Grassley set to become Senate pro tempore

The Senate Republican majority of the upcoming 116th Congress has unanimously nominated Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley to be Senate pro tempore.

The position has historically been given to the most senior member of the majority party in the upper chamber of Congress.

Once elected to the position by the full Senate on January 3, 2019, Grassley will be third in the line of presidential succession following the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Representing Iowa, Grassley has been a part of the U.S. Senate for 38 years.

"The President pro tempore is one of a handful of offices specifically named by the Founders in the Constitution,” 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."

Grassley said he already has some goals in mind for when he becomes Senate pro tempore.

"I’ll work to see that we uphold the Senate as a check on the executive and judicial branches of government, including our constitutional authority to provide advice and consent," Grassley said.