犹他州共和党参议员。米特罗姆尼不会在2024年寻求连任他周三宣布，这标志着一个传奇的保守党生涯的潜在结束，这一生涯近年来使他与他的政党的旗手发生了冲突。唐纳德·特朗普.
在一份视频声明中，76岁的罗姆尼吹捧他在两党立法的主要部分中的作用，包括基础设施，枪支和新冠肺炎救济，但他说，现在是“新一代”掌权的时候了-无论是在国会山还是在白宫，都指责总统乔·拜登80岁的奥巴马和77岁的前总统特朗普在应对美国的挑战方面做得不够。
前马萨诸塞州州长、2012年共和党总统候选人罗姆尼于2018年当选参议员，将于2025年1月离开华盛顿州。
在周三下午的新闻发布会上，罗姆尼援引自己的年龄作为退休的一部分。
“是时候让像我这样的人离开了，”他告诉记者。
“在过去的几十年里，我这个年龄的人——婴儿潮一代——为自己做得相当不错，”他说，“我们投票支持各种各样的福利和项目，我们已经为它们支付了费用，我认为未来的一些人希望在我们如何离开地球以及他们如何为未来做准备方面有发言权。”
在他的录音声明中，他说，“我在这种或那种公共服务中度过了我最后的25年。另一个学期结束时，我已经80多岁了。坦白说，是时候让新一代领导人。他们需要做出决定，来塑造他们将要生活的世界。”
“我们面临着严峻的挑战——不断增加的国债、气候变化以及俄罗斯和中国雄心勃勃的威权主义者。无论是拜登总统还是前总统川普都没有带领他们的政党去面对这些挑战，”罗姆尼补充道。"政治动机经常阻碍这些挑战所要求的解决方案."
尽管如此，罗姆尼坚持说他不会完全离开政治，指出他的参议院任期将持续一年多，并暗示他将在离任后继续参与。
“虽然我不会竞选连任，但我也不会退出战斗。在2025年1月之前，我将是你们的美国参议员。我将继续致力于这些和其他问题，我将推进我们国家的许多优先事项。我期待着在这一努力中与你和我们整个州和国家的人们一起工作，”他对犹他州人说。
罗姆尼的声明结束了几个月来对他是否会寻求连任参议员的猜测。
他是共和党少数几个一贯批评特朗普的高层官员之一，最终在特朗普的每一次弹劾审判中都投票给特朗普定罪——这些攻击引发了对罗姆尼在按照特朗普形象重塑的党内地位的讨论，以及对他是否能够在另一场竞选中赢得初选的质疑。
罗姆尼在宣布“毫无疑问，今天的共和党处于唐纳德·特朗普的阴影之下”后告诉美国广播公司新闻的雷切尔·斯科特
“看，我所在的政党谈论政策，谈论将改变美国人民生活的问题。该党的特朗普派谈论各种各样的怨恨，报复和清算，以及重新审视2020年的选举，”他说。
他否认了他决定不寻求第二个任期与特朗普出现在2024年选举中的可能性有关的说法。
“犹他州的人们并不都同意我对唐纳德·特朗普采取的态度，但他们尊重那些用自己的良心投票的人，我对此表示感谢，我和我的同胞们没有任何问题，我不想再次战斗或竞选。我只是不认为我们需要另一个人和他们的年龄。我的牙已经长了一点，”他说。
罗姆尼还说，拜登在声明发布后给他打了电话。
到目前为止，里弗顿市长特伦特·斯塔格斯是2024年犹他州参议院共和党初选中唯一一名正式的共和党人，但州众议院议长布拉德·威尔逊已经成立了一个探索委员会，前众议员杰森·查菲兹也在考虑竞选。
2023年5月31日，参议员米特罗姆尼离开美国国会大厦的共和党政策午餐会
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images，文件
“我们正处于十字路口，选举一名强大的保守派战士进入美国参议院从未如此重要。赌注太大了，我们需要一个有勇气站出来为本州人民做事的领导人。威尔逊在一份声明中说:“迄今为止，我们所获得的破纪录的筹款、草根阶层的支持以及前所未有的支持，让我深受鼓舞。”。
查菲茨在给ABC新闻的短信中说，罗姆尼的退休不会改变他的决策。
与此同时，罗姆尼的阵营消除了对他在初选中易受攻击的担忧，引用本地轮询表明他本可以进行一场激烈的竞选。
罗姆尼发言人Liz Johnson周三表示:“他是出于强势地位，按照自己的意愿做出决定的。”。
罗姆尼确实得到了共和党建制派的支持，参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔在他退休的消息传出后称赞了他。
“众所周知，美国参议院吸引聪明且久经考验的公务员。然而，我们很少有机会欢迎像米特罗姆尼这样成就卓著、广受好评的新参议员。麦康奈尔在一份声明中说:“在过去的四年半时间里，参议院有幸将我们来自犹他州的朋友称为同事，我很遗憾地得知他将在明年年底离开我们的行列。”。
在一次采访中华盛顿邮报的记者罗姆尼承认，他对特朗普的批评让他在共和党内有些游离，尽管他希望看到除特朗普之外的另一位候选人赢得该党2024年总统候选人提名，但他表示，他的支持不会对任何候选人有所帮助。
“我不想卷入其中，”他说。
虽然还不清楚他在参议院后的政治参与会是什么样子，但罗姆尼对邮报坚持说，他不会在2010年竞选总统潜在的无标签第三方票证警告说，这可能会破坏拜登竞选连任。
“我不断游说，说它只会选特朗普，”他说。
Mitt Romney not seeking reelection to the Senate: 'Time for a new generation'
Utah Republican Sen.Mitt Romneywill not seek reelection in 2024, he announced Wednesday -- marking the potential end to a storied conservative career that had in recent years put him in conflict with his party's standard-bearer,Donald Trump.
