New year, no home base for Mitt Romney, who updated his twitter bio to Holladay, Utah, hours after Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch announced he will not be seeking another term.
The status update adds to the growing speculation that Romney, a fervent critic of the President, will run for Hatch’s soon to be vacated seat.
Hatch, 83, announced his plan to retire Tuesday, despite the president’s pleas to stay on longer than his already four decades in the senate.
A close to Romney told the Daily Beast that Romney is planning to run for the seat, but would not be announcing his candidacy anytime soon in deference to Hatch.
Before, after: Mitt Romney updated his Twitter bio to Holladay, UT hours after Senator Orrin Hatch announced he would not be seeking another term
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hatch says he is retiring after four decades in Senate
President Trump tweeted congratulations to Hatch, after he failed to prevent the 83 year old from seeking another 6-year term
Romney could create real road blocks to the administration’s agenda.
If Romney is elected in the notoriously red state of Utah, his role as a never-Trump voice could occasionally ally him with Democrats working to counter the president.
During a famous campaign speech, Romney said: ‘I’m afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart.’
‘Dishonesty is Donald Trump’s hallmark,’ Romney said in the blistering remarks.
On Tuesday, Trump praised Senator Hatch.
‘Congratulations to Senator Orrin Hatch on an absolutely incredible career,’ Trump wrote.
‘He has been a tremendous supporter, and I will never forget the (beyond kind) statements he has made about me as President. He is my friend and he will be greatly missed in the U.S. Senate!’
Trump’s statement referenced an emotional statement by Hatch praising the president who looked on at the White House upon Senate passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut Hatch had a hand in crafting.
Hatch ignored President Trump‘s pleadings to seek reelection despite an intensive lobbying campaign that could have prevented the emergence of a potentially serious Republican overseer in Romney.
President-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney dine at Jean Georges restaurant, November 29, 2016 in New York City when Romney was under consideration for secretary of state
Mitt Romney leaves after meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at the clubhouse of Trump National Golf Club on November 19, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey
‘Every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves,’ Hatch, 83, said in a video announcement. He was elected in 1976, on a campaign that warned against the dangers of staying in office too long.
The president went out of his way to keep Hatch in the chamber, lauding him repeatedly in public, and slicing away permanent environmental protection from huge swaths of land in Utah that had been designated as a national monument.
The president ‘has the greatest and deepest amount of respect for Sen. Hatch,’ White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday, adding that Trump was ‘very sad to see Sen. Hatch leave.’
Sanders declined to answer whether Trump would campaign for whoever becomes the GOP nominee in the deep-red state.
‘Obviously, I don’t think we’ve made a determination in terms of campaigning, but the President certainly has the greatest and deepest amount of respect for Senator Hatch and his over four decades of experience in the Senate,’ she said.
‘He’s particularly thankful for the Senator’s leadership and massive effort that he played, and the role that he played in getting the tax cut and reform package passed. And the President certainly praises his service and is very sad to see Senator Hatch leave and knows that he will certainly be missed.’
Asked about harsh statements between Trump and Romney, Sanders invoked the Hatch Act, named for the late Sen. Carl Hatch of New Mexico, and its prohibitions on certain political activities by government officials.
‘I haven’t had that conversation with him. And I think I would be prohibited from weighing in too far right now, given the Hatch Act, on who we might or might not support in that race,’ she said.
Romney, in his 2016 speech, added: ‘Now, I’m far from the first to conclude that Donald Trump lacks the temperament to be president. After all, this is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporter’s questions to her menstrual cycle, who mocked a brilliant rival who happened to be a woman due to her appearance, who bragged about his marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity.’
Romney continued: ‘Donald Trump says he admires Vladimir Putin, at the same time he has called George W. Bush a liar. That is a twisted example of evil trumping good.’
He added in the March 2016 speech: ‘Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities. The bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics. You know, we have long referred to him as ‘The Donald.’ He’s the only person in the entire country to whom we have added an article before his name, and it was not because he had attributes we admired.’
Hatch said in a video announcing his retirement: ‘When the President visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter. I’ve always been a fighter. I was an amateur boxer in my youth, and I brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington. But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching.’
‘That’s why, after much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I’ve decided to retire at the end of this term.’
As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, he helped write the tax cut Trump just signed, though he also delegated responsibilities to other senior lawmakers on the committee.
Romney served as governor of Massachusetts, where he developed a prototype of a state plan that helped inspire Obamacare.
He later ran against Barack Obama in 2012, and won an endorsement from then-businessman Trump.
‘It’s my honor, real honor, to endorse Mitt Romney,’ Trump said, calling him ‘tough’ and ‘smart.’
But Trump soon soured on Romney, and repeatedly said during his own campaign Romney had ‘choked’ against Obama.
In addition to lavishing Hatch with praise and slashing the Bears Ears National Monument expanded by President Obama that Hatch wanted to scale back, Trump said publicly he wanted him to remain.
He said in Salt Lake City he hoped Hatch would ‘continue to serve your state and your country in the Senate for a very long time to come.’
Hatch delivered an emotional speech at a White House pep rally celebrating House and Senate passage of the tax cut.
‘We are going to make this the greatest presidency we have seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever,’ Hatch said.
In addition to being a fierce critic of Trump, Romney is a Russia hawk. He famously said in a 2012 debate with President Obama Russia posed the greatest international threat to the country.
Although Trump urged Hatch to stay on, which would block a potentially formidable overseer in Romney, others urged retirement after his four decades in the Senate.
Among them was his wife, Elaine, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
A Facebook post by Romney didn’t mention his own interest in the position.
‘As Chairman of the Senate Finance and Judiciary Committees and as the longest-serving Republican Senator in U.S. history, Senator Hatch has represented the interests of Utah with distinction and honor,’ Romney wrote. ‘Ann and I wish Senator Orrin Hatch and his loving wife Elaine all the best in their future endeavors.’
Hatch also serves as president pro tempore of the Senate, which places him third in line for the presidency. The next most senior Republican once Hatch leaves the Senate would be Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.