Tag Archives: Utah

From the editorial board of the Salt Lake Tribune: The selection of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch as the 2017 Utahn of the Year has little to do with the fact that, after 42 years, he is the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, that he has been a senator from Utah longer than three-fifths of the state’s population has been …

The Deseret News reports: Gov. Gary Herbert slammed Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, as a “Mormon bigot” Wednesday after Bannon accused Mitt Romney of hiding behind his LDS faith to avoid serving in Vietnam. The governor called it “a low blow because of politics” that was disappointing. “This smacks of good old-fashioned Mormon bigotry. I think …

USA Today reports: President Trump departed for Utah on Monday to announce what could be the largest rollback of federally protected lands in history. Trump’s decision on the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments would mark an unprecedented use of presidential power to shrink the national monument designations made by two of his predecessors. Secretary of the Interior Ryan …

Politico reports: Utah Republican Boyd Matheson is forgoing a 2018 Senate campaign, a decision that further opens the door for Mitt Romney to run. Matheson, a former chief of staff to Utah Sen. Mike Lee and the president of the conservative Sutherland Institute think tank, announced on Monday that he would not run for the seat currently held by longtime …

Talking Points Memo reports: Alarmed by President Trump and the shrinking faction of Republicans willing and able to stand up to him, Mitt Romney is seriously considering one more run for public office. Sources close to Romney tell TPM that he’s leaning toward a run if Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) decides to retire, a move that sources close to Hatch …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Nearly all of the Utah State Senate has signed on in support of a Colorado shop who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah [photo], …

The Washington Post reports: By all accounts, the head nurse at the University of Utah Hospital’s burn unit was professional and restrained when she told a Salt Lake City police detective he wasn’t allowed to draw blood from a badly injured patient. The detective didn’t have a warrant, first off. And the patient wasn’t conscious, so he couldn’t give consent. …

The Salt Lake City Tribune reports: About 20 protesters hurled anti-LGBTQ remarks at patrons outside Club Jam on Friday, the night of the Pride Festival Opening Ceremonies. “Pretty toxic stuff,” said Shane Curtis, who heard the disturbance from his recording studio across the street. Police arrived about 1 a.m. and warned the protesters — who wore jackets customized with anti-LGBTQ …

Remember the nutcase who sued Apple in 2013 because his computer didn’t block him from accessing the porn which ruined his marriage? And then in 2014 when he attempted to intervene in one of Florida’s same-sex marriage cases so that he could marry that porn-filled laptop? And then last year when he tried the same thing in Texas? Well, here …

Posted last night to Jason Chaffetz’s Instagram account: Almost 12 years ago, I shattered several bones in my foot which required 14 screws and a metal plate to repair. Yes, I wish I could say I was cliff diving in Mexico but the truth is I fell off a ladder while repairing something in my garage. The University of Utah …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: President Donald Trump this week will order a review of national monument designations — including southern Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — as part of a wide look at a century-old law that allows presidents to set aside federal lands without congressional approval. On Wednesday, Trump will sign an executive order to demand that …

Well, this is an odd turn of phrase. Via Politico: Asked if he is resigning because of a yet-to-be revealed scandal, Chaffetz said, “Absolutely, positively not. “Not in any way shape or form,” he said. “I’ve been given more enemas by more people over the last eight years than you can possibly imagine. From the Secret Service to the Democratic …

And the intrigue deepens. The Huffington Post reports: KSL Newsradio on Thursday reported that Chaffetz might not even finish out his congressional term. “I will continue to weigh the options, but I might depart early,” Chaffetz said, according to the radio station. In his role as chairman of the oversight committee, Chaffetz continually investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s …

“Thank you! Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Representative in the United States House of Representatives. Serving is an honor and a privilege that I have never taken for granted. After long consultation with my family and prayerful consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for any office in 2018. Since late 2003 I …

The Hill reports: Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), the most senior GOP senator, said on Monday that he is currently planning on running for an eighth Senate term. “I fully intend to run again, but I’m going to take time and think it over and make up my mind on that, but right now, yes, I’m going to run,” Hatch told …

The Atlantic reports: Republican leaders and high-powered donors in Utah are waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convince 83-year-old incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch not to seek reelection next year—and now, they may have found a successor. Mitt Romney, the one-time presidential nominee and leading Trump critic, is exploring a run for Hatch’s Senate seat. According to six sources familiar …

The Associated Press reports: A crowd of more than 1,000 people in Utah’s Democratic stronghold booed Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart at a Friday night town hall as the congressman defended GOP positions on health care, public lands and immigration. Audience members yelled, “Do your job,” imploring him to investigate and denounce connections between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: Utah lawmakers have passed a bill repealing a controversial law forbidding discussion in classrooms of anything that could be construed as “promotion” of homosexuality. Senate Bill 196’s passage might also get the state out of a lawsuit filed by three students and a pair of gay rights groups. The bill, sponsored …

Ben Winslow reports for Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: A bill that requires someone to disclose their HIV or AIDS status before engaging in any sexual activity or face a criminal penalty has passed a House Committee. Rep. Justin Fawson’s House Bill 369 passed out of committee Friday morning over objections from the ranking Democrat on the committee and an …

Ben Winslow reports at the Salt Lake Tribune: A bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature may help get the state out of a lawsuit over a law that forbids discussion of anything construed as “promotion” of homosexuality. Senate Bill 196, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton, “repeals language prohibiting the advocacy of homosexuality in health instruction.” “It …