In a video statement, Romney, 76, touted his role in major pieces of bipartisan legislation on issues including infrastructure, guns and COVID-19 relief but said it was time for a "new generation" to take the reins -- both on Capitol Hill and in the White House, accusing PresidentJoe Biden, 80, and former President Trump, 77, of not doing enough to address America's challenges.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and will leave Washington in January 2025.
At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Romney invoked his own age as part of the move to retire.
"It's time for guys like me to get out of the way," he told reporters.
"Over the last couple decades, people of my age -- the boomers -- have done pretty well for ourselves," he said, "and we voted for all sorts of benefits and programs for us and we've paid for them and think some of the people coming along next want to have a say in how we leave the earth and how they prepare for the future."
In his recorded statement, he said, "I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I'd be in my mid-eighties. Frankly, it's time for a new generation of leaders. They're the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in."
"We face critical challenges -- mounting national debt, climate change and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them," Romney added. "Political motivations too often impede the solutions that these challenges demand."
Still, Romney insisted he wouldn't entirely leave politics, noting that his Senate term lasts for over another year and hinting he'd remain involved beyond his departure.
"While I'm not running for reelection, I'm not retiring from the fight. I'll be your United States senator until January 2025. I will keep working on these and other issues and I will advance our state's numerous priorities. I look forward to working with you and with folks across our state and nation in that endeavor," he said, speaking to Utahans.
Romney's announcement caps months of speculation over whether he would seek a second term in the Senate.
He was one of the GOP's few high-level officeholders to consistently criticize Trump, ultimately voting to convict Trump in each of his impeachment trials -- attacks that fueled both discussion over Romney's place in a party reshaped in Trump's image and questions over whether he would even be able to win a primary in another campaign.
Romney told ABC News' Rachel Scott following his announcement that "there's no question that the Republican Party today is in the shadow of Donald Trump."
"Look, my wing of the party talks about policy, and about issues that will make a difference to the lives of the American people. The Trump wing of the party talks about resentments of various kinds and getting even and settling scores and and revisiting the 2020 election," he said.
He dismissed the idea that his decision not to seek a second term had something to do with the possibility of Trump appearing on the 2024 ballot.
"The people in Utah don't all agree with me at the posture I took with regards to Donald Trump, but they respect people who vote their conscience and I appreciate that and my fellow citizens and I don't have any question on mine that I don't want to fight or run again. I just don't think that we need another person and their age. I'm a little longer tooth already," he said.
Romney also said Biden called him following the announcement.
Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs is the only Republican officially in the 2024 Utah Senate GOP primary race so far, but state House Speaker Brad Wilson has launched an exploratory committee and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz is weighing a campaign, too.
"We are at a crossroads, and it's never been more important to elect a strong conservative fighter to the U.S. Senate. The stakes are too high, and we need a leader with the guts to stand up and get things done for the people of this state. I've been encouraged so far by the record-breaking fundraising, groundswell of grassroots support, and unprecedented endorsements we've received so far," Wilson said in a statement.
Chaffetz said in a text message to ABC News that Romney's retirement would not change his decision-making.
Romney's camp, meanwhile, has swatted away worries over his vulnerability in a primary, citinglocal pollingsuggesting he would have been able to run a muscular campaign.
"He made his decision from a position of strength and on his own terms," Romney spokesperson Liz Johnson said on Wednesday.
Romney did enjoy support from the GOP's establishment flank, with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell praising him after news of his retirement broke.
"The U.S. Senate is known to attract bright and proven public servants. However, we rarely get to welcome new Senators already as accomplished and well-regarded as Mitt Romney. The Senate has been fortunate to call our friend from Utah a colleague these past four and a half years, and I am sorry to learn that he will depart our ranks at the end of next year," McConnell said in a statement.
In an interviewwith The Washington Post, Romney admitted his Trump criticism had left him somewhat adrift in the Republican Party and that while he would like to see another candidate win the party's 2024 presidential nomination besides Trump, he suggested his endorsement wouldn't serve to help any candidate.
"I'm not looking to get involved in that," he said.
While it's unclear what his post-Senate political involvement will look like, Romney insisted to the Post that he won't run for president on thepotential No Labels third-party ticket, warning it could spoil Biden's campaign for reelection.
"I lobby continuously that it would only elect Trump," he said.
