Congress’ Oldest Lawmaker Celebrates Milestone Birthday

Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Iowa Sen.

Chuck Grassley, the oldest member of Congress, is ringing in his 93rd year on Thursday.

At 93, he is the oldest sitting member of the Senate and is the sixth-longest-serving senator in U.S. history.

On his birthday, he appears to be in a celebratory mood as he posted a picture of himself in a Dairy Queen-branded sweatshirt holding a birthday cake gifted to him by his fellow Iowa Sen.

Joni Ernst, a 56-year-old Republican who is retiring from the Senate this year.

“Gr8ful for my fellow Senator for Iowa who brings me my favorite Dairy Queen cake each yr,” he posted.

He also posted that he went out for ice cream on Wednesday night with Ernst and some other Iowans.

Grassley has spent over six decades of his life in public office, having first been elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1958.

He was then elected to the U.S.

House in 1975, and later the Senate in 1980, a seat which he has held since.

To put it in some context, he was first elected to office during the Eisenhower administration.

He has been in office since he was 25 years old.

Still, he is seemingly popular in Iowa, as save for his first-ever election, Grassley has never won re-election without getting at least 60 percent of the vote.

The Iowa senator most recently won re-election in the 2022 midterm elections.