Sen. Chuck Grassley, 91, was sworn in as Senate president pro tempore on Friday, making him third in line to the presidency. The position goes to the longest-serving senator of the majority party. The Iowa Republican previously served as president pro tempore from 2019 to 2021, before Democrats took control of the Senate. Even after months of concerns about the age and mental fitness of President Joe Biden, neither the presidency nor Congress is getting any younger. Donald Trump will be the oldest president ever to take office at 78, and this Congress is the third oldest since its creation, according to NBC News. The average age in the Senate is 63.8 years, while the House’s average age is 57.7 years. Twenty members of Congress are 80 years or older. Though Chuck Grassley is currently the oldest sitting senator, he isn’t the oldest senator or president pro tempore ever. That was the South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond, who served as president pro tempore at the age of 98 in 2001.
