Orrin Hatch Says He's Retiring, Won't Seek Re-Election

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Orrin Hatch, the longest serving Republican in the Senate, will not seek an eighth term. He made the announcement Tuesday in a video posted on his Twitter account.

"After much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I've decided to retire at the end of this term," he says in the video.

"I will miss serving you in the Senate but I look forward to spending more time with my family."

Hatch, who was first elected in 1976 and is the longest-serving Republican senator in history, had promised during his last campaign that he would not seek re-election. After he started raising money and President Trump urged him to run again, the pressure started on him to retire.

"It was a lie," the Salt Lake Tribune, a long-time supporter of Hatch, recently editorialized over his vow not to run again.

"It would be good for Utah if Hatch, having finally caught the Great White Whale of tax reform, were to call it a career. If he doesn’t, the voters should end it for him."

Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was a major force behind the recent passage of the Republican tax bill.

His decision clears the way for the possibility of a Mitt Romney run.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and Republican nominee for president in 2012, has been rumored to be interested in the seat.

A poll last February had Romney as the most popular political figure in the state.

Romney developed his positive image there as having saved the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. In the 2012 election, while he lost to Barack Obama, he won 73 percent of the vote in Utah.

If Romney were to run – and win – it would set up an interesting dynamic as the president and he have a very tumultuous relationship.

While Trump had considered Romney for secretary of state, he was a frequent critic of Romney's during the 2016 campaign.

Romney has not been shy about firing back in recent months.

After the white nationalist fueled riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, last summer, Romney appealed to Trump in a Facebook post.

"Mr. President, act now for the good of the country," he wrote.

Romney tweeted his appreciation for Hatch, making no mention of the possibility of his own candidacy.

"I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch for his more than forty years of service to our great state and nation," he wrote.

"Ann and I wish Senator Orrin Hatch and his loving wife Elaine all the best in their future endeavors."

Late Tuesday, Romney dropped his biggest hint yet that he may running to succeed Hatch.

As first reported by Bloomberg News, Romney changed his Twitter bio, inserting "Holladay, Utah" as his location, replacing "Massachusetts."

Photo of Orrin Hatch via George Frey, stringer/Getty Images News/Getty Images