Orrin Hatch announces retirement, opening potential path to Senate for Mitt Romney
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced in a video Tuesday that he is retiring at the end of his term, putting an end to speculation over the future of the longest-serving Republican senator in American history. "When the president visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter," Hatch said, adding: "But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves."
Hatch's retirement conveniently opens up a path for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to run for the 83-year-old senator's seat, as is expected. Romney, though, is no friend of Trump's, and the president was rumored to have urged Hatch to attempt an eighth term.
Hatch's retirement will also leave open his position as chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Trump to partly fund SNAP as shutdown talks progressSpeed Read The administration has said it will cover about 50% of benefits
-
Political cartoons for November 4Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include Prince Andrew, the collapse of democracy, and more
-
Regal Scottish castle hotelsThe Week Recommends These rural retreats are perfect for a Traitors-inspired cosy winter break
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
