Category: fox-news/person/mitt-romney

Romney uses Biden’s own words against him, calls for president to join him in retirement: ‘Time to transition’

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, used President Biden's own words against him on Wednesday while calling on him to drop his 2024 bid for re-election and join him in retirement at the end of his term.

Romney's challenge to Biden comes just hours after the first-term senator officially announced he would not be seeking a second term, citing his own advanced age as his main reason for the decision.

"President Biden, when he was running, said he was a transitional figure to the next generation. Well, time to transition," Romney said when asked by a reporter if his decision not to run for re-election because of his age should also apply to Biden, 80, and former President Donald Trump, 77.

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Romney's comments were in reference to Biden calling himself a "transition candidate" during his 2020 campaign for the presidency, something he later meant he would be someone who would help pave the way for a new generation of Democratic leadership.

"I think it would be a great thing if both President Biden and former President Trump were to stand aside and let their respective party pick someone in the next generation … I think both parties would be far better served if they were going to be represented by people other than those of us from the baby boom generation," he added.

Concern over Biden's age amid his re-election has continued to grow, even from within his own party. A recent Associated Press-NORC poll found 69% of Democrats think Biden is too old to run again.

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Romney's inclusion of Trump in his concern about the age of the two presidential front-runners joins that of Trump's closest rival in the Republican primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said during a recent interview on CBS that the former president's age was "a legitimate concern" for voters going into 2024.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Romney announces he won’t seek re-election in 2024, bashes Trump and Biden

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Wednesday announced that he is not seeking re-election in 2024 in a statement bashing both President Biden and former President Donald Trump while calling for "a new generation of leaders."

"I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-eighties. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in," Romney said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

"We face critical challenges — mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them," Romney said.

"On the deficits and debt, both men refuse to address entitlements even though they represent two thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that will make no difference to the global climate," he added.

With respect to China, Romney said, "President Biden underinvests in the military and President Trump underinvests in our alliances. Political motivations too often impede the solutions that these challenges demand. The next generation of leaders must take America to the next stage of global leadership."

"While I’m not running for re-election, I’m not retiring from the fight. I’ll be your United States Senator until January 2025. I will keep working on these and other issues and I will advance our state’s numerous priorities. I look forward to working with you and with folks across our state and nation in that endeavor," he said.

"It is a profound honor to serve Utah and the nation, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so."

It comes as questions have swirled over his political future. Romney, who was the GOP's presidential candidate in 2012, has faced blowback from his own party over his vocal criticism of Trump. Romney had voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials. 

He was first elected to the Senate from Utah in 2018, winning the GOP primary in landslide.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

But his willingness to reach across the aisle and criticize other national Republicans has caused friction with the Utah GOP. Last month, more than 60 GOP Utah state lawmakers endorsed Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson to mount a primary challenge against Romney. 

Wilson had formed a Senate exploratory committee in April but has not yet made a formal entrance into the race.

More than 60 Utah Republicans endorse primary challenger to Mitt Romney

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

More than 60 Republican lawmakers from Utah are pushing to end Sen. Mitt Romney’s career on Capitol Hill.

Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson has taken the first steps toward challenging Romney, the Republicans' 2012 presidential nominee, by forming a Senate exploratory committee in April.

The committee on Thursday announced that Wilson’s possible run is already being endorsed by three quarters of his GOP colleagues in the statehouse’s lower chamber and two-thirds of Republicans in the Utah Senate.

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"I am honored and encouraged to have the support of so many leaders from all corners of this great state," Wilson said. "Utah needs a bold, conservative fighter in the U.S. Senate and I am humbled at the support and encouragement we’ve received so quickly."

Romney has, at times, had a fraught relationship with Republicans in his state, particularly other elected officials, over his willingness to criticize and votes to convict former President Donald Trump after his impeachments. Utah’s Weber County GOP voted to censure him for it in May 2021.

Trump swept the state in 2020 during his race against President Biden.

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Romney has not announced whether he plans to run for re-election in 2024, but he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission earlier this year. It would be his first re-election campaign after winning his seat in 2018.

Early fundraising data show both he and Wilson are gearing up for an expensive fight.

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Romney has raised nearly $1.8 million so far this year for a possible re-election bid. Wilson’s war chest is currently larger with just over $2.2 million in receipts, but $1.2 million of that is a loan from the candidate himself.

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Wilson’s exploratory committee website touts him as "pragmatic and conservative" and a lifelong Utah resident. "Brad is exploring a run for the U.S. Senate in 2024 and knows Utahns deserve a bold, proven, and conservative fighter to represent them and their values in our nation’s capital," the site said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Romney’s office to inquire about any updates to his electoral plans, but did not immediately hear back.

Romney receives JFK ‘Profile in Courage’ award for voting to convict Trump on first impeachment charge

Posted on by Thomas Barrabi
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, received the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s 2021 “Profile in Courage” award on Thursday for what the organization described as his “historic” vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial last year.

Sen. Ron Johnson shows frustration with Sen. Mitt Romney during impeachment vote

Posted on by Marisa Schultz
Frustration spilled out on the Senate floor Saturday morning as Sen. Ron Johnson got into a heated conversation with Sen. Mitt Romney, as the Utah senator voted to allow witnesses at former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Romney could block Republican subpoena try aimed at the Bidens

Posted on by Edmund DeMarche
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who faced the scorn of President Trump and fellow Republicans over his vote last month during the Senate impeachment trial, questioned the motivation behind issuing a subpoena related to Hunter Biden and his dealing with Ukraine.

Romney, once vilified by Democrats, hailed as hero by the left after impeachment vote

Posted on by Ronn Blitzer
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who just eight years ago was jeered and vilified by Democrats as he ran for president, has suddenly been the recipient of gushing praise from the party since his vote to convict President Trump for abuse of power in his impeachment trial. 

Bloomberg uses Romney’s impeachment vote speech to bash Trump in new ad

Posted on by Kelly Phares
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is capitalizing on the vote by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., last week to convict and remove President Trump on the "abuse of power" article of impeachment.