begin quote from:
Major Utah paper
calls on Hatch to
not seek re-
election
calls on Hatch to
not seek re-
election
Story highlights
- The paper said Hatch has an "unquenchable thirst for power"
- Hatch has yet to announce if he will seek re-election or retire
(CNN)A
major Utah newspaper slammed the state's senior senator, Orrin Hatch,
in a scathing editorial Monday, calling on him not to seek re-election.
The Salt Lake Tribune, labeling the Republican senator "Utahn of the Year," took issue with Hatch's role in President Donald Trump's decision to shrink national monuments in Utah and his role in the GOP's package of tax cuts and reform.
The
paper's editorial board also said its position on Hatch was due to "his
utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for
power."
The
paper said now that Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, had helped shepherd through his long-sought goal of tax
reform, he should announce he will not seek re-election.
"It
would be good for Utah if Hatch, having finally caught the Great White
Whale of tax reform, were to call it a career," the editorial stated.
"If he doesn't, the voters should end it for him."
Hatch responded to the editorial with a tongue-in-cheek tweet, along with his own "picks" for Utahn of the Year.
"Grateful
for this great Christmas honor from the Salt Lake Tribune. For the
record, I voted for @SpencerJCox and @rudygobert27," Hatch's tweet said.
Spencer Cox is the Republican lieutenant governor of Utah, while Rudy
Gobert plays for the Utah Jazz.
Political observers from Utah to Washington have watched Hatch closely
to see if he will seek re-election or announce his retirement, opening
up a Senate seat in a solid red state. Former Massachusetts governor and
2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is reportedly considering a
Senate run in Utah and holding off in anticipation of Hatch's decision.
The Tribune's criticism of Hatch is tied closely to Hatch's support of Trump, a controversial figure in heavily Republican Utah.
Although Trump carried the state in 2016, a third-party challenger netted about a fifth of the vote, and Romney was among Trump's staunchest Republican critics in the run-up to Election Day.
This month, Hatch was one of the Republicans to stand alongside
Trump at a White House event commemorating congressional passage of tax
legislation. At the event, Trump invited members of Congress to speak,
and when Hatch's turn came, he offered a glowing approval of the
legislation -- and the President.
Hatch told CNN in March that Trump had urged him to seek re-election, and although he said
in 2012 that, if re-elected at the time, it would be his last term,
Hatch has yet to announce whether he will bring his political career to a
close.
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