Sen. Chuck Grassley’s mother is dead.
The Iowa Republican’s wife, Barbara, is very much alive, and she accompanied him to the Capitol Tuesday as Vice President Joe Biden welcomed the latest crop of United States senators.
However, a pair of reporters covering the swearing-in ceremony mistook the senator’s wife for his mother.
“Biden gave Sen. Grassley’s mom a full kiss on the lips,” BuzzFeed’s Emma Loop said in a tweet that included a picture of the act.
C-SPAN’s Graham MacGillivray made a similar mistake.
Both reporters quickly acknowledged the error, and they tweeted corrections.
At 83-years-old, Chuck Grassley is the second-eldest member of the U.S. Senate. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is 87 days older. Grassley and his wife have five children: Wendy, Lee, Jay, Robin and Michele.
