Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator, to Retire, Opening Path for Mitt Romney<br />And the president used a speech in Salt Lake City to say<br />that he hoped Mr. Hatch would “continue to serve your state and your country in the Senate for a very long time to come.”<br />The senator returned the favor at the White House when Mr. Trump signed the tax measure, calling him “one heck of a leader.”<br />“We are going to make this the greatest presidency we have seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever,” Mr. Hatch said.<br />”As Chairman of the Senate Finance and Judiciary Committees<br />and as the longest-serving Republican Senator in U. S. history, Senator Hatch has represented the interests of Utah with distinction and honor,” he said.<br />Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the longest-serving Senate Republican, announced on Tuesday he will retire at the end of the year, rebuffing the pleas of President Trump to seek an eighth term<br />and paving the way for Mitt Romney, a critic of Mr. Trump’s, to run for the seat.<br />Mr. Zwick did not confirm Mr. Romney would enter the race,<br />but said “of all the people who can run, Mitt will represent and honor the legacy of Senator Hatch more than anybody.”<br />As for fidelity to Mr. Trump, Mr. Zwick was more restrained.<br />“It would be difficult to defeat Mitt Romney if he were running here,” said David Hansen,<br />a longtime Utah Republican strategist and chairman of Mr. Hatch’s political organization.
