Charles Grassley

Some rural Republicans are hoping Trump HHS secretary pick RFK Jr. will provide some clarification about his stances on farming and food production.

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swept onto Capitol Hill late Monday as the anti-vaccine health guru from the famous political family reintroduced himself to senators, this time as President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's Health and Human Services Department.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on Capitol Hill this week for an onslaught of meetings with senators in an attempt to be confirmed after he was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But like those Cabinet selections who went before him (see: Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense or Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence), Kennedy’s confirmation is far from assured. Already there are concerns about his ideological compatibility with the MAGA folks who will surround him should he become the next HHS secretary. Kennedy’s views on abortion, corn syrups and seed oils, and vaccines, specifically, have earned him some enemies in the Republican Party.Kennedy once said that he supported abortion access until fetal viability (which most experts believe is about 23-24 weeks), but more recent statements suggest his stance is less fixed. So, at a minimum, anti-abortion Republicans are likely to pin him to an acceptable position on this specific policy issue—though even members of the GOP might cave if Kennedy agrees to make certain concessions if confirmed.Of course, if Kennedy’s past statements on abortion don’t tank his bid, his promise to regulate farms and food may. Kennedy has previously complained about agribusiness giants and genetically modified crops and pesticides, which seems to have angered some Republicans in farming states. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, told Semafor that he’s already hearing concerns from farm groups about Kennedy’s confirmation.“He’s made some statements about pigs and about GMO corn and soybeans. I can’t believe that he’s going to have a problem with that,” Grassley said. “But if he does, he has a problem with me.” Grassley also predicted that when Kennedy is pressed on his stances, “he’s not going to come out anti-agriculture.”Then there’s Kennedy’s criticism of processed foods as child-killing evils that could land him in hot water with the biggest Big Mac lover in the White House: Trump.Notably, these aren’t the only statements Kennedy has made that could threaten his place in Trump’s White House. His reflexible hostility toward vaccines has also put him at odds with many Republicans, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. Without naming Kennedy directly, McConnell suggested on Friday that a Kennedy attorney’s prior bid to get the federal government to rescind its approval for the polio vaccine could jeopardize Kennedy’s nomination.Mitch McConnell“Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed—they’re dangerous,” said McConnell, a polio survivor. “Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.”Trump once promised to let Kennedy “go wild” on health and food policy in his administration, but his bid could be in trouble if there are just a handful of Republican defectors. To combat this, Kennedy is reportedly on a mission to win over his skeptics. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy’s plans for this week entail playing down his anti-vaxx record and saying that he’s aligned with the president-elect on his abortion stance. (Trump has said that the issue is best left to the states after the U.S. Supreme Court, in June 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade.) A source close to Kennedy also told the outlet that the potential Cabinet pick will spend this week emphasizing the benefit of healthy foods during his 25 meetings.“Mr. Kennedy is immensely prepared to meet with over 2 dozen Senators this week. He is energized, he is excited to talk about President Trump’s vision to make America healthy again,” a Kennedy spokesperson told Politico on Sunday.Kennedy’s team is likely projecting confidence because they know Kennedy, like others, plucked for a spot in Trump’s Cabinet, will say and do whatever it takes to get confirmed. After all, Kennedy has already had to repudiate past statements he made about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies and he’s come a long way in Trump World since his quixotic challenge to President Joe Biden. So Kennedy, for his part, will likely do as much as he can this week to allay some Republicans’ concerns, and that might work in the short term—or until Trump gets fed up with hearing donor complaints about him and tosses him to the side.We're right in the thick of the holiday season, and we're all tired after a long election in which we gave 110%, but this is important: Daily Kos is falling short of our final goal of the year and time is running out. Can you chip in to help us close the books on 2024?

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst is facing some intra-party unrest in Iowa as she weighs whether to support Donald Trump's secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is deeply skeptical of some of President-elect Trump's and GOP leadership's aggressive border plans.Why it matters: He's gaining power next Congress. Paul, an infamous deficit hawk and libertarian, will chair the committee that oversees the Department of Homeland Security.Incoming Senate GOP leader John Thune is prioritizing a border package in Trump's first 100 days.It is likely to include a huge cash infusion of more than $100 billion into border security and the infrastructure to carry out Trump's mass deportation promises.💰 But Paul is balking at the early price tag."I'm not a big fan of what Republicans are saying, they're going to spend $100 billion on the border, another $200 billion on military to bust the military caps," Paul told us."I think it's a terrible way to start."🚨 Paul also has reservations about Trump's plans to use the military to assist with deportations, calling it illegal."If they send the Army into New York and you have 10,000 troops marching, carrying semi-automatic weapons, I think it's a terrible image and I will oppose that," he told CBS News' "Face the Nation" last month.🧱 Paul even seems to question the idea of heavy investments in more miles of border wall."Walls work in some places, but there's never going to be a contiguous wall on the whole border," Paul said.When pressed about more money for deportation or detention — key Trump priorities — Paul said, "Put them back on the other side of the river. Shouldn't cost that much. And we spend an enormous amount."Between the lines: Paul can't stop the process on his own, but he is known for finding ways to drag out the process.He'll also be able to launch Senate investigations.Some of the immigration portfolio also goes to the Judiciary Committee, which will be chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).What he's saying: Paul supports Trump's nominee to lead DHS, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who he met with Wednesday. Paul has vowed to move quickly to confirm her in time for Inauguration Day.He's pledged to use the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's first hearing to look at resuming Trump's Remain-in-Mexico policy, which forced asylum-seekers to await their court proceedings south of the U.S.-Mexico border.He also told colleagues in a letter last month he plans to "restore our committee's rightful place as the oversight body of the Senate.""Senate rules give us oversight responsibilities over the entire government, even beyond the agencies under our direct legislative jurisdiction," he said in the letter.

