Charles Grassley: the senator in charge of Trump's legal agenda
He will spearhead filling the courts with conservatives
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, has been in the Senate longer than most Americans have been alive. Now he holds an important key to Donald Trump's second-term agenda.
The 91-year-old Grassley will oversee everything from "remaking the immigration system to unraveling the so-called 'deep state'" from his perch atop the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Politico. Critically, he will also be in charge of helping confirm Trump's judicial nominees. But his age — he is the chamber's only nonagenarian — has raised concerns among GOP colleagues about whether he is "too old for a job central to the execution of Trump's agenda." Other Republicans are quick to come to his defense: Grassley "pisses excellence and experience," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).
What is Grassley's Senate history?
Grassley is the "longest-serving GOP senator in U.S. history," said The Washington Post. He ran for his first political office in 1958, and was elected to Congress in 1974 before ascending to the Senate in 1981. He is "known for his reverence for Senate tradition" and a willingness to work with Democrats. In his Judiciary role, he is also charged with shepherding the nominations of Pam Bondi to be Trump's attorney general and Kash Patel to head the FBI. Grassley says he is not worried Trump's appointees will weaponize law enforcement on the president's behalf. "Common sense tells me that," he told the Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The senator can be fiercely partisan. Grassley is "unapologetic" about leading the GOP's successful 2016 effort to block President Barack Obama's nominee Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, said USA Today. That maneuver opened the way for conservatives' current 6-3 supermajority on the court. "I took a position and stuck to it. That's it," he said in 2021, when Garland was nominated to serve as President Joe Biden's attorney general.
How much will he advocate for Trump?
Grassley can depart from GOP orthodoxy. He has urged caution on Trump's enthusiasm for tariffs, telling Radio Iowa that Congress "violated the Constitution" by handing the presidency the power to unilaterally impose tariffs on imports from other countries. "When you delegate too much authority for presidential action, you're really violating that section of the code," he said.
There are some (anonymous) Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who say Grassley is not fierce enough to advance Trump's legal agenda. Grassley is "not a knife fighter," one GOP senator said to Punchbowl News. One reason for concern: Big battles over the future of the Supreme Court are likely. There is speculation that conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito will use Trump's return to retire and pave the way for replacements. The stakes on the Judiciary Committee "are going to be high," said the anonymous senator.
Grassley's power affects not only the Supreme Court. One of Grassley's tasks is to "add more conservatives to the federal courts," said Roll Call. That includes the district and appellate courts. But the Supreme Court remains the big prize. The replacements for Thomas and Alito will be just as conservative, said George Washington University law professor John P. Collins Jr., "but 30 years younger."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
What does Trump's immigration crackdown mean for churches?
Today's Big Question Mass deportations come to 'sacred spaces'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The best TV series with multiple timelines right now
The Week Recommends Narratives that spend significant time in two or more stories can be especially rewarding
By David Faris Published
-
'The Mountain West has acquired a whole new mythos, updated for the high-tech era'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Caroline Kennedy urges Senate to reject RFK Jr.
Speed Read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin said he should not become President Donald Trump's health secretary, calling his medical views 'dangerous'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
China's backyard: will Trump's aggression push Latin America away?
Today's Big Question Rift between US and Colombia, threats of tariffs on Mexico, designs on Panama Canal and mass deportations could encourage closer ties with Beijing
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The biggest international naming disputes in history
The Explainer Nations have often been at odds with each other over geographic titles
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump sparks chaos with spending, aid freezes
Speed Read A sudden freeze on federal grants and loans by President Donald Trump's administration has created widespread confusion
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What could happen to the US food supply under Trump's isolationist agenda?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president's plan to deport undocumented workers and levy massive taxes on international imports might have repercussions on your dinner plate
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump feuds with Colombia on deportee flights
Speed Read Colombia has backed off from a trade war with the U.S., reaching an agreement on accepting deported migrants following tariff threats from President Donald Trump
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump proposal to 'clean out' Gaza gets cool reception
Speed Read U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The new JFK, RFK and MLK files: what to expect
The Explainer Will the release of documents on the assassinations that 'shattered the 60s' satisfy the conspiracy theorists?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published