Who?Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — President pro tempore of the United States Senate (3rd in line for presidency)LISTEN: Laslo & Grassley Ask a Pol asks:What do you make of House Republicans following President-elect Donald Trump’s lead and scuttling the bipartisan measure to fund the government because it doesn’t raise the nation’s debt ceiling? Key Grassley:“It costs money to shut the government down,” Sen. Chuck Grassley exclusively tells Ask a Pol.ICYMI — Laslo used this interview in a Raw Story featureCaught our ear:“Government's a service to the people. You can't serve the people [shut down],” Grassley tells us. “So I just don't want the government to shut down.” ICYMI — Was a busy week in Washington… Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Chuck Grassley SCENE: Right after House Republicans rejected a year end bill to fund the government midweek, Sen. Chuck Grassley arrives at the historic Senate Carriage Entrance to the US Capitol for a Senate vote. Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo is outside the Capitol and tries to squeeze in a brief interview with the 91-year-old, but Grassley’s having none of the cold, damp night and ushers Laslo into the Capitol where he has to go through the magnetometer. After that, they continue their conversation on an elevator so Grassley can cast his vote on the Senate floor. Matt Laslo: “Look at this young man.” Chuck Grassley: “Hey, how are you doing?”ML: “Nice bow tie.” CG: “What are you doing outside when it's warm inside?” Every bit helps! Consider chipping in to support our independent journalism — Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!ML: “It's not bad.”CG: “Okay.” ML: “What do you think of House Republicans scuttling this year end bill?” CG: “Come on in here.” Grassley ushers Laslo into a temporary construction entrance to Capitol. ML: “But what do you think of…?”CG: “We’ll go through there now.” Laslo chuckles as Grassley sends him through security. ML: “Yes, sir.” Grassley waits as Laslo empties his pockets and heads through the magnetometer. ML: “Senator, what do you think of…?” Grassley’s now focused on catching one of six elevators in front of them. ML: “What do you make of your House colleagues scuttling….?”CG: “Can you walk so I can go up.” ML: “I can do whatever you want, sir.” “Preciate ya,” Laslo whispers to an officer at the security screening.“Yes, sir,” the Capitol Police officer replies. Grassley and Laslo enter an elevator. CG: “Let’s go up to two when you’re ready. I’ll be up there.” Laslo’s still putting his metallic objects back in his pockets. CG: “Your question is about the House?” ML: “Yeah. What do you make of them scuttling this year end bill?” CG: “What happens in the House I can't do anything about. I guess the bottom line for me is, like, I'll bet I've told you 100 — a dozen times, you can't shut government down. It costs money to shut the government down.”ML: “Yeah?” CG: “Even costs money this week to study what you want to do if you shut the government down.” ML: “Yeah?” CG: “And then it costs money to open up the government. And then government's a service to the people. You can't serve the people. So I just don't want government to shut down.” ML: “So it’s almost defeating your own cause with DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] and that effort?” CG: “Well, I'm not in a position to tell the House what to do. I'm just telling you the consequences of it, and I don't want those consequences.”ML: “Appreciate you.” CG: “Alright.”Grassley heads to the Senate floor to vote. ML: “Happy holidays if I don't see you.” Content posted at AskaPolpolitics.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. Get full access to Ask a Pol politics at www.askapolpolitics.com/subscribe
