Utah’s Hatch set to retire from Senate

ORRIN HATCH, the longest-serving GOP senator, is retiring at the end of his term this year.

The 83-year-old from Utah — who is also president pro tem of the Senate, putting him third in line to the White House — has been publicly weighing whether or not to step down from his post for months.

“As your senator, I always fought the fight for those who could not fight for themselves and I believe the results speak for themselves,” Hatch (photo) said in a video announcement.

The decision comes weeks after President Trump signed a sweeping tax overhaul that Hatch viewed as a capstone to a four-decade career on Capitol Hill.

It also clears the way for a second political rise for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Romney, a vocal critic of Trump, has reportedly been eyeing the Utah seat amid rumors of Hatch’s eventual retirement.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “very sad.”

Utah’s largest newspaper lashed into Hatch in a scathing editorial last week that called on the lawmaker to step down.