Shock as 93-year-old GOP senator won’t rule out another run: ‘The next Mitch McConnell’

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), 93, was pressed recently about whether he intended to run for a ninth term in 2028, and his answer — or lack thereof — alarmed critics.

“Senator, are you seriously considering running again in 2028?” asked independent journalist Desirée Townsend, who in recent months has drawn attention for her reporting on Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his health-related absence.

A video of the encounter showed Grassley not responding to Townsend’s question. Townsend later claimed the Iowa Republican had “not ruled out another run for the U.S. Senate in 2028.” Should Grassley be reelected, he would be 101 years old at the end of his ninth term.

Former West Virginia state House lawmaker Derrick Evans — a devout supporter of President Donald Trump and convicted Jan. 6 Capitol rioter — was not happy that Grassley appeared to be eyeing another term.

“I guess Chuck Grassley wants to be the next Mitch McConnell,” Evans wrote Wednesday in a social media post on X, referencing McConnell’s shocking return to the Senate last week, which came with instructions for journalists not to film the Kentucky Republican. “When did the US Capitol turn into an exclusive assisted living facility?”

Grassley declined to rule out another bid last year, telling reporters to ask him the question “in a couple years.”

“Term limits and age limits NOW,” wrote Chris Nelson, a Florida-based independent journalist, in a social media post on X.

Townsend gained a significant following after camping outside the hospital where McConnell was being treated during his months-long absence. Her controversial past, however, was flagged recently by “Bulwark Takes” host Tim Miller, who identified her as the key figure in a 2009 viral news segment in which she claimed to have developed a rare disability triggered by a flu shot, a claim that was heavily scrutinized at the time and in the years since.