The core of President Donald Trump’s agenda runs through Chuck Grassley, who has been in the chamber longer than his vice president has been alive.
“And will there be disruption to the Trump agenda?
“Wouldn’t you think it’d be intellectually dishonest for me, at 91 years of age, to say Biden was too old to be president?” Grassley said.
He’s Trump’s biggest ally in the Senate.” Grassley’s relationships with powerful allies appear to be paying off.
In fact, Lanza argued, Grassley’s age — and lack of ambition — could be seen as an asset.
Chuck Grassley, who has served in the Senate longer than his vice president has, is at the center of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
According to interviews with a dozen lawmakers, lobbyists, and other current and former GOP officials, some Republicans are privately wondering whether the 91-year-old Senate Judiciary chair is too old for a position crucial to carrying out Trump’s agenda. Trump must rely on him for everything from reforming the immigration system to dismantling the so-called “deep state” to establishing conservative dominance of the federal courts.
Of course, this is not the first time Grassley has been in the news in Washington. His most recent turn with a gavel, however, coincides with a dramatic shift in the public’s perception of aging politicians, chiefly due to the question his former colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden, was asked about his mental health prior to his departure from the White House this week.
A similar radical shift has occurred on Capitol Hill, spurred by the recent disclosure that former Rep. In addition to the evident mental and physical deterioration of the late Sen. Kay Granger (R-Texas), she had been residing in an assisted-living facility for the duration of her term with dementia. California Democrat Dianne Feinstein. ), who had to forfeit her own opportunity to serve as chair of the Judiciary before passing away in 2023.
Nothing seems wrong so far. With the exception of one brief moment when he seemed to misinterpret a joke made by nominee Pam Bondi, Grassley conducted the nearly six-hour hearing for Trump’s attorney general nominee last week without incident.
He declared, “This country has freedom of speech.”. I won by 13 percent, maybe 12 percent, but the people speak. Isn’t age just a number?
However, he is now being scrutinized in a completely different manner as the sole nonagenarian in the Senate and the one with the important gavel. He is very close to becoming president as president pro tempore of the Senate, following Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson.
The health of the Iowa Republican could change at any time, as it did for Granger, Feinstein, or, for those with more vivid memories, former senators. This has some Republicans in the committee’s orbit wondering what might happen. Strom Thurmond, R-S. A. or R-Miss Thad Cochran. ().
They admit that he seems capable now, but with Trump’s domestic policy agenda at risk, they are worried about how vulnerable any 91-year-old’s health is.
One Republican who has worked with the Senate Judiciary Committee said, “Statistically speaking, he could kick the bucket at any moment — like, what happens then?” referring specifically to the panel’s authority over immigration matters. And will the Trump agenda be disrupted? That requires endurance, which a 91-year-old isn’t said to possess. “.”.
To discuss the delicate topic, this Republican was given anonymity, just like the other people interviewed for this story.
“At ninety-one, wouldn’t you think it would be intellectually dishonest for me to say that Biden was too old to be president?” Grassley asked. “You could say the same thing about Trump just three years apart. Trump, on the other hand, is clearly strong enough to make an excellent president, and Chuck Grassley is similarly strong enough to serve as a senator. “.”.
Grassley takes a humorous approach to the awkward conversation, just like Biden. As he sat down for the interview, the chair kept making lighthearted remarks about his interrogator’s age, asking if she was a high school student and implying in jest that she was too young for her position.
Like Biden, Grassley’s retorts make it difficult to gauge his level of competence based solely on his output. Or, in the words of the former president, “Observe me. “.”.
In Biden’s case, the public did observe, and it caused his fifty-year career in Washington to collapse.
In addition to how he handled the Bondi hearing, Grassley cited his 2018 pressure-cooker hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, who was then nominated to the Supreme Court, while serving as chair of the Judiciary.
Grassley hasn’t changed much in six years. His recovery from hip surgery to fix a fracture in 2023 is noteworthy, but Grassley’s hospitalization for an infection in early 2024 highlights how quickly his status could shift.
In a different interview for a future Playbook Deep Dive podcast, Grassley stated that prior to running in 2022, he conferred with his wife and five kids. He recalled that some of his children had told him, “I think you ought to retire.”. And a year later, those same children said, ‘You should run again, in my opinion, given the state of the nation. “”.
Following Bondi, more controversial hearings are scheduled, including those for FBI Director nominee Kash Patel and possibly for the replacement of Supreme Court justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who are expected to retire in the upcoming years. His ability to chair the panel would be put to the ultimate test during those arduous proceedings.
His suitability for the position has not been openly questioned by any of Grassley’s Senate colleagues. Both parties have a large number of septuagenarians and octogenarians in their top ranks, which discourages them from questioning the age of their opponents.
The ranking member on the committee and Grassley’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Durbin, Dick (D-Ill. 80. Last year, Republicans united behind Mitch McConnell, the 82-year-old Senate Minority Leader at the time, following several public health incidents.
“Chuck Grassley, Mitch McConnell, and cockroaches will be the only three things left when the world ends and hell freezes over,” Sen stated. The R-La John Kennedy. Judge, who went on to say that Grassley “pisses excellence and experience.”. “.”.
Like he is about Trump, Davis is an ardent supporter of Grassley. The senator from Iowa is the same man Davis was when he was opening his mail decades ago, he insists. Davis claimed that if Grassley had doubted his ability to perform the job, he would not have accepted it.
Davis declared, “Ice cream is his only vice.”. People were speculating that Chuck Grassley might be overlooked this time. It simply does not operate that way. And why would he be overlooked? He is the Senate’s most important ally of Trump. “.”.
Grassley seems to be reaping the rewards of his connections with influential allies. According to lobbyist Bryan Lanza, who served under Trump in 2016 and 2024, there was no reason for the president’s inner circle to think Grassley was unfit for the position.
In actuality, Lanza contended, Grassley’s age and lack of ambition might be considered advantages. Grassley stated that his greatest accomplishment would be solidifying Trump’s agenda and that he is not considering his next election, higher office, or being outflanked on the right.
“He’s not running a marathon,” he remarked. His mind is what we need, not his legs. “.”.
Sen, talk about those legs. Grassley’s well-known morning runs were cited by Ted Cruz (R-Texas), another Judiciary Committee member, as evidence of his fitness.
But according to Grassley in the interview, those runs have now devolved into “shuffling.”. Additionally, it has been reduced from three miles to two miles, six times a week. He decided it was too cold to work out on the morning of the interview because it was in the teens.
“You aren’t ninety-one years old,” he said, requesting that no one judge him for taking a day off.
