Mitt Romney discusses age as he leads wave of older senators calling it quits

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Mitt Romney
FILE – Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, questions witnesses during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on June 16, 2022, in Washington. GOP senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor. “What President Biden is doing by jamming woke and green agenda items into legislation we pass is making it harder for him to ever get legislation passed again,” said Romney, who voted for the law. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<br/><br/>The mayor of Riverton, Utah, has officially entered the race for Romney’s seat in 2024. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Mitt Romney discusses age as he leads wave of older senators calling it quits

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) suggested that older members of Congress should step aside and pass the torch to a generation of younger leaders.

In an interview with Politico, Romney, 76, reflected on his legacy and time in Congress. After announcing that he would not run for reelection in 2024, the former presidential candidate cited his age as the reason and encouraged other older political leaders to follow his lead.

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Romney is just one of several older senators to announce their retirement. Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have all announced a retirement this Congress. Several older senators, such as Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), are facing increasing calls to follow suit amid recent health scares.

“I look at Biden and I look at McConnell, and I say, ‘OK, these are guys in their early 80s,” he told the outlet. “I’d be in my mid-80s. It’s not like I have to have this job for my ego and my self-esteem.”

Romney also extended the logic to the presidency, saying he doesn’t think President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump should be the parties’ nominees.

“I don’t see the leadership coming from either person,” he said, referring to Biden and Trump. “Now, I may kick myself if we end up nominating someone in my party besides Trump.”

Romney also favorably referenced a piece by leading Washington Post columnist David Ignatius arguing that Biden should not run for reelection. He said he hopes “the White House will listen to David Ignatius.”

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The Utah Republican has made himself a leading anti-Trump figure in the GOP but implied he wasn’t keen on fighting a tough battle being primaried by a pro-Trump Republican.

“You don’t spend six years of your life just to prove a point,” he said, referring to a hypothetical matchup with a pro-Trump challenger.

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