Orrin Hatch

Orrin G. Hatch
Former President pro tempore of the United States Senate From: January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019
Predecessor	Patrick Leahy
Successor	Chuck Grassley
Former U.S. Senator from Utah From: January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2019
Predecessor	Frank Moss
Successor	Willard Mitt Romney
Information
Party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Elaine Hansen
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Orrin Grant Hatch, born March 22, 1934 (age 88), is a former United States Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1977 as a conservative but has moved to the Left ever since, as in December 2010 when he failed to vote against the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. He has repeatedly won reelection in the past, but faced a conservative challenger in 2012 who came somewhat closer to winning, making him go into a runoff. He proved himself to be a Moderate Republican when he wrote the DREAM Act, voted for Eric Holder, and expressed support for civil unions for homosexuals.^[1] When he first ran for Congress, he criticized his opponent as a career politician who was in office for too long. He was in office for a very long time (42 years). He was replaced by Mitt Romney in 2019.

He is pro-life and in 1983 sponsored the Hatch/Eagleton Human Life Amendment, the only one of such a measure to receive a vote in Congress. However, it failed on the Senate floor, failing to garner the required two-thirds majority.^[2]

Before he entered politics, Hatch worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City. He received a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962.^[3] He was a candidate in the 2000 Presidential primary, but lost to George W. Bush.^[4]

Hatch was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump in mid-November 2018.^[5]

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