U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is claiming that former President Joe Biden was indeed controlled by his staff during his four years in the White House. 

Grassley, according to the New York Post, made the claim during a recent appearance on the "Pod Force One" podcast.

As we will see, this is not the only claim about Biden that Grassley made. He also claimed that Biden's legacy will be tarnished by not only his declining mental and physical health but also by he and his family's alleged influence peddling.

Sen. Chuck Grassley insisted on the latest episode of “Pod Force One” with @mirandadevine that former President Joe Biden was controlled by White House staffers — and will go down in history as an ineffective commander-in-chief and senator. Subscribe here: https://t.co/XRpimjwh1W pic.twitter.com/MJOIdRPeZj

— New York Post (@nypost) August 27, 2025

Not a "very effective president"

During his podcast appearance, Grassley was asked to give his take on Biden's time in the Oval Office.

The senator said:

Considering the fact that he doesn’t look like he was running [the White House] at least in [the most] recent two or three years, I think he will never go down in history as a … very effective president.

Grassley admitted to being "a little naive" about how he perceived Biden.

"I think it’s, if you feel like you know somebody well, it’s hard to believe some of the things that you originally heard, now you kind of know. I was a little naive about how I looked at the ‘President Biden’ compared to ‘Sen. Biden,’" he said.

Grassley noted:

I got along with him. I didn’t think he was corrupt. I didn’t think he was incompetent. I had a pretty good relationship with him for 28 years that we served together … I wouldn’t say I was close. But we worked together on legislation. We got along personally pretty well.

There's more

During the interview, Grassley was asked directly whether or not he believed that Biden was controlled by members of his staff. The senator responded in the affirmative.

He said:

Yes. When you do a thousand commutations and pardons, and you don’t pay any attention to it, you aren’t doing your job.

Grassley also spoke about Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, saying that Biden "shouldn't have" done it, adding that "it proves the guilt of Hunter Biden."

If you have been following the news in recent weeks, then you probably are aware of the fact that Grassley has found himself on the wrong end of criticism from President Donald Trump over the so-called blue slip tradition in the Senate. More can be found here.

Grassley has argued that the tradition actually helps Trump, which is why he is standing by it.