Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said he may challenge NeverTrump Republican Sen. Mitt Romney when he is up for reelection in 2024.
When asked if he would challenge Romney during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Chaffetz said, “Yeah, I would. I’d think about it.”
Chaffetz represented Utah’s 3rd congressional district from 2009 to 2017 and served as chairman of the House Oversight Committee for his last few years.
Now he is a Fox News contributor.
“I love Fox, don’t get me wrong. I love it here at Fox but yes, I’ve thought about it,” Chaffetz added.
Chaffetz has criticized Romney, who voted to impeach former President Trump for the second time last week.
When Romney voted against Trump during Democrats’ first impeachment attempt, Chaffetz blasted him for putting his own politics ahead of his party’s.
“He hurt the party. He hurt himself. And he hurt Utahns,” Chaffetz said last January. “He was elected to solve problems. This doesn’t solve problems. This creates a new problem. That’s not how the people Utah voted. That is not going to be productive for us. I can tell you personally, I’m very disappointed.”
Romney’s constant criticism of Trump is “selfish,” Chaffetz said.
“I represented the people of the great state of Utah for eight and a half years. I want both Romney and President Trump to succeed,” he explained. “Romney readily accepted Trump’s endorsement when he was running for Senate, even after calling Trump a phony and a fraud in 2016. Nothing changed and Trump is the same person, which is part of what I like about President Trump.”
Romney “rode the Trump train all the way to Washington” then turned on him when it became politically convenient, Chaffetz argued.
“To the good people of Utah, some of whom will cheer these Romney comments, his job is to represent the state of Utah, not himself. This is not a good look for an incoming senator. In fact, this is selfish. It does not help Utah,” he said.
