Report: Mitt Romney joins Democrats - The Horn News

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Report: Mitt Romney joins Democrats

By: The Horn editorial team

Sen. Mitt Romney (R–Utah) is slippery. He’s changed his mind during his 27-year political career, and he remains difficult to pigeonhole.

Now, Romney’s just done something truly surprising — even for him. He’s jumped onboard with Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

Literally.

The two took a boat trip to investigate the persistent drought in the Western U.S. and vowed to work together.

The two senators represent neighboring states, and they sailed down the Colorado River together. They met with agribusiness managers, water regulators, local politicians, environmental groups from the region… and took their wives, too.

“I appreciate Senator Bennet for the kind invitation to join him for today’s float trip down the Colorado River,” Romney said in a statement earlier this month.

He continued:

What we are witnessing in Utah and throughout the West is an historic drought. The changing climate means that we are going to have to rethink how we solve the West’s water challenges, and today’s trip was an opportunity to begin to build consensus toward addressing them… I look forward to our continued work in the Senate to find solutions to climate-related challenges so that we can do our part to leave the world in a better place for our children and grandchildren.

Bennet worked as an education bureaucrat before joining the U.S. Senate in 2009. He achieved national attention last year during his doomed, long-shot run for president. Now, he’s working with Mitt Romney.

Some commentators view their collaboration as a sign of Romney’s continual shift toward the Democrats’ side of the aisle.

In the Senate, Romney’s voted with Democratic President Joe Biden 78 percent of the time, FiveThirtyEight reported. Romney voted with former President Donald Trump only 75 percent of the time.

What’s more, Romney voted to remove Trump from office… twice. He became the first U.S. Senator ever to vote for removing a president of his own party.

It’s no wonder that Romney’s working with career bureaucrats like Bennet.

Bennet also chimed in on the Colorado River trip. “I’m grateful to Senator Romney for welcoming me to his beautiful state,” he said in Romney’s statement. “In the West, we come together to take on shared challenges, and we need that same spirit in Washington to create meaningful and durable solutions to climate change.”

Bennet and Romney have worked together before. After the 2019 wildfires, they both petitioned a congressional watchdog to review the agriculture department’s Emergency Watershed Program. The watchdog accepted their petition, and they may recommend improvements to the program soon.

In 2020, both senators introduced the Making Access To Cleanup Happen Act. Romney introduced the bill to “improve the EWP program, which will expedite wildfire recovery, save taxpayers money, and prevent further disasters.” The bill failed in the Senate, and it was reintroduced the next year.

However, Romney hasn’t abandoned completely abandoned the Republicans’ goals. He scathingly rebuked Biden’s immigration policies last week from the Senate floor, and he still gets along with some Republicans.

For example, he spoke to Utah’s Republican Lt. Gov. Deirdre Henderson.

She told Romney:

Utah is known for its national parks and beautiful landscapes. Right now, we’re also the fastest growing state in our nation… As our kids and grandkids grow up, it’s important that we make sure our state remains a place where they want to raise their families—and the historic drought facing the West complicates that. We have an opportunity here to work with our neighbors to the east on solutions that help ease the burdens our communities face because of the drought.

Romney thanked the lieutenant governor for speaking with him, and then he uploaded photos from the river.

Take a look —

 

The Horn editorial team