(Radio Iowa) – Chuck Grassley says if he’s re-elected and Republicans hold majority control of the U.S. Senate for the next six years, he may become chairman of the committee that oversees the entire federal budget. “I’m going to finish out my two years of the six years I can be chairman of the Judiciary Committee if we’re in the majority,” Grasley says, “and then the next committee I can be chairman of would be the Budget Committee.” Grassley is a long-term member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, but Grassley says he’s not positioned to be a chairman of that panel.

“I think the chances of that are nil,” Grassley says. “…My seniority has been emphasized on the other three committees: Budget, Finance and Judiciary.” Grassley says the Ag Committee’s work on the 2023 Farm Bill is well-underway and prospects for the legislature are good, whichever party holds a majority of seats in the senate next year. “I think we’ll get it passed,” Grassley says. “It tends to be one that’s very bipartisan.” Democrat Mike Franken, a retired Navy admiral, is challenging Grassley’s bid for an eighth term in the U.S. Senate. Franken would seek a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if he’s elected.