Has Trump Persuaded Orrin Hatch to Block Mitt Romney's Senate Bid?
The longtime Utah senator had promised this term would be his last, and told friends he planned on retiring. But after the president’s intervention, he may be changing his mind.
Just when Orrin Hatch thought he was out, Donald Trump pulled him back in.
After months of quietly laying the groundwork for his own retirement, the 83-year-old Utah senator has signaled to Republican allies in recent weeks that he’s having second thoughts about leaving office when his term ends next year. Interviews with 10 people familiar with the situation—some of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly—suggest that President Trump’s efforts to convince Hatch to seek reelection have influenced the senator’s thinking.
This perceived about-face by the seven-term senator has enraged loyalists to Mitt Romney, who had been planning to run for Hatch’s seat (at the senator’s urging no, less). Meanwhile, many Utah Republicans have grown
