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SALT LAKE CITY — With Mitt Romney set to exit the U.S. Senate, Washington will probably be with out one in all its strongest conservative critics of Donald Trump when the president retakes the White Home within the new yr.
The retiring senator will replicate on his two-decade political profession, which included the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, a time period as Massachusetts governor and several other skirmishes with Trump loyalists in Congress, at a closing information convention Friday in Salt Lake Metropolis.
Romney, 77, selected to not run for reelection this yr after representing Utah within the Senate since 2019. He has mentioned he needs to concentrate on getting extra younger individuals concerned in politics after he leaves workplace in January however has not shared particular plans.
As soon as the standard-bearer of the Republican Celebration, Romney watched his model of reasonable conservatism shift from institution to outlier as Trump took maintain of the occasion.
He quickly grew to become the voice of Congress’ centrist core, main negotiations for the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure legislation — one of many Biden administration’s crowning achievements — and a significant COVID-19 aid bundle.
Political observers fear his departure might create a vacuum of sturdy centrist voices who can hold bipartisanship alive at a time of elevated polarization in Washington.
Romney will probably be succeeded within the Senate by Republican U.S. Rep. John Curtis, who has developed a status for pushing again in opposition to occasion leaders comparable to Trump who falsely declare local weather change is a hoax. Eyes will probably be on Curtis and different reasonable Republicans who would possibly break with the occasion in votes to substantiate Trump’s cupboard picks.
In 2020, Romney grew to become the primary senator in U.S. historical past to vote to convict a president from their very own occasion in an impeachment trial. He was the only Republican in Congress to vote to convict Trump at his two impeachment trials. Trump was acquitted by the Senate each instances.
Earlier this yr, Romney pledged to not vote for Trump however declined to affix another high-profile Republicans in endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris, saying he wished to protect his future means to assist rebuild the Republican Celebration.
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