Senator Chuck Grassley says that despite President Obama’s reported outreach to Republicans, the president hasn’t called the Iowa senator since 2009.
“During that period of time, the president would call me on my cellphone and talk to me. I don’t know if it was a half a dozen times or a dozen times, but enough so you remember he called you,” Grassley said in an interview with The Hill.
Senator Grassley has jurisdiction over two of the President’s top legislative priorities: gun violence and immigration reform.
Although Grassley hasn’t heard from the president, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday that Obama has been actively reaching out to Republicans to push for immigration legislation.
“The president has been working very hard on this matter. He’s had numerous conversations with lawmakers in both parties,” Carney said.
Grassley also said the president has failed to rise to his promise of running the most transparent administration in history.
“Historically in my time in the Senate, I’ve had problems with both Republican and Democratic presidents, but this president is the worst from this standpoint — his own benchmark,” Grassley told The Hill. “By his own benchmark this is the most stonewalling president this country has ever had.”