- The Washington Times - Thursday, January 15, 2015

HERSHEY, Pa. — Republican congressional leaders announced Thursday that they had picked one of their newly elected members, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, to deliver the party’s response to President Obama’s State of the Union address next week.

“She’s the perfect choice,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said of Mrs. Ernst, who won a longtime Democrat-held seat in the Hawkeye State to help her party capture majority control of the upper chamber.

“America voted for change, and Senator Ernst will explain what this Congress plans to do, and we’re already doing to return Washington’s focus to the concerns of the middle class and away from the demands of the political class,” said Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

Mrs. Ernst said she was “humbled and honored” to deliver the Republican message to America following Mr. Obama’s speech on Jan. 20.

“It’s a long way from Red Oak to Washington, D.C., and growing up on a southwest Iowa farm years ago, I never, never would have imagined that I would have this opportunity,” Mrs. Ernst said.

Mr. McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, made the announcement at the House and Senate Republican policy retreat here at the Hershey Lodge.

The selection of Mrs. Ernst ruffled environmentalists, who oppose her views on climate change.

Mrs. Ernst outraged environmentalists during her Senate campaign by questioning whether humans were responsible for climate change and noting that the earth’s climate has undergone cyclical changes throughout history.

“It’s troubling that Republican leaders have chosen a climate science denier like Joni Ernst to represent their party and deliver their State of the Union response,” said Gene Karpinsk, president of the League of Conservation Voters.

“Senator Ernst has advocated for closing the Environmental Protection Agency, which would threaten enforcement of bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. She represents the Big Oil-backed wing of her party and is far out of step with the average American,” he said.

• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.

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