Romney blames GOP midterm rout on 'bad policy, bad character'

Former Sen. Mitt Romney said Republicans lost both chambers of Congress because of "bad policy" and "bad character," citing erratic tariffs, the Iran war, blanket pardons, ICE brutality and the handling of the Epstein files, and called for a course correction.

Former Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee, attributed his party's sweeping midterm losses to a lack of sound policy and compassionate governing, the Deseret News reported.

"Bad policy, bad character make bad politics: erratic tariffs, impulsive Iran war, blanket pardons, apparent corruption, weaponized justice, ICE brutality, mountainous deficits, hiding Epstein, abandoning allies and coddling enemies," Romney said in a statement. "Hoping for a course correction, for the country and for my party."

Romney meets Utah wool growers in 2022 (file photo)

Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Iran war was "the reason we lost," adding that President Donald Trump agreed with that assessment. "If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so," Vance said.

Romney, who did not seek reelection in 2024, was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials.