Sen. Chuck Grassley appeared on “Iowa Press” on Sept. 15, 2023. (Screenshot via Iowa PBS)
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley will retake the position of Senate president pro tempore when Congress convenes Friday.
The Iowa Republican, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1981, will take the position that goes to the longest-serving senator in the party that controls the chamber. Grassley also held the position from 2019 through January 2021, before Democrats took control of Congress with a narrow 51-49 majority.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has held the position since 2023, after former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont retired from Congress.
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When Grassley last held the position, there were concerns about the role the Senate president pro tem would play in counting the Electoral College votes for the election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who lost in 2020 but denied the election results. Grassley had said he would preside over the Electoral College vote counting if then-Vice President Mike Pence did not attend. That did not happen, as Pence presided over the vote counting during the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection.
This year, Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in the presidential election, will oversee the 2024 election vote counting set for Jan. 6, 2025.
In the November general election, Republicans won a 53-47 majority in the Senate, in addition to winning a 220-215 majority seats in U.S. House elections. In addition to holding the Senate president pro tempore position, Grassley is also set to serve as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he will oversee some appointments to Trump’s cabinet, as well as judicial nominees.
Grassley said in a December news release that he plans to approach the upcoming session with a focus on issues like passing the farm bill and ensuring federal government is accountable and efficient.
“In the New Year, I’ll hit the ground running to advance legislative efforts to secure the border, lower the price of prescription drugs, pass a five-year Farm Bill and curb wasteful spending,” Grassley said. “Congress has a long to-do list.”
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