Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney used his farewell address to the U.S. Senate to urge other lawmakers to put unity first in the face of stubborn partisanship.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life\u2019s work has been a group affair,\u201d Romney, who also served as governor of Massachusetts and the GOP\u2019s 2012 presidential nominee, said in his address.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will leave this chamber with a sense of achievement. But in truth, I will also leave with the recognition that I did not achieve everything I had hoped,\u201d Romney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmong other things, the scourge of partisan politics has frustrated repeated efforts to stabilize our national debt. Without the burden of the interest on that debt, we would be able to spend three times as much as we do on military procurement,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree times as many aircraft, three times as many ships, three times as many drones, spacecraft, cyber defenses. Or alternatively, we could spend double the amount we spend on Social Security benefits every month. Our national credit card is almost maxed out, and America risks becoming debt poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Romney said his \u201cbiggest surprise in the Senate has been how much I enjoy the other senators on both sides of the aisle\u201d but acknowledged he won\u2019t miss \u201cthe myriad meaningless votes\u201d or \u201c10-minute votes that last an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he prepares to leave the Senate, where he has served as one of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s most vocal Republican critics, Romney also appeared to toss a few veiled shots at Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some today 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,\u201d he said on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has also been an honor to represent the people of Utah, the state of my family heritage. What sets Utah apart is not just its beauty and vibrant economy, it is the admirable character of its people,\u201d Romney continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, it is customary to end remarks like these with the words: \u2018God Bless America.\u2019 That has never seemed jarring or out of place to me because Americans have always been fundamentally good. From our earliest days, we have rushed to help neighbors in need, as De Tocqueville noted. We welcomed the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We have respected different faiths, as our first president confirmed to Muslims and Jews,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney used his farewell address to the U.S. Senate to urge other lawmakers to put unity first in the face of stubborn partisanship…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n