Romney is only GOP senator not on new White House coronavirus task force

Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) is the only Republican senator not on a congressional task force created by the White House to study reopening parts of the country shuttered by the coronavirus.

A list released by the White House on Thursday afternoon of the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group” included nearly 70 senators, including all 52 of Romney’s GOP colleagues in the chamber.

A spokeswoman for Romney and a source familiar confirmed that the GOP senator was not asked to take part in the task force.

Trump has viewed the Utah senator, and 2012 GOP presidential nominee, as a Republican antagonist since he joined the Senate in 2019.

Romney was the only GOP senator to vote for one of the articles — abuse of power — during the Senate impeachment trial earlier this year.

But the bad blood goes back years. Romney was critical of Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, and Trump lashed out at Romney in February 2016 as “one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics.”

The two appeared to reconcile with Trump considering Romney for a Cabinet post and endorsing his Senate bid in 2018.

But Romney has publicly broken with Trump at times since joining the Senate, including appearing critical of Trump’s rhetoric regarding the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and saying he was “sickened” by Trump’s behavior as described in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Romney’s comments have made him one of the GOP senators most willing to break with Trump, after the death of McCain and retirement of former Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

Trump has publicly lashed out at Romney, calling for him to be kicked out of the Senate GOP caucus and accusing him of being a “secret Democrat asset.”

Romney wasn’t the only senator not included on the new White House task force. More than two dozen Democrats were not included, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who both ran for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination. Red-state Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Doug Jones (Ala.) also were not included.

Updated at 5:10 p.m.