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WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. John Curtis was sworn into office at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Friday and reiterated his pledge to work on reducing federal spending, bolstering American energy production and promoting a conservative approach to the climate.
Curtis, a Republican and recent member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was elected in November to replace Sen. Mitt Romney. He is one of six new Republican senators who took the oath of office as the 119th Congress convened on Friday.
"It's clear to me that the hard work, the heavy lifting of government actually begins today," Curtis told reporters on a call Friday afternoon, after reflecting on the year of campaigning that led up to his election. "What can you expect from me? You will see me supporting and working to ensure President Trump's priorities of things like fixing the economy, inflation, securing the border — keeping America strong — are all realized and important."
During his seven years as a congressman, Curtis developed a reputation as a pragmatic lawmaker, an approach he plans to continue in the Senate.
"I'm ready to jump in on deficit spending and even Social Security," the senator said. "You'll see me continue to lead an effort for a conservative climate approach and holding China in check."
While Curtis has long sought to address mounting national debt, he said he learned during his time as mayor of Provo that "there are good cuts and bad cuts" to spending.
"My hope is that the country will understand that we do need to make some cuts ... and I hope that we can be productive and not negative in the way that we approach this," he said when asked about Trump's proposals to cut spending. "I hope that we can find those inefficiencies and end up at the end of the day with federal employees' morale increased and services delivered at a higher level and save our constituents money."
"That's what I'll be advocating for as I interact with those who are doing the (Department of Government Efficiency) project and others is, 'Hey, let's do this and let's do it right,'" Curtis added, referring to the non-governmental organization Trump tapped businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead. "Let's answer to our constituents and show them that even government can figure out how to do things better and more efficiently for those that we serve."
Curtis takes office just weeks before Trump is sworn in for a second term in the Oval Office, and the senator's first days in his new role will come with the task of vetting and confirming the incoming president's cabinet picks. Curtis was asked about two of Trump's more controversial picks — Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Kash Patel to lead the FBI — and said he is withholding from making any strong statements "until we went through the whole process."
"I've met with both (Hegseth and Patel) ... and there were some really tough questions," Curtis said. "I have spoken to people they've worked with, I've read their books and I'm continuing to study them. I do think that we need to move quickly. That doesn't mean we can be sloppy or that we won't do our job, but I do think it's important ... that we not waste a lot of time."
