Grassley to have outpatient surgery

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley set a record two years ago for the longest time in the U.S. Senate without missing a vote.

But on Wednesday, the Iowa Republican disclosed he's having what he called a routine outpatient surgery on Friday that he hopes won't break his streak.

Grassley, in his weekly conference call with Iowa reporters, said the surgery was in the 'category of a hernia fix.” He gave no other details.

However, he added that even though his plan was to be back at the Senate for votes Monday afternoon, his son had a similar procedure last year and warned him 'don't expect to be very active for quite a while.”

Nonetheless, Grassley said he is hopeful.

'I hope I don't miss any votes because I want to continue to represent the people of Iowa like I have for the 8,025 votes that I've cast in a row since 1993,” he said.

Grassley, who is 84 and renowned for visiting all 99 Iowa counties each year, broke the Senate record in early 2016 by going roughly 22-and-a-half years without missing a vote.

The previous Senate record, according to Roll Call, had been held by the late William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin.