Mitt Romney has reentered national politics in a limited way, headlining a Salt Lake City fundraiser this week for Sen. Susan Collins. The event, held Wednesday, marked Romney's first direct engagement in Washington politics since leaving the Senate at the start of 2025, Politico reports. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee, who has largely stayed out of public view, is backing Collins as part of an effort to sustain a bloc of Republicans he considers to have a more traditional, independent-minded profile. Romney told donors he understood the difficulty of being a Republican from New England and called Collins part of a dwindling type of GOP senator, one attendee said.
Collins briefly addressed the group, emphasizing she will need substantial fundraising help to defeat likely Democratic opponent Graham Platner. Romney and Collins worked together in a bipartisan Senate coalition during the Biden administration on infrastructure, pandemic relief, and gun legislation. They were among seven Republican senators who voted to convict President Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Romney appeared last month in Boston for a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the Massachusetts health care plan dubbed Romneycare, per CBS News. While there, the former governor criticized Congress in a WBZ interview for turning over power to the executive. "Republicans now salute and do what the president tells them. And by the way, Democrats did the same thing under Joe Biden," Romney said.
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