Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch made an official statement on Jan. 2 that he would indeed retire in 2018.
Nearly half of a century is ending for the senator who has represented the people of his home state for 42 years.
“Every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves,” Hatch said as a nod to his boxing days.
During his seven terms in office, Hatch received high praises for his work in the Capitol. However, according to UtahPolicy.com, Republicans’ frustration with the senator is boiling over.
Hatch’s decision to back President Trump in recent conquests comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the long-standing desire of his to overhaul the nation’s tax code.
As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Hatch has been a part of the jurisdiction over the American tax system since January 2011. He has made many references to the tax system as being broken and out of date.
Helping Americans find jobs and increase their take-home pay has always been at the heart of efforts brought about by The United States Senate Committee on Finance.
“Now, with a willing president we have an opportunity to turn this effort into a reality,” Hatch said.
While the senator’s support of President Trump’s tax reform has dismayed some Utahns, others are applauding all he has accomplished.
The signing of a proclamation on Dec. 4 at the Utah State Capitol to reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah is one of Hatch’s hard-won accomplishments.
The federal government owns most of the land in Utah, and for Hatch, this fact is disconcerting. Reversing the Antiquities Act set forth by previous presidents to protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, federal agencies will return roughly 1,228 million acres back to state control.
Returning the land back to the control of its people is a big step forward for the senator and for the people who would like to see the state’s generated revenue and economy benefit from the profit of drilling for oil and gas in these areas.
The Navajo Nation, along with 10 conservation groups, have filed suit against the Trump administration over his proclamations. President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rhea Suh among them.
“The American people want these special lands protected. We will fight any illegal attempt by this administration to turn our national treasures over to private interests for polluters’ profits,” Suh said in an Oct. 27 press release by the NRDC.
Where tribal leaders and activists are upholding promises to sue, Weber State University student Kaycee Ingleby is furious by the senator’s lack in upholding promises he has made. For Ingleby, his resignation comes about 40 years too late.
Be it the Senator’s judgement, character or number of terms spent in office, three-quarters of Utahns have called upon him, once again, to resign from the Senate. The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Hatch saying, “I think I’ve put Utah on the map, to a large degree.”
But others, like WSU student Camille Almiran, will think positively of his stepping down.
“Hallelujah, he’s out of office,” Almiran said.
