Grassley now third in line for the presidency
/Today, the Senate unanimously named Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who was first elected to serve Iowans in the U.S. Senate in 1980, to be Senate president pro tempore, a position that has historically been bestowed upon the most senior member of the majority party in the upper chamber of Congress. Upon his swearing in, Grassley became third in the line of presidential succession following the vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Grassley has represented Iowa in the U.S. Senate for 38 years and succeeds Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah as Senate president pro tempore. The only other Iowan to hold the office was Sen. Albert B. Cummins, who assumed office in 1919, 100 years before Grassley assumed the role. Cummins served as Senate president pro tempore in the 66th, 67th, 68th and 69th Congresses.
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