For the first time in 40 years, Sen. Chuck Grassley will not be in attendance at the Republican National Convention.
The Iowa Republican blamed the coronavirus pandemic for his planned absence during a call with reporters on Monday. The novel coronavirus has the most severe effect on patients who are over the age of 60. The senator is 86.
“I’m not going to go. And I’m not going to go because of the virus situation,” Grassley said.
The Republican National Convention is held every four years to conduct its main order of business: nominating a presidential candidate. Grassley has attended every gathering since his election to the Senate in 1980. This year, President Trump will accept the Republican nomination for his reelection bid.
The pandemic has already rattled the convention. The Republican National Committee announced it would not host the event in North Carolina, as originally planned, because Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper could not guarantee that social distancing mandates would not hamper the convention.
The RNC settled on Jacksonville, Florida, as its new convention site, with the gathering taking place from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27. Grassley told reporters that he felt moving the location of the convention was the right call.
“Going to a place where the governor feels that it’s safer is probably the right thing to do if you want to have a convention,” he said. “And I think we should have a convention, but I think you should do whatever you can to make it as safe as possible, so that would mean with face masks and with social distancing.”
While Grassley will not be traveling to Florida for the convention, he said he plans to visit all 99 counties in Iowa over the next two weeks as scheduled. The senator has already started the tour, which he does annually and included a few events on Memorial Day. He said his team requires that guests either wear a face mask or stay 6 feet apart.
