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 (Tribune file photo) Sen. Orrin Hatch with Bob Dole in 1988. (Tribune file photo) Sen. Orrin Hatch in 1990. October 30, 1982 Sen. Orring Hatch & Pres. Ronald Reagan The Salt Lake Tribune Library (Tribune file photo) Muhammad Ali and Sen Orrin Hatch in 1988. (Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) Senators Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch in 1998. (Tribune file photo) Ronald Reagan and Orrin Hatch in 1976. (Tribune file photo) Orrin Hatch in 1976. (Tribune File Photo) Orrin Hatch, Nov. 20, 1977. (Steve Griffin | Tribune file photo) US senator Orrin Hatch and challenger Pete Ashdown shake hands following a televised d... (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Senate Historical Office) Sen Orrin Hatch and his wife Elaine pose for a photo at a reception for new... (Tribune file photo) Sen. Orrin Hatch and Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1982. Republican presidential hopeful Orrin Hatch, foreground, smiles as his wife, Elaine, shown seated next to Hatch, and others f... (Andr Chung | special to The Salt Lake Tribune) Senator Orrin Hatch is the senior senator from Utah, Chairman of the Senat... Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, uses a cellphone camera as Chief Justice nominee John Roberts te... Senator Orrin Hatch, left talks to Forest Service Chief Stan Tixier about trying to get the Snowbasin landswap reversed, duri... Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, left, greets Attorney General Janet Reno on Capitol Hill Wednes... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch speaks during a Memorial Day celebration at Hogan Park in Woo... (Andr Chung | special to The Salt Lake Tribune) Followed by his security staff Sen. Hatch makes his way to a luncheon in W... (Andr Chung | special to The Salt Lake Tribune) Flanked by his security staff on the left and Matt Whitlock, his communica... Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Senator Orrin Hatch speaks to the Utah delegation at a breakfast honoring him (Omelets... (Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Senator Orrin Hatch is interviewed on a local Salt Lake TV news program at the G... President Bush waves to the crowd during a fundraiser for the reelection campaign of Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, right, on Thurs... President Reagan appears at a fundraiser for Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, Wednesday night in Washington. Reagan urged Utah's ... (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Senate Historical Office) Vice President Normal Rockefeller administers the oath of office to Sen. Or... (Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sen. Orrin Hatch walks across the stage during a debate against Scott Howell at the ... (Chris Detrick | Tribune file photo) Senator Orrin Hatch, left, talks with Dave Hansen back stage before Hatch's speech be... (Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) U. S. Senator Orrin Hatch was given an honorary degree during the undergraduate cere... (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by Senator Orrin Hatch at the Utah Cap... (Tribune file photo) Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, talks to reporters during a press conference in Washington Thursday. Hatch bri... Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, right, talks to Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt on Capitol Hill Tuesday April 29, 1997 prior to their testif... Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky gathers other Republican senators to call for an amendment to the Consti... Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama's choice to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, meets with ... Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, talks about the subpoena issued to President Clinton du... (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a member and former Chairman of the Senate ... Judge Samuel Alito, right, meets with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Pre... U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, talks to the media as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, watches during a break in the Senate imp... U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Ut., left, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks during a news conference with U.S. Sen... (Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Senator Orrin Hatch with Utah Governor Gary Herbert, left, speaks at the opening... Bill co-sponsors Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., listen as President Barack Obama speaks before s... (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage at the Utah Capitol on Monday, De... (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, cent... Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., left, shares a laugh with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah., second from right, during a news confere... (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. President Donald Trump, surrounded by Utah representatives looks at Sen.... Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senator from Utah, speaks at a news conference on the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as S... 
– Utah's Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, says he won't be running for re-election in 2018. The 83-year-old announced the move on Twitter. “Every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves," he says in a video. "And for me, that time is soon approaching. That’s why after much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I’ve decided to retire at the end of this term." The move paves the way for Mitt Romney, a frequent critic of President Trump, to run for his seat. Details and developments: Unpopular at home: Hatch has been in the Senate for four decades and currently chairs the powerful Finance Committee, a post that allowed him to play a big role in the GOP's recent tax overhaul. But his clout doesn't seem to matter in Utah, where polls show that about 75% of residents wanted him to retire, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. (The newspaper itself issued a scathing editorial calling for him to do just that.) Trump unhappy: The president is "very sad" upon hearing the news, says spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The New York Times reports that the president, pleased with Hatch's work on the tax plan, had been encouraging him to run again. If nothing else, that would keep Romney—who has been vocal in his criticism of Trump—out of the Senate. (Still, Trump reportedly considered Romney for secretary of state.)