WASHINGTON D.C.- Vice President Mike Pence has sworn in Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, as the Senate president pro tempore. Senator Grassley is third in line of Presidential succession, behind Vice President Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The position is typically given to the most senior member of the majority party in the U.S. Senate.
“This is an honor for me and the state of Iowa. Iowans have trusted me to represent them in the Senate for 38 years. This constitutional office is another opportunity to deliver results for the people of Iowa and to defend the institution of the greatest deliberative body on Earth, the United States Senate,” Grassley said. “I may only be three heartbeats away from the Oval Office, but my heart is and always will be in Iowa and here in the U.S. Senate.”