Chuck Grassley

Grassley married Barbara Ann Speicher on August 22, 1954. The couple has five children, including their son Lee Grassley. His family includes his grandson, Iowa lawmaker Pat Grassley, and his father was Louis Arthur Grassley.

Grassley is known for his fondness for Dairy Queen desserts, frequently receiving ice cream treats and Dairy Queen cakes from Senate colleagues such as Joni Ernst of Iowa and Tim Scott of South Carolina during celebrations in Washington, D.C.

Grassley began his career in public office in state and federal government in 1958. He won election to the United States Senate in 1981 and secured an eighth term in 2022, becoming the sixth-longest serving senator in United States history and serving terms as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Following the retirement of Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, Grassley served as president pro tempore of the Senate from 2019 to January 2021, placing him third in the presidential line of succession behind the vice president and the speaker of the House. He became only the second Iowan to hold the position, following Albert Baird Cummins, who served from 1919 to 1925.

Beyond his legislative duties, Grassley appeared on screen in the 2000 crime drama film Traffic, in which he played the role of Senator Charles Grassley.

He has also appeared as himself in several political documentaries and broadcast productions, including From Place to Place in 2011, State of Bacon in 2014, and coverage of The Jackson Confirmation Hearings in 2022.