Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will return to Washington in January to work with what he calls the shrinking Republican minority. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate in November elections and will now control both houses of Congress and the presidency. Grassley, a Republican, says that will change how business gets done.
"We have reduced Republican numbers. We are not in the position of negotiating the way we have before," Grassley said. "Democrats say they want bipartisanship. To that extent, they’ll get the help of Republicans." Grassley says it will be up to Democrats to reach across the aisle.
"Total responsibility for partisanship is going to be on the backs of the Democrats. Everything’s going to be on their shoulders because they have both houses of Congress and the presidency, and there’s not much to be done to stop them," Grassley said. The senator says the number one issue facing Congress will be the economy. He questions proposals to shift federal money to the states for infrastructure projects. Grassley says he wants to make sure THAT results in what he calls "real job creation – rather than just shoveling money out of an airplane."