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Orrin Hatch announced he will not run for re-election for his Senate seat in Utah where he is the longest serving GOP Senator and has served seven terms.
This clears the way for the very popular Mitt Romney to sweep in and take the seat and be a thorn in the side of Trump who he despises.
Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch to retire - CNNPolitics
This could be fun to watch.
This clears the way for the very popular Mitt Romney to sweep in and take the seat and be a thorn in the side of Trump who he despises.
Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch to retire - CNNPolitics
(CNN)Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch announced Tuesday that he won't seek re-election this year, clearing the way for Mitt Romney to return to the national stage by running for his seat.
He said in a social media message, "after much prayer and discussion with family and friends I've decided to retire at the end of this term."
Hatch, the Senate's longest serving Republican, has wrestled with the decision for months, emboldened by the entreaties of President Donald Trump, to seek an eighth term.
During an event last month at the Utah Capitol where Trump celebrated the administration's decision to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, Trump called Hatch "a true fighter" and said he hoped the Republican would continue to serve "in the Senate for a very long time to come."
The 83-year-old Hatch set off retirement rumors early last year when he said in an interview that he hoped to see Romney one day take his place. But he reversed course and repeatedly insisted to reporters that he "intended" to seek re-election. Last month, Hatch reveled in the spotlight as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee while shepherding a massive tax bill through the Senate -- attention, friends and colleagues said, that made him lean toward running again.
This could be fun to watch.