Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley has been….in his words…..dropped from the conference committee charged with writing a final version of the giant tax cut bills which have passed the U.S. House and Senate.
Grassley is the current senior ranking member and past chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
@realDonaldTrump I'm the most Senior member of Senate Finance Comm I was dropped as Conferee So I won't be in front line fighting for what u and I believe to cut taxes
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 7, 2017
In an early morning post on Twitter addressed to President Trump, Grassley implied he should have been part of the group writing the final bill.
"I'm the most Senior member of Senate Finance Comm I was dropped as Conferee So I won't be in front line fighting for what u and I believe to cut taxes" the tweet read.
According to an e-mail from Grassley press aide Michael Zona, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell informed Grassley he would not be on the conference committee before releasing a list of the conferees last night.
Zona said "no specific reason was given" why Grassley was not named to the panel.
He and the president have talked so much about getting tax reform done. -Grassley aide Michael Zona
Grassley won negative attention in local and national media in connection with the bill when he said eliminating the estate tax rewards those who save and invest rather than spend “every darn penny they have, whether it's on booze or women or movies.”
Zona explained why Grassley was reaching out to President Trump.
“Sen. Grassley was notifying the president that he wouldn’t be on the conference committee because he and the president have talked so much about getting tax reform done,” Zona wrote.
