Full Breakdown
Senator Chuck Grassley Bids Farewell to Vacuum “Beth”
8/9/2026, 11:45:29 PM
Retirement of a Household Workhorse
Senator Chuck Grassley announced on Saturday that his long-time Hoover vacuum, affectionately called Beth, is being retired after its electrical cord began sparking. In an X post he wrote that the appliance was “not safe to use anymore” and shared a photo of the blackened plug.
Grassley’s History with Beth
Grassley said Beth had operated “dependably” for 34 years in his Iowa home after spending 15 years at his mother-in-law’s house, giving the machine a total of 49 years of service. He first revealed the name in 2021, noting the vacuum was named after a former Senate staffer. A 2023 video of Grassley using Beth while preparing for Thanksgiving attracted more than one million views, during which he called the device “old faithful” and praised its reliability.
Reactions from Fellow Lawmakers
Republican Senator Tim Scott responded, “Sorry for your loss. They don’t build them like they used to.” Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr posted a brief “RIP Beth. A good run.” Iowa Democratic state Representative Josh Turek shared Grassley’s post and expressed sympathy, while Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida replied with a GIF of Luke Skywalker crying, captioned “No!” Grassley’s communications director, Clare Slattery, asked the public to respect the senator’s privacy during the “difficult time.”
Senate Leadership and Legislative Activity
Grassley, who serves as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and as president pro tempore of the Senate—placing him third in the presidential line of succession—welcomed the Senate’s 50-49 confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general hours before announcing Beth’s retirement. He also voiced “proud” support for a federal voter-ID bill he described as “common sense” and bipartisan; the measure failed to advance, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.
