RIP to an American Workhorse: Chuck Grassley’s Famous Vacuum, Beth, Dies After 49 Years

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) usually appears in these pages while dragging more dirt out of the Justice Department. On Saturday, he delivered a much sadder disclosure.

Beth, the red-and-cream Hoover vacuum that became a frequent star of Grassley’s social media feed, has reached the end of the cord.

Grassley announced the news in two X posts. First, he showed the black electrical damage that finally made the vacuum unsafe to use. Then he tallied Beth's years with the family.

U willl see Beth no more See black that’s from electrical sparks. It’s not safe to use anymore. GOOD BYE BETH . U hv been a real workhorse. Ur namesake still is hard worker. I will miss u pic.twitter.com/Zu5dAtDyvZ
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 8, 2026

It’s a sad day at Grassley household…. For my 34 years and 15 yrs before that at my mother in law’s home Beth has worked dependably….
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 8, 2026

By Grassley’s count, Beth logged 49 years of service, including 34 with his household and 15 before that with his mother-in-law. That would put the start of her career around 1977, three years before Grassley was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

Beth outlasted presidential administrations, Senate majorities, countless newer appliances, and probably several perfectly good sets of carpet.

Her public record goes back at least to Thanksgiving 2018. While Mrs. Grassley and the couple’s daughter Wendy prepared a meal for 30 people at the family farm, Grassley introduced followers to his own contribution.

Mrs G and daughter Wendy hv started big job of preparing meal for30 at farm Thxgiving. So my housework contribution begins. This is my machine (Beth😄) pic.twitter.com/DYJCkdrqzk
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 20, 2018

From there, Beth became a Grassley holiday tradition. She helped prepare the farmhouse for Christmas gatherings, Easter celebrations, Thanksgiving dinners, and family reunions.

In 2022, Grassley told followers that Beth was already too old to repair, but predicted that careful handling would keep her cleaning for several more years. She did exactly that. By Christmas 2023, her holiday routine had even attracted international media attention, a fitting development for a vacuum that had, at that point, outlasted most political careers and at least three generations of Roomba.

Beth’s portfolio eventually stretched beyond housework. In April 2024, Grassley listed the agenda for a meeting with Iowa community bankers as “reducing regulations, passing a Farm Bill, the Fed & Beth the vacuum.”

Washington has put stranger things on meeting agendas.

One of Beth’s finest moments came in July 2025, when the machine finally met her namesake. Human Beth arrived wearing a “SERIOUS ABOUT VACUUMING” T-shirt and posed beside Grassley while holding the famous Hoover.

Beths collide: seen here w Beth the famous vacuums namesake pic.twitter.com/THu9Oo0btP
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 17, 2025

You see, Beth is named after his former, long-time aide, Beth Pellett Levine:

Thanksgiving Time Grassley clan gathers. Get out old reliable Beth. Called Beth bc of a reliable Atlantic family farmer/former staffer for me & Iowans. I vacuum bc I don’t want to be peeling potatoes pic.twitter.com/OvTfmPVqjl
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 23, 2021

Beth returned for another Christmas assignment in December 2025. Grassley even apologized for putting her to work one day late. It appears to have been her final holiday shift.

Here's hoping the Grassley family does not simply put Beth on the curb. The newly renovated Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa, reopened Thursday.

A Hoover with nearly 50 years of faithful service to an Iowa family has earned a little floor space.

Rest well, Beth. You were a real workhorse.

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