Iowans elected Joni Ernst to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and her G-O-P colleagues have just elected her vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. It’s the first time since 2010 that a woman has been elected by her fellow Republicans to serve in a leadership role in the senate.
As vice chair, Ernst will be a leading messenger for the G-O-P agenda in the senate. In addition, she’ll be a liaison between rank-and-file members of the senate and the top G-O-P leaders.
Republican Chuck Grassley, the other U.S. Senator from Iowa, will be the Republican with the longest tenure when the Senate convenes in January. Grassley will become the Senate President Pro Tempore because of that seniority. As senate president pro tem, Grassley will be third in the line of presidential succession, behind the vice president and the speaker of the U.S. House.
