Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Wednesday revealed that he received a phone call from President Donald Trump reassuring the senator that he supports ethanol production, a pet issue of Iowa politicians.
Just had ph call from Pres Trump + he assured me he's pro ethanol +I'm free 2 the ppl of Iowa he's standing by his campaign PROMISE
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 30, 2017
Tlkd 2 @realDonaldTrump about ethanol +he knows that ethanol is good good good
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 30, 2017
When Pres Trump called me I thanked him 4his continued attention + response to hurricane Harvey @realDonaldTrump
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 30, 2017
The call from Trump voicing support for an issue important to the Iowa senator followed reports on Tuesday that Donald Trump, Jr. had set a date to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs, in a closed-door interview. The committee hasn’t confirmed when exactly senators with interview Trump Jr., but Politico reported that it could come in the next few weeks.
A spokesman for Grassley, Taylor Foy, told the Washington Post that Trump and the senator did not discuss the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the U.S> election. The call only lasted for a couple of minutes, during which the two discussed ethanol, Hurricane Harvey, and the ambassador to China, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Foy told the Post. Grassley also informed Trump that he’d tweet about their conversation on ethanol, Foy said.
A White House official told the Post that Trump made the call to quash rumors that he no longer supported ethanol.
