Mitt Romney will RETIRE: Republican Senator, 76, says he won’t seek a second term because he’s too old and slams Biden and Trump
- The 76-year-old father-of-five who represents Utah confirmed the stunning decision in a video slamming Donald Trump and Joe Biden
- ‘At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,’ he said. ‘Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders’
Mitt Romney savaged Donald Trump and Joe Biden and called for a ‘new generation of leaders’ as he made a stunning announcement that he is to retire from the Senate.
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee sent shockwaves through Congress with his unexpected declaration.
He used it to fire parting shots at the disarray in his own party, and said Biden and Trump, like himself, were too old to serve in office.
The 76-year-old father of five represents Utah in the Senate. His term is up in 2024, and he said he will not seek re-election. He is younger than Trump, 77, and Biden, 80.
In a tirade on X, formerly Twitter, Romney said: ‘At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions to shape the world they will be living in.’
Sen. Mitt Romney will not run for re-election in 2024, the Utah Republican announced on Wednesday
Romney’s lengthy career in Republican politics includes a defeat to Barack Obama in the 2012 general election. He was also the only member of his party to vote to convict Trump of impeachment twice.
‘Contrary to a lot of expectations I enjoy my work in the Senate a good deal,’ Romney said, citing his work on the bipartisan infrastructure deal, Covid relief funding and voting legislation.
Romney cited looming threats like ‘mounting national debt, climate change, ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China’ as he tore into both leading presidential candidates.
‘Neither President Biden nor President Trump are leading their party to confront those issues,’ he said.
‘On deficits and debt both men refuse to address entitlements even though they know that this represents two thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that make no difference to the global climate.
On China, President Biden underinvests in the military and President Trump underinvests in our alliances. Political motivations too often impede the solution that these challenges demand.’
The senator, whose term ends January 2025, added: ‘While I’m not running for re-election I’m not retiring from the fight.’
Trump celebrated the news with an all-caps message on Truth Social.
‘FANTASTIC NEWS FOR AMERICA,THE GREAT STATE OF UTAH, & FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. MITT ROMNEY, SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS PIERRE DELECTO, WILL NOT BE SEEKING A SECOND TERM IN THE U.S. SENATE, WHERE HE DID NOT SERVE WITH DISTINCTION,’ he wrote, calling to mind Romney’s secret X account.
Utah’s GOP House Speaker Brad Wilson has already said he is ‘exploring’ the idea of running for the Senate seat.
Romney was elected to the Senate in 2018 after losing the presidential election and serving as Utah’s governor from 2007 to 2009.
Romney’s party has largely left him behind in the age of Trump – his core policies of free trade, hawkish defense, and reducing debt are no longer at the cutting edge of the GOP. The Utah Republican was one of the first Trump and his followers targeted as a ‘RINO’ – Republican In Name Only.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a fawning tribute to Romney’s career on X, calling him ‘the consummate American.’
‘There is no better man I have ever known,’ Ryan went on. ‘He has served this nation with distinction and long been a ballast for Republican ideals. The Senate’s loss is the Romney family’s gain. I’m thrilled that Mitt and Ann will have the opportunity to enjoy this new phase of life.’
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