Senator Ernst says murdered Charlie Kirk inspired young conservatives

Joni Ernst, chair of the Senate DOGE Committee, may lead one of the more hip caucuses in Congress – which has attracted young conservatives to policy debates – but no one has done that better than Charlie Kirk, she told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.

Ernst’s daughter, a West Point graduate, first broke the news of Kirk’s death to her during a Senate committee hearing.

“I was actually sitting in a Small Business Committee meeting and my daughter texted me that Charlie had been shot,” Ernst recalled. “I was trying to pay attention to the hearing while getting updates from her on what was happening.”

Her daughter, who had seen videos circulating online, told her, “There’s no way that Charlie is alive.” Ernst responded, “Pray, honey, because miracles happen. Unfortunately, this wasn’t what we prayed for.”

The senator said Kirk’s message resonated deeply with her family.

“They have followed Charlie Kirk and his message, and they’re always so excited that he is biblically founded, he believes in God’s word, and he has really drawn in a lot of young conservatives — people who felt they didn’t have a voice, especially after the four years under President Biden with all of his woke agenda,” she said.

Ernst, R-Iowa, said that her daughter and son-in-law admired Kirk’s willingness to debate opponents directly. “It made them more comfortable discussing difficult topics with friends and coworkers,” she said.

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“[Kirk was] really grounded and centered in speaking truth. So they appreciated that. They followed him on Instagram and different platforms.”

Ernst said she and her family were also drawn to Kirk by his lack of apprehension to civilly debate anyone – and led them to be comfortable discussing similar topics with friends and coworkers.

“Unfortunately, the tragedy is as we thought it would be, because she saw it unfold with all the postings that were out there.

“The reassurance that I have to her and her husband are that his voice will continue to be out there and folks like her, they’ll amplify it, too. So his mission will live on.”

Ernst’s DOGE work, simultaneously popularized by Elon Musk, helped bring young people into the conservative fold.

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