- Sen. Romney thanks colleagues on both sides of the aisle for friendship and willingness to work together.
- One-term senator warned that our “national credit card is almost maxed out, and America risks becoming debt-poor.”
- Romney denounced those who “would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtue, or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Mitt Romney delivered his final Senate speech Wednesday, describing his term representing Utah as “an honor” and praising his Senate colleagues — both Republicans and Democrats — for their friendship.
“My biggest surprise in the Senate has been how much I enjoy the other senators, on both sides of the aisle,” Romney, 77, said.
Romney, who played a central role in negotiating bipartisan legislation during his lone six-year term in the Senate, earned praise from his colleagues for his character and his ability to get things done. About two dozen senators of both parties attended Romney’s speech Wednesday morning, and several took turns expressing public thanks to Romney.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, praised Romney’s “uncompromising honesty, earnest humility and evident devotion to faith.” Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat, called him a “great American patriot.” And Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent, said he is “a better person” because of his friendship with Romney.
Romney, in turn, focused much of his remarks on the people who have shaped his career and personal life. He thanked former business partners, political advisers, and staffers from his campaigns and Senate office by name, and requested that each of their names be included in the Senate record. He praised his wife, Ann, as his “most trusted adviser,” his “indefatigable ally,” and “the love of my life.”
Ann was in attendance, sitting in the upper gallery alongside three of their sons — Ben, Josh and Matt. Several Romney grandchildren accompanied them. Romney’s Senate staff filled in benches on the chamber floor.
Romney credited his fellow senators for his accomplishments. For the first several months of Romney’s tenure in the U.S. Senate, he was “mostly on my own, and thus mostly unproductive,” he admitted. He narrated how Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, invited him to join a group of senators for a COVID-19-style dinner at her home in late 2020 — socially distanced, windows open. The task was to “bridge the impasse between the President and Congress on COVID relief,” he said. By December 2020, they’d assembled a COVID-19 relief package that President Donald Trump signed into law.
That group of 10 Senators — including Murkowski, Manchin, Rob Portman, Kyrsten Sinema, Susan Collins, Mark Warner, Jon Tester, Bill Cassidy and Jeanne Shaheen — went on to play a pivotal role in negotiating bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, electoral reform, gun safety and marriage.
“We’d each come to Washington to enact laws that would help people, and that’s just what we did,” Romney said. “We accomplished together what we could have never done alone.”
While there are aspects of the Senate Romney said he will not miss — like “meaningful” and “inconsequential” votes — he noted he “will very much miss you, my fellow senators, for among you are some brilliant, some entertaining, some kind and generous and all patriotic,” he said. “It’s an honor to have been able to serve with you.”
At the close of his six-year term, the crowd at Sen. Mitt Romney’s farewell remarks Wednesday was an apt portrayal of Romney’s legacy. Most of the members of that original “Group of Ten” senators, spearheaded by Murkowski, were in attendance, as were more than a dozen Democrats. Booker, the former Democratic presidential candidate, embraced Romney as he entered the chamber; after Romney’s remarks, a stream of senators approached Romney to hug him or shake his hand.
Sen.-elect John Curtis — who will fill Romney’s seat in January — watched the speech from the Senate floor. Sen. Mike Lee, Romney’s colleague from Utah, was not in attendance.
“I thank Sen. Romney for his many years of public service,” Lee said in a written statement to the Deseret News afterward. “I wish him the very best of success in his future endeavors, and I know that his family will enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with him.”
In his speech, Romney praised the people of Utah, saying what sets the state apart is “not just its beauty and vibrant economy, it is the admirable character of its people.” He said he leaves Washington “with a sense of achievement,” though he acknowledged he “did not achieve everything I had hoped.” He singled out the national debt as a lingering issue.
“Among other things, the scourge of partisan politics has frustrated repeated efforts to stabilize our national debt,” he said. He warned that our “national credit card is almost maxed out, and America risks becoming debt-poor.”
In closing, Romney denounced those who “would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtue, or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend.”
“A country’s character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people,” he continued. “I leave Washington to return to be one among them, and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue, for it is only if the American people merit his benevolence that God will continue to bless America.” Romney’s remarks earned a standing ovation from his colleagues.