Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney announced on Wednesday that he will not run for reelection to the Senate and called for a “new generation of leaders” as he criticized both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, CNN reported.
In a video message, Romney outlined a range of what he described as critical issues, including rising national debt and the climate crisis, and said “neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront those issues.”
Romney, who was the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, has long been a rare member of the Republican party who has been an outspoken critic of Trump.
After Trump was elected, however, Romney was under consideration for the post of Secretary of State, which was eventually given to Rex Tillerson.
Romney is one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial following the riots at the US Capitol, and the only Republican senator who found him guilty in his first impeachment trial.
In his video on Wednesday, Romney also emphasized the need for a new generation of leadership.
“At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,” Romney, who is 76, said. “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.”
“While I’m not running for reelection, I’m not retiring from the fight,” Romney said, after criticizing both Biden and Trump for failing to provide solutions to issues like the national debt and global warming. “I’ll be your United States senator until January of 2025.”
Romney outlined the issues he sees with both Trump and Biden.
“On deficits and debt, both men refuse to address entitlements even though they know that this represents two-thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax, and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that make no difference to the global climate. On China, President Biden underinvests in the military and President Trump underinvests in our alliances,” he said.