(Radio Iowa) — The two Iowans who represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate will have new leadership positions in 2019.

Republican Chuck Grassley was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, making him the Republican with the longest tenure there now. Because of that seniority, Grassley will become the Senate President Pro Tempore in January. It means he will be third in line of succession to the presidency, behind the vice president and the speaker of the U.S. House.

Joni Ernst, Iowa’s other senator, has been elected vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. She now ranks sixth on the leadership roster for Senate Republicans. She’s the first woman to be elected to Senate G-O-P leadership since 2010.

Senator GRASSLEY’S staff says it’s been 100 years since an Iowan served as Senate President Pro Tempore. Albert Cummins had been a three-term governor before he was appointed in 1909 by the General Assembly to serve as a U.S. Senator. Cummins served in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1926.