Washington — Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who is nearing the end of his Senate term, warned against those who “damage our unity” in his farewell speech on Wednesday, urging Americans to uphold the country's values. Did, because he had worked for more than two decades. public service.
Romney said, “I have learned that politics alone cannot meet the challenges we face.” “The character of a country is a reflection not only of its elected officials, but also of its people. I'm leaving Washington to become one of them.”
romney announced In September 2023, he said he would not seek re-election after his first term in the upper house, saying at the time that “it is time for a new generation of leaders.” The 77-year-old Utah Republican was the GOP nominee for president in 2012 and also served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.
“Americans have always been fundamentally good,” Romney said in his farewell speech Wednesday. He argued that although mistakes have been made, “some serious”, the nation has from its earliest days been quick to help neighbors in need, welcomed the poor and the overcrowded, and respected different religions.
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Romney said that as his time in office comes to an end, he hopes to be “a voice of unity and virtue”, adding that “only if the American people are worthy of his generosity, will God continue to bless America “
The Utah Republican, known as a moderate in the upper chamber who has been openly critical of President-elect Donald Trump, failed to convict a member of his own party in 2020 during Trump's first impeachment trial in US history. Became the first senator to vote for. And he also voted to convict Trump for inciting the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. At the time he announced his retirement, Romney told reporters that the possibility of Trump returning to the White House would not impact his decision.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday praised Romney's “long and honorable career on the national political stage” in the Senate.
“Mitt Romney's repeated success in public office is a testament to the outstanding appeal of his character,” McConnell said, citing his work as Massachusetts governor and Utah senator. “As it turns out, unshakable honesty, profound humility and clear devotion to faith and family are as attractive in Cedar City as they are in Concord.”
McConnell added, “Of course, a certain telegenic quality, dare I say it, of the President's aura, doesn't do any harm.”
McConnell said Romney made himself the “linchpin” of bipartisan negotiations, and “managed to get more done in six years than many colleagues did in 12 or 18 years.”
Romney also celebrated his work on bipartisan infrastructure legislation, the Electoral Count Reform Act, gun safety legislation, and religious protections in marriage legislation, saying he would “leave this House with a sense of accomplishment.” But he acknowledged that he would also “leave with the recognition that I did not achieve everything I expected.”
Romney said that the “crisis of partisan politics” has stalled efforts to stabilize the nation's debt, emphasizing that without the “burden” of interest on the debt, the nation could triple on military purchases or Social Security. But it can cost double. Profit every month.
McConnell said that after Romney became governor and made a bid for the presidency, observers may have wondered what else he would have to prove when he came to the Senate.
“It wasn't about what he had left to prove, it was what he had left to give,” the GOP leader said.