John Curtis' search for consensus

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS

John Curtis, Utah's senator-elect, faces comparisons to Mitt Romney as he prepares to assume office.
Curtis is recognized for his pragmatic approach, focusing on public lands, water, and climate issues.

SALT LAKE CITY — No one seemed to know what to do when John Curtis entered the Senate chamber.

In the moments before, a steady stream of senators had shuffled in, taking their assigned seats. Mitt Romney, moments away from delivering his final Senate address, was already seated on the back row, his legs crossed, thumbing his cellphone. His colleagues, as they passed his desk, offered him greetings: Joe Manchin gave him a hug; Thom Tillis slapped his shoulder; Cory Booker cracked a joke.

Curtis, meanwhile, hovered by the door. The senator-elect from Utah had not yet been sworn into his new post, and he won't have an assigned seat until he formally replaces Romney on Jan. 3. There had been some debate that morning among the senator-elect's staff as to whether he should watch Romney's speech from the Senate floor, as senators do, or take a seat in the visitors' gallery above — he was there to show support, not steal the spotlight.

Playing postlude to Romney is tricky business. Romney, who entered the Senate in 2019, was already one of America's most recognizable political figures. He became a lynchpin in historic Senate negotiations on COVID relief, infrastructure, manufacturing and gun reform. But Romney was also a lightning rod: openly critical of his party's own president, he became the first senator ever to vote to impeach a president of his own party, which he did twice. He retires from political service as a two-time presidential candidate, a governor and senator, though he hopes his greatest legacy is that he "lived by and subscribed to my values."

Enter Curtis — Romney's heir, the good-natured congressman, standing awkwardly by the door. Romney saw him first, or perhaps Curtis saw Romney. The two embraced. A Senate aide, visibly confused by Curtis' presence, helped Curtis find a seat in the corner on the visitors' bench. Romney delivered his farewell speech. Curtis joined the standing ovation.

The act is now Curtis' to follow. Curtis already has his own reputation, developed over three terms in the U.S. House and a decade in local government. He, too, positions himself as a dealmaker and a pragmatist, delivering big wins for Utahns on public lands and water. He rallied Republicans to talk about the climate, previously viewed to be an off-limits issue for conservatives. And nearly two dozen of his bills have been signed into law, making him — by that metric — one of the most effective House members.

But the most frequent question he gets is whether he'll be the "next Romney." Those who ask him are rarely referring to legislative records, but to party loyalty. To the Trump-skeptical, Romney's independence made him a hero; to the MAGA faithful, he was a heretic. Curtis, perhaps exasperated, has developed a boilerplate response: "I'm not Mitt Romney," he says, "I'm John Curtis."

Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, sits in his temporary basement office during an interview in the Russell Senate Office Building Thursday, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: John McDonnell, for the Deseret News)

Late last month, though, the issue came quickly into view. Trump's pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration after he decided at least four GOP senators were "implacably opposed" to his nomination, The New York Times reported. Curtis was listed among them. Curtis' social media pages were quickly flooded with angry Trump supporters who called on him to resign. His House office phone lines were bombarded with out-of-state callers. Curtis' press team attempted damage control, noting that Curtis had never met with Gaetz and emphasizing Curtis had not yet made up his mind.

As the storm blew over, a silver lining emerged: Curtis, a back-bencher who hadn't even been sworn in as a senator, was now seen as a swing vote as Trump sought Senate confirmation for his top administration officials. Curtis accepted the challenge. "I think it's very fair to say I'm not a rubber stamp," Curtis said in an interview last Thursday.

As Trump's Cabinet picks are paraded across Capitol Hill, Curtis is conducting what he deems a "deep dive" on each. Ahead of his visit last week with Kash Patel, Trump's choice to lead the FBI, Curtis spent the weekend listening to Patel's book and interviewing Patel's former employees. He compares notes with his new Senate colleagues about their meetings with the Cabinet hopefuls. He's instructed his staff to do their own research and to report back.

That Gaetz's candidacy tanked was no surprise to Curtis. "I served with Matt," Curtis said. "I knew what he was and what he wasn't. And I think he knew very well he wasn't the right candidate for this, and I knew that as well."

Some have expressed concerns that Curtis' carefulness is undermining Trump, who nominates his Cabinet. Curtis disagrees. "I think it actually bolsters the president," he explained. "I think we play a role in the president getting the right people to support him and what he came to do. And even sometimes disagreeing can be a complementary role."

That disagreement, though, has earned Curtis any number of labels. Some assume him to be a "moderate," in the mold of Romney. Others try to demean him as a "RINO." "Everybody tries to stereotype me," Curtis said, shaking his head.

What label does Curtis prefer? "I'm normal," he said.

Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, poses for a portrait in a hallway of the Russell Senate Office Building Thursday, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: John McDonnell, for the Deseret News)

Curtis' new office isn't much to look at, but Curtis doesn't mind. It will be several months before Curtis will be assigned his permanent office, after all the senators with seniority make their selections. For the time being, he's consigned to a windowless hutch in the basement, with whitewashed brick walls and fluorescent lights.

"When we walked in, we said, 'Hey, this is like our House office,'" Curtis said, smiling. "Everybody's spoiled on the Senate side." He shook his head. "It's not that big a deal."

Read the full article at Deseret.com.

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