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WASHINGTON — From George Washington leading the continental army during the American Revolution to Thomas Edison’s experiments that led to the invention of the light bulb, Mitt Romney is impressed by figures who have accomplished something great as individuals.
His own career in public service — first as the governor of Massachusetts, then as the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, and now as junior senator from Utah — has been defined instead by collaboration, Romney told Senate colleagues Wednesday morning.
“During my life, I have rarely been truly alone — maybe taking tests at school or running cross-country or on my uncle’s tractor cultivating corn,” the senator said. “My life’s work has been a group affair, and its center is my wife, Ann. She is my most trusted adviser, my indefatigable ally, the love of my life.”
Romney, who is wrapping up his first and only term in the U.S. Senate, delivered a farewell address from the chamber floor, reflecting on several bipartisan accomplishments and projecting hope for the future of the nation.
“During my first months in the Senate, I was mostly on my own, and thus mostly unproductive,” he said, before listing off the names of nine colleagues he worked closely with on a bipartisan infrastructure law, electoral counting reform, gun safety legislation and marriage legislation with religious protections. “We had each come to Washington to enact law that would help people, and that’s just what we did. We accomplished together what we could have never done alone.”
He also reflected on some of the accomplishments that failed to materialize during his tenure, mainly a fix to the national debt, which he said has been kept out of reach for years due to the “scourge of partisan politics.”
Though he admits he “may not miss the Senate itself terribly much,” Romney said he will miss his Senate colleagues, among whom he said “are some brilliant, some entertaining, some kind and generous, and all patriotic.”
Romney called it “an honor” to represent Utah and praised the “admirable character of its people” that he said sets it apart from other states. He closed with the common refrain of “God bless America,” but with an added call for unity.
“God has blessed America because America is good. There 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,” he said. “A country’s character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people.
“I leave Washington to return to be one among them and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue. For it is only if the American people merit his benevolence that God will continue to bless America. May he do so, is my prayer.”
This story will be updated.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
