'Kick the bucket at any moment': GOPer worried about Trump entrusting agenda to 91 year-old

23 January

If President Donald Trump hopes to get his biggest legislative priorities through Congress, he'll need significant help from Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). But Grassley's advanced age could prove risky over the next several years.

Politico reported Thursday that Grassley, who is 91 years old, has been entrusted with the "core" of the 47th president's agenda. He will also have the Herculean task of overseeing high-profile confirmation hearings for Trump administration appointees like FBI Director-designate Kash Patel, along with potential future Supreme Court nominees should older GOP-appointed justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas retire during Trump's second term.

As the oldest member of the Senate, Grassley's position has one unnamed Republican (given anonymity "to discuss the sensitive topic") who has worked with the Judiciary Committee concerned that he may not live through Trump's second term in the White House.

"Statistically speaking, he could kick the bucket at any moment — like, what happens then?” the Republican told Politico. “And will there be disruption to the Trump agenda? … That takes stamina that you could say a 91-year-old doesn’t have.”

On the campaign trail, Trump also promised major changes to the immigration system, which is also under the jurisdiction of Grassley's committee. Politico reported that the Iowa Republican has already experienced significant health issues, including a 2023 hip surgery and a 2024 hospitalization for an infection. The outlet also noted that there has been a "sea change" in Washington in which the oldest, most entrenched lawmakers like the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who recently stepped down as GOP leader after 17 years in the role — have been subjected to criticism for overstaying their welcome. Former Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), who is 82, was discovered to have been representing her constituents from a facility for dementia patients.

But other Republicans are more confident in Grassley's ability to shepherd through Trump's legislative agenda. Not only because he's one of the president's biggest supporters, but because he won reelection in 2022, meaning he can focus the remainder of his term on the MAGA agenda rather than his own political future.

“Is he running a marathon? No,” Republican lobbyist Bryan Lanza told Politico. “We don’t need his legs, we need his mind.”

Click here to read Politico's full report.

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