Tag: Mitt Romney

Romney’s ‘Deal’ Would Tax Working Families, Not Corporations

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A new infrastructure plan being pushed by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and a bipartisan group of senators would not increase corporate taxes at all. Instead, it would raise taxes on every American who buys gasoline — running afoul of the president’s promise not to raise taxes on working families.

The group of 10 senators said Thursday they had agreed on a blueprint for $579 billion in new spending on transportation and broadband infrastructure. It would reportedly not include any immediate tax increases but would index the gas tax to inflation, meaning consumers would likely pay more each year.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH), Romney, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Mark Warner (D-VA) called their plan a “realistic, compromise framework to modernize our nation’s infrastructure and energy technologies” in a joint statement. Continue reading.

Romney first GOP senator to say he would vote for Jan. 6 commission bill

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said on Monday that he would support a House-passed bill to create a commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Romney’s comments make him the first GOP senator to say he would vote for the bill, which needs the support of 10 Republicans to pass the Senate.

Asked how he would vote if Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) tried to start debate on the House bill, a move that requires 60 votes to defeat a filibuster, Romney told reporters, “I would support the bill.” Continue reading.

Romney on impeachment vote to convict: ‘Trump incited the insurrection’

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday explained why he voted to convict former President Trump on the charge that he incited the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Romney issued a statement in the early evening on Saturday in which he explicitly declared that Trump “incited the insurrection” that led to several deaths, including that of a Capitol Police Officer. 

“President Trump incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on January 6th and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes. He did this despite the obvious and well known threats of violence that day,” Romney said. Continue reading.

Romney: Consequences of Trump actions during lame-duck ‘potentially more severe’ than transition delay

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GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) warned in a new interview Thursday that President Trump’s actions during the lame-duck period could be even more dangerous than his refusal to allow President-elect Joe Biden to begin his White House transition. 

“The consequences of what’s happening during this lame-duck period, I think, are potentially more severe than the consequences associated with a late transition process,” the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee said on an episode of “The Axe Files” podcast released Thursday.

Romney specifically noted Trump’s decision to withdraw more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, moves that defense officials said were premature given the circumstances on the ground and which drew alarm from allies that also have troops stationed in those two countries. Continue reading.

Mitt Romney says he’ll support moving forward with Supreme Court pick

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Tuesday that he would support moving forward with a Senate vote on President Trump’s selection to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Why it matters: Barring any big surprises, Democrats have virtually no shot at stopping the confirmation process for the president’s nominee before November’s election.

The big picture: Romney was one of the few Republican senators who were question marks amid Trump’s push to quickly nominate a replacement for Ginsburg. Earlier this year, Romney was the sole Republican who voted to convict Trump for abuse of power after the impeachment trial. Continue reading.

‘No way to spin that,’ Romney says of U.S. coronavirus deaths, blaming Trump administration

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This article is provided free of charge by The Washington Post.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) offered rare Republican criticism of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response Friday, saying the federal government dismissed the virus’s threat and failed to protect Americans as infections spiraled out of control.

“Short term, I think it’s fair to say we really have not distinguished ourselves in a positive way by how we responded to the crisis when it was upon us,” Romney said in a video interview with the Sutherland Institute. “And the proof of the pudding of that is simply that we have 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s deaths due to covid-19.”

“And there’s no way to spin that in a positive light,” Romney said. Continue reading.

‘Historic corruption’: 2 Republican senators denounce Trump’s commutation of Stone

GOP lawmakers have been mostly silent about the commutation.

Sens. Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey condemned Donald Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone — the first elected Republicans to denounce the president’s Friday night move.

“Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,” Romney (R-Utah) wrote on Twitter Saturday.

GOP lawmakers have been mostly silent about the commutation, which came just after a federal appeals court panel rejected Stone’s last-ditch bid to delay the start of his 40-month prison sentence set to begin next week. Stone was convicted on seven felony charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, including obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements. Continue reading.

Romney calls Stone commutation “historic corruption”

Axios logoSen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday tweeted a scathing response to President Trump’s Friday night commutation of former associate Roger Stone’s prison sentence, calling the move “[u]nprecedented, historic corruption.”

Why it matters: Romney has emerged as the party’s most prominent Trump critic. He sent shockwaves through Washington after announcing he would vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial — becoming the only Senate Republican to break ranks and vote for the president’s removal from office. Now he is the first major GOP lawmaker to condemn Trump’s Friday night call regarding Stone.

What they’re saying: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) wrote on Saturday afternoon: “The president clearly has the legal and constitutional authority to grant clemency for federal crimes. However, this authority should be used judiciously and very rarely by any president. While I understand the frustration with the badly flawed Russia-collusion investigation, in my view, commuting Roger Stone’s sentence is a mistake.”

  • “He was duly convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing a congressional investigation conducted by a Republican-led committee. Earlier this week Attorney General Bill Barr stated he thought Mr. Stone’s prosecution was ‘righteous’ and ‘appropriate’ and the sentence he received was ‘fair.’ Any objections to Mr. Stone’s conviction and trial should be resolved through the appeals process.” Continue reading.

Romney challenges Trump with Black Lives Matter march

The Hill logoSen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is challenging President Trump’s antagonistic stance toward Black Lives Matter protesters at a time when Trump’s support in the polls is dropping.

Romney made a surprising and stirring gesture on Sunday by marching toward the White House with hundreds of other people protesting police violence against African Americans after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On Monday, he announced that he is working with Republican colleagues to put together police reform legislation, filling the void left by Trump and GOP leaders in Congress who have not made it a priority.

Bashing Romney, McEnany reveals how worried the White House is about the protests

Washington Post logoThe president wouldn’t take the high road if it were owned by the Trump Organization

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has been in politics long enough to understand that his appearance at a Black Lives Matter protest in Washington on Sunday served as a rebuke of President Trump. Romney has mastered the art of getting under Trump’s skin by passively highlighting Trump’s weaknesses, and the protest certainly achieved that goal.

On Monday morning, Trump tweeted a video snippet of Romney at the march, disparaging the senator and 2012 Republican nominee with a sardonic “what a guy.”

“Hard to believe, with this kind of political talent, his numbers would ‘tank’ so badly in Utah!” Trump wrote — apparently not knowing that Romney is, in fact, quite popular in his state. Continue reading.