economic policies, and seeing the results,” Reynolds said. “And I just love the spirit and attitude and energy and and how quickly, really, when you start to embrace those … you can turn things around.”
CSI Iowa has published reports on issues like child care access in Iowa and the impact of income tax cuts enacted in recent years. The organization published a report earlier in March on the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program — tax dollars going toward private school tuition and associated costs. It found that between 39% to 49% of the students receiving ESA funds who were not already in private schools would not have had “access to school choice without an ESA.” In the first two years of Iowa’s program, about 60% of ESA recipients were already attending private schools.
Ducey was also an advocate for Arizona’s private school scholarship program, signing the program into law in 2022. The Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account program faced major scrutiny in years after it was signed because of misused public funds, with some monies from the program going toward ski resort passes and expenses at trampoline park and climbing gyms.
At the Tuesday event, Ducey said “our kids have been flatlined in district schools since 1982” on educational achievement, and that private school scholarship programs provide a way to improve educational outcomes.
“The way to do it is to break up this cartel, to give parents a choice on where they can be educated,” Ducey said. “I think we have the ability to reminisce for the neighborhood school that existed when we were a child, but it’s a different situation today, and kids learn in different ways. And to bring this innovation and competition, whether it’s Catholic schools or Christian schools or Hebrew schools or private schools — along with our good, thriving K-12 public district schools.”