The "Rudy Giulianification" of Chuck Grassley
Ultra partisanship and a willingness to be Trump's lackey destroyed Rudy Giuliani's legacy as "America's Favorite Mayor." Chuck Grassley's legacy is eroding for similar reasons.
Whatever legacy U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, 91, will leave behind when he finally retires from the Senate took new and destructive hits this past week - from Grassley himself. He seems to be on a glide path similar to that followed by Rudy Giuliani, once “America’s Favorite Mayor” but now mostly thought of as a buffoon like character, who ruined his own reputation and legacy by his political association with and subservience to Trump.
Grassley was once a widely respected member of the Senate both in Washington, DC and in Iowa. Time passes and things change.
Grassley’s ultra partisanship over the last decade or two and his fawning subservience to Trump is now changing how many think of him as his Senate career winds down. These days, his public statements, actions and inactions often seem oddly out of touch or unconcerned with the kinds of things Iowans would want their senator to know and care about. Where independence once stood, it’s all ultra partisanship today.
In just the last week, Grassley raised eyebrows with a cluster of comments that were dismissive of the congressional role in holding Trump accountable, or even working with him as a co-equal branch of government; protecting the institutions of democracy; and even protecting Social Security.
In short, Grassley “jumped the shark” this week. Once an office holder does that, it’s very hard to get back the standing they once held.
Granted, an argument can be made that Grassley “jumped the shark” long ago. For example:
His persistent partisan show-boating in 2009 about non-existent “death panels for Grandma” that would supposedly decide whether “Grandma would be allowed to live or die” which he alleged, falsely, was part of the Affordable Care Act.
His championing of an allegation - since proven to be utterly false, and to have been made up and circulated by Russian operatives working with Vladimir Putin - that Joe Biden accepted bribes as Vice President. Grassley continued to push the Russian disinformation even after a federal law enforcement investigation informed Grassley there was no truth or evidence to support the disinformation the Russians were pushing.
His deliberate theft from President Barack Obama, on the partisan orders of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConell, of a Supreme Court seat the Constitution clearly said was Obama’s to fill. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley refused to schedule hearings to consider Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonio Scalia.
Strong contenders, all.
In my view, however, this past week was the week the levels of Grassley’s ultra partisanship and disconnectedness. from the things an Iowa senator should be concerned about reached new, absurd, and even dangerous heights.
Here’s quick round up:
SIGNAL-GATE: Donald Trump’s Vice President, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor, Director of National Intelligence, and other top officials gathered on an unsecure, public, group chat app known as Signal to discuss an imminent military attack plan, rather than use the secure, hardened communication networks and devices the law requires be used.
The use of the unsecure app - which could be easily accessed by America’s adversaries, directly and immediately put the lives of U.S. military pilots making the attack in grave danger.
Grassley downplayed it all as a simple “screw up.”
No. When I go to the grocery store and forget to buy a bunch of bananas, or a can of tuna, or a jar of Skippy peanut butter that I intended to get, that’s a “screw up.”
This was a dangerous breach of security, a crime committed by top government officials who should know better, and if they don’t know better they should at least know what the law requires governing the use of electronic devices and networks for such highly sensitive conversations and information.
It was not just a “screw up.” It was a massive and dangerous security breach that could have gotten American flyers killed.
Grassley not only minimized it all as a “screw up,” he then assured a journalist that no classified information was revealed in the conversation.
That was a lie.
We know it was a lie because when the transcript was released it revealed the detailed information about the upcoming attack - complete with specific locations and time lines, as well as information that could blow the cover of human intelligence sources within the country. In both cases, information that could get people killed. Precisely the kind of information that is always highly classified and that must be tightly protected.
As it so happens, Grassley’s lie was also the official talking point of the president and his administration. Rather than doing his job as a member of a co-equal branch of government and protect the lives of military personnel and intelligence assets, Grassley chose to serve as a loyal “Little Sir Echo” for Trump and simply repeat the lie.
Of course it was a lie. It’s a mystery how Grassley could have been so confident no classified information was included in the chat. He never bothered to read the transcript of it - by his own admissioin.
When asked if he had, he said he hadn’t and added that he “probably won’t".”
“Probably won’t??”
Protecting Donald Trump and his band of incompetents is apparently more important to Senator Grassley than protecting American military personnel who are putting their lives on the line for our country. Chuck Grassley feels no need to know what happened? Nor any obligation, as a United States Senator, to understand how it happened and what needs to be done to see to it that it never happens again?
Seriously?? That ought to be unacceptable.
