Sen. Chuck Grassley has led probes into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server during her time as secretary of state. | AP Photo Grassley hits back at Clinton: 'The FBI's going to question her' The Judiciary Committee chairman preemptively responds to criticism for blocking Merrick Garland.

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa — Sen. Chuck Grassley preemptively swung back at Hillary Clinton ahead of her Monday speech in which she's expected to hammer the Judiciary Committee chairman for his role in blocking the confirmation of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

“With all the troubles she’s getting on email, and the FBI’s going to question her, I would imagine she’d want to change the tone of her campaign,” Grassley (R-Iowa) told POLITICO in an interview here. He was apparently referring to a Los Angeles Times story Monday that indicated an FBI investigation of the private email server she used as secretary of state is entering a final phase that will include interviews with her advisers.


The Democratic presidential front-runner is poised to criticize Grassley during a speech later Monday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The two have a contentious history: Grassley has led probes into Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state.

Grassley said Clinton’s comments would have no bearing on his plans not to hold confirmation hearings for Garland.

“I want to spend my time on doing things we’re going to accomplish and you know ahead of time that this isn’t going to be approved,” Grassley said, referring to Garland being confirmed. “So spend your time on things that … we can do in a bipartisan way instead of in a partisan way.”

Though she has spoken generally about the Senate Republican blockade of Garland, Clinton’s speech Monday is expected to elevate the focus on Grassley and challenge the Judiciary Committee chairman to promptly hold hearings for Garland.

Clinton’s speech Monday is intended to be just one marker in a broader campaign to shame Senate Republicans for blocking Garland’s nomination this year. But for all her warm words for the appellate court judge, Clinton has not committed to re-nominating Garland should she win the White House this fall and his nomination continues to linger.

Her primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has said he would forgo Garland for someone more liberal. But aside from Sanders, few, if any, Democrats have been willing to openly entertain the prospect that Garland will still be in limbo until after the election. That’s because Democrats don’t want to give up so easily on trying to secure confirmation for Garland this year.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been adamant that filling Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat will be up to the next president and Senate, and Grassley has shown no signs of budging.



Grassley said that he is expecting a phone call from Garland once the senator returns to Washington next week. And the senator said he does not plan on sending the White House a questionnaire filled out by Supreme Court nominees that advances the confirmation process.

“If they want to fill out a questionnaire, they’ve got the questionnaire there,” Grassley said. “But we aren’t sending one out.”

Grassley spoke with POLITICO at the Avera Holy Family Hospital in this rural northwest Iowa town. He also fielded questions from about three dozen hospital employees on topics ranging from the Supreme Court vacancy and rural health care to gun rights and the Republican presidential primary.

