Posted on 01/02/2018 11:22:11 AM PST by jazusamo
Video at link.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the longest-serving GOP senator in U.S. history, announced Tuesday that he'll retire at the end of his term.
Hatch made the announcement in a video posted on Twitter. The announcement is a blow to President Trump, who has publicly encouraged him to run for reelection.
The 83-year-old senator appeared to be signaling in recent weeks that he’d run for an eighth term in 2018, even though he previously said he’d retire when his term is up in January 2019.
The powerful Senate Finance Committee chairman played a significant role in helping Republicans pass a major tax overhaul and was also integral in the White House’s decision to shrink two national monuments in Utah. And Trump has been showering praise on Hatch, who he called a “true fighter” during a Salt Lake City speech in early December. Still, Hatch was under pressure to retire and his decision comes after The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah’s largest newspaper, published a scathing Christmas Day editorial calling on him to retire. The editorial board wrote that he has an “utter lack of integrity” that comes from “his unquenchable thirst for power.”
The spotlight now shifts to Mitt Romney, who has been reportedly eyeing a Senate bid only if Hatch retired. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee is expected to be able to clear the field since he remains highly popular in Utah. Romney, a Mormon, has strong ties to the state and helped lead the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Trump and some of his allies, including former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, were reportedly looking to block the former Massachusetts governor from running by encouraging Hatch to stay in the seat.
Romney clashed with Trump during the 2016 election, calling the then-GOP presidential candidate a “phony” and a “fraud.” And more recently, Romney condemned failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore after Trump endorsed him amid sexual misconduct allegations.
It’s unclear when Romney will decide whether or not he jumps back into the political arena, but he has until March 15 to file for Hatch’s seat.
“I haven’t spoken directly to the Governor about his intentions, but I do think he maintains a desire to serve the public,” Ryan Williams, a former aide to Romney’s presidential campaign, told The Hill last week. “I think if an opportunity arose he would seriously consider it.”
So we have a year to find his replacement who must not be a RINO.
Buh bye booby ...
Where does Mittens live?
Last I read, he was a resident of Massachusetts. I guess he can pull up stakes and get his magic undies to UT, real quickly like.
But, don’t you have to claim primary residence, somewhere??
I did some research for once. He built a house in Utah in 14 or so and says he lives there. I suppose he does when he is in the state.
I think so.
Both Hillary and Romney-—carpetbaggers.
Doesn’t he actually live in NH?
I have no idea. I can’t keep up with McRomney.
Don’t we have some conservative who can run?
[More like the entire country gets the Mittens @hole.]
Precisely what is wrong with the Senate today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.