[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 73 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



               Remembering Janet Gardner Mullins Grissom

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, over the weekend, our Nation lost an 
outstanding public servant, and I lost a dear friend of nearly 40 
years.
  Janet Gardner Mullins Grissom was a proud daughter of Louisville, a 
trailblazing government leader, and my very first Chief of Staff here 
in the Senate. She passed away at the age of 73.
  I believe Janet was a 29-year-old single mom when she and her young 
daughter Shannon arrived here in the Nation's Capital, determined to 
start a new chapter. To give you a sense of Janet's spirit, here is 
what she would later say about her first job interview:

       I told them I could take dictation, which I couldn't, but I 
     figured I could learn.

  Janet had smarts. She had tenacity. And she had a communication style 
that one might delicately call direct. Our hometown newspaper would 
later report that she had ``a salty tongue.'' Well, that was putting it 
mildly. She was a riot. She was a force of nature. And those qualities 
fueled a meteoric rise.
  By the time I met Janet at some parent-teacher function at both of 
our daughters' school back in 1983, she had already ascended to the top 
rank of Senate staffers and actually left Washington to go back home to 
Louisville.
  As you can imagine, I had to cajole Janet into heading up my long-
shot first Senate campaign. I understand Shannon only permitted her mom 
to take the job and the potential return to Washington that winning 
might entail because Janet had assured her there was virtually no 
chance we would pull it off. Surprisingly, we did pull it off. We 
packed our boxes for Washington. I believe Shannon at least got a new 
puppy for a consolation prize.
  Janet's veteran know-how helped me hit the ground running and make an 
impact from the start. She could ask for sensitive meetings, explain 
detailed policy issues, and curse a blue streak at some unruly 
reporter--and that she would all do before lunchtime. You couldn't 
imagine a better friend to have in your corner.
  I believe she was the first woman to serve two different Senators as 
chief of staff. After my office, Janet's next stop was the political 
operation of then-Vice President Bush. That is where she met James A. 
Baker after he left President Reagan's Cabinet to oversee the Bush 
campaign in 1988. Apparently, while the other campaign staff greeted 
the famous newcomer with the awe and deference one might expect, Janet 
marched down the hallway barefoot and said: ``Hey, Jim, nice to meet 
you.'' Everyone else recoiled, but Jim Baker laughed. When he became 
Bush 41's Secretary of State, Janet went with him and served as 
Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. When Baker became White 
House Chief of Staff, Janet went with him and became an assistant to 
the President. And when Janet left government for the private sector, 
she kept on blazing trails. She spent a decade helping steer the Ford 
Motor Company as a senior officer.
  So Janet Mullins Grissom built a prototypical Washington, DC, 
powerhouse resume by being a thoroughly untypical Washington person. 
Brilliant and accomplished, yes, but tough as nails and a little rough 
around the edges in the best ways.
  That same spine of steel helped Janet hold a serious illness at bay 
for a number of years. Up to just a few days ago, she was still in the 
fray, still tweeting up a storm on politics and media criticism, 
relishing the good fight right to the end.
  Janet lived to see her most lasting legacy come full circle. Her 
older grandson, Harry, has a startup business. Her younger grandson, 
Sam, has gone into political communications himself. He even spent a 
couple of years in my office as an outstanding speechwriter and press 
aide. I know Janet was thrilled to see the boys thriving.
  Elaine and I send our deepest condolences to Janet's husband Tom, her 
beloved daughter Shannon, and her grandchildren, Harry and Sam, and all 
the family members, friends, and colleagues mourning this tremendous 
loss.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.