Grassley’s pathetic response echoed Donald Trump’s own pathetic response which was that the use of an unsecure group chat app to discuss highly classified military attack plans - a security violation that put American military lives in danger - was no big deal.
Now, between you and me, I don’t really think a five time draft dodger during the Vietnam War, who reportedly - as president no less - described America’s war dead as “suckers and losers” is the person you want to be the final authority on whether this was a big deal.
For Chuck Grassley, however, Trump’s word was apparently enough. No questions asked.
Literally.
ATTACKS ON FEDERAL JUDGES: Grassley - the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee - sided with Trump this week when Trump attacked federal judges who rule against him in the myriad of court cases brought to stop his conveyer belt of near daily illegal and/or unconstitutional executive actions.
Trump wants those judges impeached, which would wreck the independence of the judiciary branch and its ability to serve as a check and balance on the executive and legislative branches of. government, as the founders intended.
Even Chief Justice John Roberts - no flaming liberal - issued a rare publilc statement telling Trump to back off. He pointed out that in America, we don’t impeach judges if we don’t like those rulings, we appeal the rulings.
That Grassley, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has a key role in the confirmation of federal judges, would side with Trump on this matter is especially troubling.
I should note that Grassley did not call for impeachment of judges who rule against Trump, but he might as well have. He called for the revocation of the authority of federal judges to issue rulings - especially injunctions - that apply nationally.
If, after 50 years in Congress, Chuck Grassley actually believes that’s how the Constitution intends the judicial branch to work, we’re in bigger trouble than we know.
ATTACKS ON SOCIAL SECURITY: By his own admission, Senator Grassley has been out of the loop as Donald Trump and Elon Musk work to demolish Social Security.
That’s very troublesome. Grassley is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and. Family Policy. His subcommittee has oversight responsibilities and jurisdiction over the Social Security Administration and the Social Security program itself.
If Congress is going to be a “separate but equal” branch of goverrnment, its leaders, including Grassley on this issue, need to be briefed regularly on what Trump and Musk are doing, and consulted before hand on what they want to do.
That isn’t happening. It’s hard to say whether Senator Grassley has noticed that fact or even cares about being left out of the loop. A move which, by the way, doesn’t reflect much respect for Grassley by the administration to which he is constantly bowing.
When an NBC reporter asked Senator Grassley if he has been briefed or consulted, Grassley simply replied, “No, I have not.”
When the reporter asked a follow up question, “Do you think it would be helpful to you to do your job if you were?” Grassley refused to answer. He walked away, simply repeating, “No, I have not. No, I have not. No, I have not.”
Nearly one in five Iowans are age 65 or over - 18.6%. Protecting Social Security and the benefits Iowans have earned and paid for is vital to the state. So is protecting access to Social Security staff and offices.
Unfortunately, Iowa’s senior senator who chairs the Senate subcommittee on Social Security is out of the loop on what Trump and Musk are doing to Social Security, doesn’t seem very concerned about that, and is doing nothing to wave them off using their wrecking ball wildly against the Social Security Administration.
Grassley is willing to lie about a scandal that put the lives of American fighter pilots in danger to protect Donald Trump, and to side with Trump in an effort to neuter the independent judicial branch of government; He appears to not even be curious about what Trump and Musk are planning for Social Security, information that would come in mighty handy to protect a financial lifeline and benefits Iowans earned over a lifetime if he was inclined to do so. But he appeaars not to be.
Protect Trump. Do his bidding always. Ignore the needs of the country. Rudy Giuliani would approve of those priorities.
The people of Iowa? I don’t think so.
WEEKLY OVERDUE FARM BILL TRACKER - 546 DAYS: The number of days that have passed since the 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023, without Congress passing a new one. (Total days as of Sunday, 03/30/2025).
Two thirds of Iowa’s congressional delegation serves on the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees: Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) in the Senate; and Reps. Zach Nunn (R-3rd IA) and Randy Feenstra (R-4th) in the House and Representatives
The legislation sets national farm policy. It expired 546 days ago, and was last updated in 2018.
546 days without a new Farm Bill after the old one expired is an important milestone marking unprecedented failure by Congress - and the Iowans who serve on the Agriculture Committees in the House and Senate.
While the Trump administration is busy putting farm export market-destroying tariffs in place and trying to impose mass, random firings at the Department of Agriculture, the odds of a new Farm Bill that is actually helpful to farmers grows dimmer each day.
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You are right on! The newspapers in Iowa just publish Grassley’s press releases and puff pieces. I wonder how many Iowans are aware of the real Chuck Grassley. Thank you for doing such an important newsworthy column in today’s misinformation age.
One just runs out of words to discuss this man’s reprehensible behavior.