Public Reacts to Sen. Orrin Hatch's Retirement Announcement

Public Reacts to Sen. Orrin Hatch Announcing Retirement

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah (Susan Walsh/AP)

By Cathy Burke | Tuesday, 02 January 2018 06:01 PM EST

Sen. Orrin Hatch's retirement announcement Tuesday triggered an outpouring on Twitter from both critics and admirers of the Utah Republican.

The Washington Post's conservative columnist, Jennifer Rubin, tweeted she was glad to see the veteran and "apologist" for President Donald Trump retire.

Thank God Hatch is retiring. An awful apologist for Trump in recent months. Like embarrassingly awful
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 2, 2018

Evan McMullin, a former CIA operations officer who ran as an independent during the 2016 presidential election, thanked Hatch "for your service to our state and country" — and said he hoped former 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney would step up.

Thank you for your service to our state and country, Senator Hatch.

In this seat, we must have a leader prepared to meet the challenges of our day and our future. I hope that leader will be @MittRomney. https://t.co/7k4fXG1pIO
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) January 2, 2018

But Fox News' Lou Dobbs warned against a Romney hat choice — saying "hell will break loose."

Hell will break loose if repugnant RINO Romney tries for his seat-Sen. Hatch announces he won’t run for re-election in 2018 #MAGA @realDonaldTrump #AmericaFirst #TrumpTrain #Dobbs https://t.co/iukKz3Wded
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) January 2, 2018

Fellow GOP Senate veteran, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, congratulated Hatch on his record.

Sen Hatch is a friend for 37 yrs while serving together in US Senate. He serves Utah & USA w tremendous success as effective as can be & deserves credit 4 doing so
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 2, 2018

But Commentary writer John Podhoretz chided the retirement.

Orrin Hatch has been in the Senate for 41 years don't these people get BORED my heavens
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) January 2, 2018

Democrat Senate candidate Jenny Wilson tweeted she is "ready for this fight."

While I’ve disagreed with his approach, I appreciate @SenOrrinHatch’s years of service to Utah. His retirement means I’ll now face an unknown opponent in 2018. I'm ready for this fight. Join my team now: https://t.co/6fpg6tL4HK https://t.co/8KoAuTn1xB
— Jenny Wilson for UT (@JennyWilsonUT) January 2, 2018

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Public Reacts to Sen. Orrin Hatch Announcing Retirement

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