92-year-old Republican Senator Chuck Grassley struggled to answer a simple question at a press conference, despite already planning for a re-election bid for the 2028 election.
Grassley was first elected to office during the Eisenhower administration. He is the oldest sitting U.S. senator, the six-longest serving U.S. senator in history and the longest-serving Republican in congressional history.
The Iowa Senator is also the president pro tempore of the United States Senate, which makes him the second-highest ranking official after Vice President JD Vance, 41, and third in line for the presidency.
Grassley, who is only two years younger than the Empire State Building, admitted to suffering from hearing issues at a press conference on Wednesday to share findings from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation into interference in the 2020 Presidential Election.
A reporter asked Grassley if he agreed with his colleagues that Judge E. Boasberg should be impeached.
Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has clashed with President Trump, 79, and his administration this year, including rejecting their efforts to deport Venezuelan nationals to a prison in El Salvador.
Grassley told the reporter, “Uh, I’m sorry. I’ve got hearing problems, so speak louder.”
After the question was repeated, Grassley dodged the issue of impeachment stating, “Well, first of all, we wanna make sure that we have all the documents, all the information that we can possibly get, so we know that these people who come before us, they know what to say or not to say.”
He continued to ramble, stating, “We gotta make sure that we have all the documents, all the information that we can possibly get, so we know when these people that come before us… they know what to say or not to say. And we gotta make sure that we got the documents so that when they lie to us, we can challenge ’em.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham then took to the microphone as Grassley moved back and seemingly played with his ear and mumbled audibly to other senators over Graham’s response.
“Can I say something about that? Impeachment starts in the House,” Graham said. “Based on this order, Ted [Cruz] hopes the House will look at whether the judge abused his authority.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Grassley’s office for comment.
In October 2023, Grassley had hip surgery after a fall at home.
Despite his age, Grassley has not definitively ruled out running for another term.
In August, he told reporters to “ask me the question in a couple of years”, citing the need to consider the same factors he has “through several re-elections, and that is family considerations and whether or not I can do the job.”
In 2022, Grassley proactively filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission for the 2028 election, however this does not guarantee he will run. The paperwork green lights participating in campaigning activities.
Grassley will be 95 at the time of the 2028 election and 101 at the end of that term if he were reelected.
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