Fox News Digital compiled FBI Director Christopher Wray's top five scandals across his seven years of service now that he is stepping down ahead of the second Trump administration.

Sen. Bernie Sanders said his upcoming six-year Senate term will likely be his last. The senator has had a decades-long career in Washington politics.

The 'failures are serious enough and their pattern widespread enough to have shattered my confidence in your leadership,' the Iowa lawmaker wrote.

The latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content

Longtime Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley slammed FBI chiief Christopher Wray for "failed" leadership in a lengthy letter where he expressed "no confidence" in the director.

Kash Patel, President-elect Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, understands surveillance abuses and intimidation tactics because he experienced them himself – and he never backed down.

This week begins the quadrennial tradition of various Cabinet nominees parading around the Senate to meet with lawmakers, answer questions, and get insight into their confirmation hearing.

GOP senator Chuck Grassley wrote that he believes whoever leads the bureau must 'chart a new course.'

Donald Trump’s drive to upend the FBI is being welcomed by Republican senators.

GOP Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on Sunday expressed support for FBI Director Christopher Wray, just one day after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Kash Patel to lead the agency as Wray’s replacement.After Watergate, FBI directors have typically served 10-year terms to deter the bureau from being seen as a political tool for the president. Wray was previously nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017, so Trump would need to fire Wray or Wray would have to voluntarily step down before 2027 for Patel to take over.“Chris Wray, who the president nominated the first time around — I think the president picked a very good man to be the director of the FBI when he did that in his first term,” Rounds said during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”“When we meet with him behind closed doors, I’ve had no objections to the way that he’s handled himself, and so I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now,” Rounds added about Wray.Still, Rounds said that he would evaluate Patel and Trump’s other Cabinet nominees fairly during the Senate’s “advise and consent” process. Patel will have to be confirmed by a majority vote of the full Senate after he is formally nominated, something that cannot happen until after Trump is inaugurated in January.“The president has the right to make nominations, but normally, these are for a 10-year term,” Rounds said. “If he does [nominate Patel], just as with anybody who is nominated for one of these positions, once they’ve been nominated by the president, then the president gets, you know, the benefit of the doubt on the nomination, but we still go through a process, and that process includes advice and consent.”Rounds’ colleague Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, didn’t share Rounds’ concerns, saying Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he expects Patel to be confirmed.“Listen, I think Kash Patel is a very strong nominee. I think the entire slate of Cabinet nominees President Trump has put forward is very strong,” Cruz said. “I believe every one of these Cabinet nominees is going to be confirmed by the Senate. I think Kash Patel is going to be confirmed by the Senate.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is in line to chair the Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, came out forcefully against Wray’s tenure as FBI director Sunday morning but stopped short of endorsing Patel’s nomination, writing on X that Wray “failed at [the] fundamental duties” of his position atop the FBI and that it’s time to “chart a new course [for] transparency and accountability at FBI.”“Kash Patel must prove to Congress he will reform &restore public trust in FBI,” Grassley added.Representatives for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Rounds’ remarks.Earlier Sunday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to share his thoughts about Patel but told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that “we, the Biden administration, adhere to the long-standing norm that FBI directors serve out their full terms, because the FBI director is a unique player in the American government system. They’re appointed for 10-year terms, not terms just for the duration of a given president.”Sullivan noted that Biden allowed Wray to serve throughout his administration, even though he was a Trump appointee.“The current FBI director, Chris Wray, was actually appointed by Donald Trump. Joe Biden didn’t fire him. He relied upon him to execute his responsibilities as the director of the FBI and allowed him to serve out the fullness of his term,” Sullivan added.In a statement Sunday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., echoed Sullivan’s concerns, saying, “We already have a FBI Director, Christopher Wray, and his term does not expire until 2027.”Durbin went on to blast Trump, saying, “President-elect Trump knows this, because he nominated Director Wray in 2017 after he fired the previous Director, James Comey, another lifelong Republican who failed Trump’s loyalty test. President Biden kept Director Wray in office because the FBI is supposed to be insulated from partisanship.”He also called on the Senate to vote against confirming Patel, saying in the statement, “Now, the President-elect wants to replace his own appointee with an unqualified loyalist. The Senate should reject this unprecedented effort to weaponize the FBI for the campaign of retribution that Donald Trump has promised.”Fiona Glisson contributed.This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:Latino men voted for Trump in large numbers. Here’s what they hope he delivers.‘Moana 2’ leads in highest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend ever at box office‘Wicked’ release revives debate over phone use in movie theaters

Republicans are facing backlash after President Biden and Majority Leader Schumer scored judicial wins as a result of GOP Senate absences.

Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from office after he was announced as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general.While Gaetz has not been formally nominated for the White House role, his resignation could keep an investigation into his actions from being publicly released.What Happened: Prior to resigning from Congress, Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use and more.With Gaetz no longer a member of Congress, the Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over him, but their decision of whether to release their findings publicly remains one of the biggest topics for Congress this week.The Ethics Committee, which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, is expected to meet Wednesday to determine their next step in whether to release the report or not, the Wall Street Journal reported.The report would likely include the committee's findings into allegations that Gaetz had sexual relations with a 17-year-old minor. The former minor and another woman both said Gaetz paid them for sex, according to comments from their lawyer on Monday.Gaetz ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

As President-elect Donald Trump digs in on his pick of Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Republican senators are divided over how much information they will demand to move his confirmation — and how much to push back on Trump as he demands that they qui...

Republican senators want details of the Ethics Committee investigation into Matt Gaetz after Trump selected him to run the Justice Department as attorney general.

McCaskill said Thursday that 11 senators could stand in Gaetz's way of being appointed as Trump's attorney general.

Sens. Grassley and Johnson put the DOJ on notice, telling them not to get rid of any records regarding Jack Smith's investigations into Trump.

Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination for attorney general is being met with a variety of reactions from Republicans, including cautious reservation, praise and pointed criticism

Republicans are expressing surprise in both public and private that with the announcement of his slate of unqualified Cabinet picks, Donald Trump is still as unhinged as he has always been.In a flurry, Trump has nominated alleged sex-trafficker Matt Gaetz as attorney general, conspiracy theorist Tulsi Gabbard to head national intelligence, and notorious anti-handwasher Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Justice, among others.These picks are in line with Trump’s demonstrated leadership style, valuing people who appear on Fox News to say nice things about him over qualified experts. It is the leadership style that, in his first term, led to results like the failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a net job loss when other presidents, even Republican George W. Bush, managed to increase jobs.Despite this, there are new signs of supposed confusion and bewilderment from the GOP establishment.

'The most since Eisenhower'

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is in line to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which handles the judicial confirmation process.

A GOP senator who spoke to Punchbowl on condition of anonymity doubted Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, should return as chair of the Judiciary Committee.

When the Hunter Biden laptop became public in mid-October 2020, thanks to the New York Post’s reporting, it was simply folded into what was a Russian really a disinformation fairy tale.

Republican senators pushed for more information from FBI Director Christopher Wray on the agency’s improper handling of child sexual abuse cases. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Wray on Oct. 10 regarding allegations that the FBI has not taken sexual misconduct accusations seriously. Grassley said the FBI and [...]

Sen. Grassley is asking the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service for answers about their funding and payments to agents.

Iowa U.S. senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst joined Republican colleagues to block a bill by Democrats that would establish a federal right to access fertility treatments.

A post shared on social media purports that former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, is a registered Republican. Verdict: False Routh is registered as “unaffiliated.” Fact Check: Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley revealed that the Secret Service told local police they would take the responsibility of securing the building that Thomas Crooks used to [...]

During his town meeting in Sioux Center on Aug. 20, Sen. Chuck Grassley was asked about the Iowa Utilities Commission's approval of the use of eminent domain to take private property for the Summit carbon capture pipeline. Eminent domain is...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Republicans hammered Vice President Kamala Harris and her selection on Tuesday of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the White House, lambasting them as “radicals” whose policy agenda threatens the nation should voters...

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was in Cedar Rapids Tuesday to talk with local, state and federal law enforcement about their work to combat violent crime.

This week on the "On Iowa Politics Podcast," a potential Kamala Harris running mate speaks in Iowa and Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley investigating the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

'Not been transparent and forthcoming!'

'Cost me a lot of sleep

Police noticed Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter, acting suspiciously 1 hour and 45 minutes before he shot at former President Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania this month, a special agent said Monday.

'TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY'

A bill from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) would require Senate confirmation for the director of the Secret Service, paving the way for the upper chamber to weigh in on who should lead the agency. The duo’s legislation dropped shortly after news broke that Director Kimberly Cheatle would resign from the [...]

By The Associated Press Vice President Kamala Harris flew to her first battleground state Wisconsin after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to earn the party’s nomination. Democratic leaders Charles Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Harris on Tuesday, capping off their party’s swift embrace of her 2024 candidacy. Meanwhile, Kimberly Cheatle, the director of [...]

By The Associated Press Vice President Kamala Harris flew to her first battleground state Wisconsin after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to earn the party’s nomination. Democratic leaders Charles Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Harris on Tuesday, capping off their party’s swift embrace of her 2024 candidacy. Meanwhile, Kimberly Cheatle, the director of [...]