Senator and President pro tempore of the United States Senate, Chuck Grassley, has been named the 10th longest-serving Senator in U.S. history with 39.3 years of service. Grassley was first voted into office by Iowans in 1980. “I’m honored to represent Iowans in the people’s branch of the federal government,” Grassley says. “I wake up every morning ready to work for Iowans and bring our commonsense values to the policymaking tables in Washington. The coronavirus pandemic underscores how important it is to keep open lines of communication with my constituents. It’s my job to ensure all Iowans have a voice at the table,” he adds. During his tenure, Grassley has served as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, led negotiations on the $2 trillion CARES Act for emergency relief to small businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is only the second Iowan to hold the position of President pro tempore, making him third in the line of presidential succession following the Vice President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Grassley is also one of only two farmers serving in the U.S. Senate and has not missed a vote since 1993 when he was in Iowa with President Bill Clinton assessing the needs of flood victims. And although the current public health situation as suspended all gatherings, Grassley is well known for holding at least one town hall in all 99 counties in Iowa since he was first elected. The longest serving Senator is Robert C. Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia who served for 51 years, five months and 26 days.
