U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., has agreed to spearhead Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s congressional team, the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign announced yesterday.
Blunt’s efforts will be directed in securing Republican support among U.S. Senate and House members, a role he filled as a House member during George W. Bush’s successful campaign in 2000.
During a conference call today with reporters, Blunt declined to answer questions related to the announcement, saying he’d set up a separate conference call with reporters to address his Romney decision. He was concerned about answering political questions on a government phone dedicated to Senate business. Blunt, who had just wrapped up a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence meeting, spoke with reports about federal disaster dollars and the U.S. Army Corps’ handling of Table Rock Lake flooding this spring.
Blunt offered this statement in a news release: “Through his experience in the private sector and as governor, I believe Mitt has the right background to help create more economic certainty and spur job growth in Missouri and nationwide.”
Romney, who withdrew from the 2008 presidential race, is considered among the chief contenders to go head-to-head with President Obama next year along with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman.
Romney is building his bid for the Republican party’s nomination on job creation, detailed in five bills and five executive orders, including an end to the federal government's authority in health care law and a sanction of China for unfair trade practices, according to his campaign
Web site.
“It is an honor to have Roy’s support. He has always been a champion of taxpayers and small business owners, and I know that he will be an effective liaison in sharing my vision for America with his colleagues in both the House and the Senate,” Romney said in the release. “I look forward to working with Roy as I bring my plan for job creation to Missouri and the rest of the country.”[[In-content Ad]]
