Mitt Romney, Republican senator from Utah and 2012 presidential runner, has discarded the possibility that he could be serving in Joe Biden’s Cabinet during a Zoom call with reporters, as cited by The Hill.
“The answer is no I have not been approached, nor will I be approached, and I'm not going to be part of the Biden administration,” Romney said when asked about the possibility, following speculations that the senator might be among those who will be mostly likely to break away from his party’s ranks.
“I'll be serving this term and who knows maybe even another one representing our great state,” the official said.
Lawmakers previously suggested that Romney, who was elected to the Senate in 2018 for a six-year term, might be among those Republicans picked by Biden to serve in his administration over his often rebellious position inside the party, as he had famously voted for one of the articles supporting Donald Trump’s impeachment.
He also famously said in October that he did not vote for the incumbent president in the election this year, while stopping short from revealing his preferences.
Trump’s campaign has now raised several legal challenges against the election results in a number of key swing states, disputing “illegal” ballots cast after the election deadline and also citing a lack of transparency over vote counting. Some of this litigation has already been dismissed by judges, including in the key battleground state of Michigan.
Joe Bide has now been declared a president-elect by the US media and has already been congratulated by some world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron. The ex-vice president has since been stepping up efforts to prepare a transition team, despite Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election so far.
According to Romney’s Sunday comments, in any case, Donald Trump was “not disappearing by any means” from the GOP.
“He’s the 900lb gorilla when it comes to the Republican party,” the senator told NBC.