Charles Ernest Grassley
Republican
· IA Senate · 118th Congress
Joint Committee on Taxation (Chair) · Senate Committee on Finance (Chair) · and Family Policy (Chair) · Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Chair) · Senate Committee on Agriculture · and Forestry · Risk Management · and Trade · and Natural Resources · Specialty Crops · and Research · Local Food Systems · and Food Safety and Security · and Agriculture Security · and Credit · Natural Resources · and Infrastructure · and Global Competitiveness · Senate Committee on the Budget · Competition Policy and Consumer Rights · Agency Action · Federal Rights and Federal Courts · United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Influence Score
88.7
Most exposed
↓ -5.5
vs 118th (88.7)
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This score measures financial influence across twelve categories. Each bar shows how this member compares to all others in Congress. Longer bars mean more exposure.
Score breakdown — twelve categories
Contributionsmoney from PACs (political action committees) and individual donors
12.0
/ 12
Outside spendingmoney spent by groups to help elect them
4.5
/ 6
Spent to help elect them
$4,885,206
Outside groups that spent to help elect this member — this drives the outside-spending bar above
Spent to defeat this member
$291,189
Outside groups that spent to defeat this member (not counted in this score)
Lobbyinghow hard lobbyists push the committees this member sits on
7.7
/ 10
Vote alignmenthow often they vote the way their donors want
5.7
/ 12
Contribution timingmoney arriving near key votes
< 0.1
/ 6
Stock tradesbuying stocks in industries they regulate
0.0
/ 1
Dark moneyfunding from groups that hide their donors
< 0.1
/ 2
Outbound money distributionmoney this member sends out to the party and to colleagues
10.2
/ 16
Cluster network breadthhow many coordinated funding networks back this member
10.0
/ 10
Committee jurisdiction powerthe legislative reach of the committees this member sits on
10.0
/ 10
Foreign interestforeign-interest money — Israel-policy PACs and FARA-registered institutional lobbying allocated by committee jurisdiction
8.4
/ 12
Israel-policy PACs behind this score
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$7,900 direct
CITYPAC
$1,500 direct
FARA institutional lobbying
This member’s committees are targeted by $219.44M in lobbying from FARA-registered firms representing South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia. This exposure is weighted at 0.2% of face value in the score — $439K.
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Score across four congresses
Score and tier for each Congress. Members are ranked against others in the same Congress, so tiers are comparable across rows. Raw scores reflect different data availability per Congress.
| Congress | Score | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| 116th · 2019-2021 | 49.3 | Moderately exposed |
| 117th · 2021-2023 | 66.0 | Moderately exposed |
| 118th · 2023-2025 | 88.7 | Most exposed |
| 119th · 2025-2027 | 83.2 | Highly exposed |
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Biggest funding source
The single network behind the most money and influence
Total money from this network
$2,840,468
Number of funding networks contributing
1
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Where most of the money comes from
What share of their combined contributions and outside spending comes from a single network. Party committees are excluded.
Share from this one network
1.2%
Amount from this network
$30,000
Total from all networks
$2,530,621
Networks contributing
457
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Who funds Grassley
Every funding network we can measure, ranked by influence
$7,751,635
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Does the money match their power?
Whether their money comes from the industries their committees actually oversee
Money from industries they regulate
99.0%
Extra weight when money matches their committees
2.00×
Share of outside spending tied to their policy areas
98.6%
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Money timed to key votes
Donations arriving near key votes in the policy areas this member regulates
Times money arrived near a vote
2
Money that arrived near votes
$8K
Distinct donors
4
Distinct employers
2
Share of their total fundraising
1.95%
Biggest clusters of timed money
BLACKSTONE
$7K
MERCHENT INVESTMENT
$1K
TEXAS CAPITAL BANK
$105
TEXAS CAPITAL BANK
$105
TEXAS CAPITAL BANK
$50
TEXAS CAPITAL BANK
$50
WELLS FARGO
$25
WELLS FARGO
$25
WELLS FARGO
$25
WELLS FARGO
$25
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Top Donors
Biggest sources of contributions, grouped by employer, this cycle
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL
$5.67M
HOMEMAKER
$5.10M
BOEING
$3.67M
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
$3.48M
LOCKHEED MARTIN
$3.38M
LOCKHEED MARTIN
$3.12M
COMCAST CC OF WILLOW GROVE
$2.63M
CHARTER
$2.51M
GENERAL MOTORS
$2.25M
UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES
$2.16M
BNSF RAILWAY
$1.99M
NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE
$1.92M
UP RAILROAD
$1.70M
ENTREPRENEUR
$1.68M
THE ANTHEM COMPANIES
$1.52M
DELTA AIR LINES
$1.47M
RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES
$1.37M
CENTENE
$1.34M
DELL TECHNOLOGIES
$1.32M
AMGEN
$1.31M
Where the outside money comes from
How much of the outside spending for and against Charles Ernest Grassley comes from groups that disclose their donors versus groups that hide them
Total outside spending received
$2.60M
Disclosed outside spending
$2.59M
Dark-money outside spending
$12K
Share that is dark money
0.45%
Dark money tied to their policy areas
$0
Groups hiding their donors
2
By funding network
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS CONGRESSIONAL FUND
$1.88M
AMERICAN ENERGY ACTION FUND
$202K
HONORING AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT PAC
$174K
MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
$137K
LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR A SAFER AMERICA PAC
$97K
REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP FUND INC.
