Remarks delivered by Sen. Chuck Grassley:
I’ve come to the floor today to share a few words about my friend and Republican Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell.
I’ve had the privilege to serve alongside the senior senator from Kentucky here in the U.S. Senate for nearly four decades, spanning 40 sessions of the Senate.
From the 110th Congress through the 118th, Senator McConnell won the support of our caucus to serve as Republican Leader.
In those secret ballot elections, he often ran unopposed because of his very strong support from our conference.
That makes his tenure the longest serving Senate Leader in the history of the United States Senate.
For the last four decades, Senator McConnell has lived and breathed the United States Senate.
So, when Senator McConnell spoke on the floor in February, announcing he would step down from his leadership post after the upcoming November election, he took many of us by great surprise.
After all, his love for the United States Senate, the state of Kentucky and for our great country, America, are indisputable.
Although his critics – and even some of his supporters – don’t see eye to eye on every issue, I would suggest my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree on this: Senator McConnell’s service as the Republican leader was hard-earned.
Time and again, Mitch McConnell has shown shrewd skillset that set the table for his climb up the leadership ladder.
Once he got to that top rung, Senator McConnell didn’t flinch from his resolve.
A keen negotiator, Leader McConnell finessed legislative hurdles, scaled political mountains and secured policy victories on behalf of the American people.
It takes a steel spine to survive and thrive in the dog-eat-dog world of politics.
Senator McConnell’s grit, his purpose and laser focus to deliver are just three of his ironclad leadership traits that our caucus has counted upon since 2006.
Senator McConnell and I have served many years together on the Senate Agriculture Committee, joining forces for family farmers and for rural America.
When I served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, we teamed up to deliver historic tax relief that put money back in the people’s pockets and helped grow the American economy.
One of the seminal moments of Leader McConnell’s tenure took place in 2016, when I chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee.
That February, as you remember, Justice Scalia passed away unexpectedly, thus creating a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court.
That vacancy created a once-in-a-generation prospect to shape the highest court in the land.
Leader McConnell and I recognized what was at stake.
Without wavering, we leveraged the constitutional authority of the United States Senate – that’s the authority of advice and consent – and held off on confirming a nominee until after the elections so the American people could have a say in that process.
To put it mildly, the decision wasn’t met with open arms by the White House or our colleagues across the aisle.
Leader McConnell can play hardball with the best of them, with detractors within and outside our conference.
We kept with the tradition and precedent of the Senate a rule articulated by then-Senator Joe Biden in 1992, when there was a Republican White House and Democrat Majority here in the United States Senate, that you wait until after the election to make that appointment.
Generations from now, historians will note our efforts to confirm Trump-appointed judges and the imprint it made on the federal judiciary, reshaping the Supreme Court and lower courts with what we ought to have on the Judiciary – people who you call strict constructionists, meaning people that are going to interpret the law according to congressional intent and interpret the Constitution according to original intent.
So, we have jurists who now interpret the laws written by Congress, not jurists who legislate from the bench.
In addition to tax relief, the federal judiciary and agriculture, Leader McConnell and I most recently worked together to get the bipartisan infrastructure package and funding for U.S. national security, with support for our allies in Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. That got across the finish line and wasn’t a very easy job for Senator McConnell.
Senator McConnell and I served together here in the Senate during the Reagan administration.
The Reagan Doctrine made the world safer and more secure.
In other words, peace through strength actually works.
This month, we observed the 23rd anniversary of 9/11. Next month marks the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7th in Israel, and October 7th in Israel will be remembered in that country much like December 7, 1941, is remembered in the United States.
Now more than ever, Leader McConnell and this U.S. Senator agree that America can’t afford to fall asleep at the wheel.
Senator McConnell didn’t mince words about why he’s stepping down as Republican Leader. He has a firm grasp on the politics of our party.
His ability to read the room helped him to scale the leadership ladder, winning the top job nine times in our Republican conference.
In his floor remarks this February, he wryly noted, “I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them.”
Politics aside, his reverence for this institution and his reverence for this great country of America comes from an unwavering commitment to the ideals enshrined in our founding charters.
I am proud to associate myself with his statement that, “For as long as I am drawing breath on this Earth, I will defend Americans’ exceptionalism.”
And I’ll do the same thing here as this Senator.
We know that no matter who runs the White House or the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate serves a vital constitutional role in our system of checks and balances.
Senator McConnell and I also share a love for history, especially Senate history. We have that in common.
George Washington supposedly told this very story about pouring a cup of hot tea into a saucer, comparing the role of the United States Senate as that saucer to cool legislation coming in hot from the House of Representatives.
James Madison said the Senate was the “anchor” of government and a “necessary fence” against the “fickleness and passion” of the temporary waves of public opinion.
Former Republican Leader Howard Baker referred to the Senate leadership job as “herding cats,” suggesting it required the dual ability to understand how the institution worked and to understand the personalities of individual members.
For certain, Leader McConnell has a clear grasp on the arcane rules and precedents of this body. And he’s kept his finger on the pulse of our caucus for now 18 years.
You’ll have to ask him if he agrees with Senator Baker’s analogy of what it’s like to run the Senate. But in my observation, it’s not easy and often thankless.
In closing, I applaud Senator McConnell for his historic service as our Republican leader.
Barbara and I extend our warmest wishes to him and Elaine for [their] partnership and decades of public service. We are grateful for our friendship over these many years.
I’m glad to say this isn’t a farewell speech. We will continue our work together in the next Congress here in the United States Senate.
I have no doubt Senator McConnell will continue to be an effective champion for American agriculture, U.S. leadership around the world and peace through strength and, especially, prosperity for all the American people.
I yield the floor.
