SALT LAKE CITY — The federal courthouse in Salt Lake City will bear the name of retired Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch.
President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill Monday to rename the 10-story building at 351 S. West Temple in honor of Hatch, the longest-serving Republican ever on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Utah’s longest-serving U.S. senator.
“Sen. Hatch dedicated his life to serving Utahns and this is a fitting tribute to his service,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who served alongside Hatch for eight years.
Hatch, 86, retired in 2019 after 42 years in the Senate. He was first elected in 1976, defeating Democratic incumbent Sen. Frank Moss, whose name graces the former U.S District courthouse that sits on the same block as the newer building, which opened in 2014.
Rep. Ben McAdams, Utah’s only Democrat in Congress, led the effort in the House to push the measure through. Lee and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, sponsored it in the Senate.