$28K
VETERANS AID PAC
$25K
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS INC.
$11K
RURALVOTE.ORG
$9K
VOTE LOCAL VOTE BLUE
$2K
AMERICA'S PROMISE
$2K
PRIORITIES FOR IOWA POLITICAL FUND
$1K
WOMEN SPEAK OUT PAC
$905
EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY VICTORY FUND (EVERYTOWN VICTORY FUND)
$861
PERFORMANCE RACING INC.
$500
Groups that hide their donors
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Pro-Israel network donors
This counts contributions to this member from individuals whose FEC filings also show contributions to one of the 16 pro-Israel political action committees tracked by the Index. It is a measure of donor overlap — not a claim about why any individual gave, and not part of the influence score.
112 individuals who also gave to pro-Israel PACs contributed $464K to Charles Ernest Grassley across 431 contributions.
Total from shared contributors
$464K
Shared contributors
112
Contributions
431
By cycle
| Cycle | Shared donors | Gifts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 110 | 417 | $447K |
| 2024 | 2 | 10 | $15K |
| 2026 | 2 | 4 | $2K |
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Revolving Door
14 former staff members
who worked for Charles Ernest Grassley or the committees they serve are now registered lobbyists.
| Lobbyist | Former position | Firm | Clients | Filings | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEANNE HAGGERTY | Legislative Correspondent Senator Chuck Grassley and Senate Aging Committee (sha… | WILLIAMS AND JENSEN, PLLC | 37 | 238 | 2023–2025 |
| CURTIS PHILIP | Deputy Chief of Staff, Rep. Lamar Smith/Professional Staff member, House Science… | ALPINE GROUP PARTNERS, LLC. | 30 | 208 | 2023–2025 |
| RODNEY WHITLOCK | 2011-2015: Health Policy Director, Sen. Chuck Grassley; 2005-2010: Health Policy… | MCDERMOTT+ LLC | 20 | 168 | 2023–2025 |
| AARON CUMMINGS | Chief of Staff - Sen. Chuck Grassley; Chief Counsel, Constitution/Crime Counsel … | CROWELL & MORING LLP | 17 | 17 | 2023–2025 |
| AARON CUMMINGS | Chief of Staff - Sen. Chuck Grassley; Chief Counsel, Constitution/Crime Counsel … | BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP | 16 | 17 | 2025–2025 |
| JAMES JOCHUM | Assistant Secretary for Import Admin, Department of Commerce; Assistant Secretar… | JST STRATEGIES LLC (FORMERLY JOCHUM SHORE & TROSSEVIN PC) | 7 | 41 | 2023–2025 |
| RODNEY WHITLOCK | 2011-2015: Health Policy Director, Sen. Chuck Grassley; 2005-2010: Health Policy… | MCDERMOTT WILL & SCHULTE LLP | 2 | 5 | 2023–2025 |
| BARRY BROWN | Deputy Chief of Staff, Rep. Lamar Smith/Professional Staff member, House Science… | ALPINE GROUP PARTNERS, LLC. | 1 | 12 | 2023–2025 |
| KEN CUNNINGHAM | Chief of Staff and General Counsel for Senator Grassley | KEN CUNNINGHAM GROUP, LLC | 1 | 2 | 2023–2023 |
| MICHELLE SEGER | Legislative Counsel, Legislative Assistant - Rep. Alex Mooney (R-NY); Legal Staf… | VENN STRATEGIES | 1 | 2 | 2023–2024 |
| KURT KOVARIK | Legislative Director - US Senator Charles Grassley -- Jan. 2017-Jan. 2018 Legisl… | CLEAN FUELS ALLIANCE AMERICA F/K/A NATIONAL BIODIESEL BOARD | 1 | 12 | 2023–2025 |
| AARON CUMMINGS | Chief of Staff - Sen. Chuck Grassley; Chief Counsel, Constitution/Crime Counsel … | CROWELL GLOBAL ADVISORS | 1 | 1 | 2024–2024 |
| KRISTINA SESEK | Counsel - Senate Judiciary Committee; Senator Lindsey Graham; Counsel - Senate J… | SAP AMERICA, INC. | 1 | 1 | 2025–2025 |
| EVELYN FORTIER | Chief Counsel for Justice Programs, Senior Counsel or Counsel to Senate Judiciar… | SPARACINO PLLC | 1 | 4 | 2025–2025 |
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Charles Ernest Grassley ranks among the most exposed members of this Congress — the top tier on the index. The markers run across several of the twelve categories for the same funding network: contributions, outside spending, lobbying inside the policy areas this member regulates, vote alignment, and contribution timing among them. The score measures financial exposure in the public record; it is not a finding of intent or wrongdoing.
Data: FEC (Federal Election Commission) filings · 118th–119th Congress · lobbying disclosures · VoteView recorded votes
All findings derived programmatically from public records · No prior knowledge required
All findings derived programmatically from public records · No prior knowledge required