Rep. John Curtis of Utah needed just a few weeks to make his mark on the Senate — even before he’s sworn in next year to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney.
As Senate colleagues and those close to President-elect Donald Trump saw it, Sen.-elect Curtis among at least five Republican groups planning to vote against it The nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice.
The opposition was enough to sink Gaetz dropped out of contention Thursday afternoon — an episode that demonstrated this to Trump and his allies red lines still remain in the Republican Party based on his will. He also highlighted the role Curtis played in painting those lines, an early indication of how Utah is approaching his new office and a glimpse of the kind of influence he could wield once there.
Those who know Curtis are careful not to oversimplify his role in Gaetz’s retreat through the litmus test of “pro-Trump” or “anti-Trump” that has defined much of Republican politics over the past eight years. Instead, they point Test Curtis revealed himself during the primary debate in June: “When President Trump does anything that I think is true to Utah values… I’m rooting for him. But I will not say yes unconditionally to everything he wants.”
“He is not Mitt Romney and Donald Trump. He has his own brand, and he was very clear about that in his primary and general election,” former Florida GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who is running against Curtis in the House, told NBC News of NBC News. Notably, Romney was the only Republican to vote to impeach Trump in his first Senate impeachment trial in 2020, and he has sharply criticized Trump in many other cases over the past eight years, six of which Romney has held in the Senate.
“With this Gaetz episode, you’re going to see him stand up for what he thinks is right,” Curbelo said. “And other times, he’ll be another solid Republican vote in the Senate.”
Curtis, 64, born in Salt Lake City met his wife in high schoolHe graduated from Brigham Young University and served a Mormon mission in Taiwan. He and his wife have six children and 17 grandchildren, with number 18 on the way. After more than a decade of corporate work, Curtis became Chief Operating Officer of Action Targeta company that manufactures shooting ranges and targets. He served for a short time under the leadership of the local Democratic Party and was elected mayor of Provo for two terms a now popular collection of hundreds of pairs of “fun” socks serves as a conversation starter and icebreaker with constituents.
Curtis joined Congress in a special election in 2017 to replace former Rep. Jason Chaffette, who gained a reputation as a partisan fighter as head of the House Oversight Committee that investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before and during her 2016 presidential bid. As the popular mayor of the largest city in his congressional district, Curtis won a packed Republican party after fending off attacks from the right, partly self-criticism. The decision not to vote for Trump in the 2016 election.
In his victory speech that year, Curtis argued for the need for Congress.not bomb throwers but bridge builders,” adding that “if you’re not white, Mormon, or male, I’m still here for you.” His allies say that’s the message he took to Washington as a congressman.
Former Utah Republican Gov. Gary Herbert told NBC News that his relationship with the senator-elect dates back to Herbert’s days on the Utah County Commission, when Curtis chaired the local Democratic Party. Herbert called Curtis a “good, decent man” who was easy to like. And he said he decided to support Curtis’ run for Congress because he believed he was “the right person” to come to Washington.
Curtis “was a guy who really wanted to get things done, just wanted to be on cable news and get headlines that way, wanted to throw red meat to the faithful, really tried to work with all the people, including the other side of the world, to get things done,” Herbert said. .
“And as a congressman, he’s proven that he has a modus operandi and he’s very capable,” Herbert said, pointing to Curtis’ legislative record.
Curtis himself built on this legislative record, succeeding in passing bills on issues such as energy, conservation, and protecting Taiwan. As a candidate for the Senate, he analyzes are proposed abroad referring to him as one of the more influential members of Congress.
Curbelo pointed to Curtis the decision to launch a Republican-only climate caucus As an example of how a Utahn can bring dozens of conservative lawmakers to the table on an issue that isn’t always the GOP’s fault.
“When John was deciding how to get involved, he said, ‘No, let’s have a Republican-only caucus, because Republicans need to learn more about this issue and develop it before we think about it. to attract Democrats,” Curbelo said. “It was a very realistic and mature way of thinking about it, and it paid off.”
His allies point to his conservative stances on issues like immigration and the debt. But like most Republicans in the Trump era, the former and incoming president has been one of the most prominent issues during his career in Washington.
There is Curtis He praised Trump on issues like tax reform, “deregulation” and his Supreme Court nomination, and he voted against both House impeachment attempts. But he did not join the majority of his GOP House colleagues Support for Texas court to overturn 2020 electionhe voted to create a bipartisan committee Investigate the attack on the Capitol in 2021 and supported Condemn Trump After the Capitol riot.
This again opened Curtis up to scrutiny from the more conservative wing of his party. After deciding to run for Senate after Romney announced his retirement, Trump considered and endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs.
“Like” himselfa proven conservative“With the help of well-funded outside groups, Curtis won the Republican Senate primary in a landslide, just shy of 50% support in a crowded primary that included a former state House speaker and a wealthy businessman.
His Senate victory speech went back to what he said after winning his first House election, including an emphasis on representing “every Utahn” and a promise that he “wouldn’t add gas to the social media fire or clickbait cable news.” Instead, Curtis said, he will “drive my Ford up and down, back and forth across this state, working hard to get legislation and things done.”
“If you’re not sure where to find me, don’t look at cameras or microphones. I will be on the floor of the Senate with my colleagues from both parties,” he added, and tried to “solve our difficult problems.”
This is where Curtis found himself when Gaetz began meeting with Republican senators. Curtis didn’t take to social media or run to microphones to clarify where he stood. But colleagues and Trump allies felt they understood Curtis’ perspective through his distaste for Gaetz. causing it to retreat quickly.
Herbert, the former governor, said he exchanged text messages with Curtis, acknowledging the senator-elect’s upcoming “consultation” with some of Trump’s nominees and the “important role the Senate plays under the consultation and consent Constitution.” “
“Of course, Rep. Getz also came up in the conversation as someone who seems like – we need to carefully examine whether he fits the mold we want to have as a leader. [attorney general’s] office,” Herbert said. “I think I knew how it was going to go down during our discussion.”
Herbert said the situation was emblematic of legislator Curtis: is to support Trump when he believes the president-elect is right, but be willing to disagree with “mutual respect, dignity and grace” when necessary.
“He’s not going to name people, and he’s embraced what his constituency in Utah wants and expects from elected officials,” Herbert said. “Not only has he been popular, he will continue to be popular as a senator because the people of Utah want someone with moral values, moral fiber, integrity and respect for the opposition. [who tries] finding ways to get things done as opposed to blowing things up.”
“He recognizes the legacy of those who came before him, but he will create the legacy of John Curtis for those who come after him,” Herbert said. “And it hasn’t been written yet, but I expect it to be a very positive story.”