SALT LAKE CITY — With Mitt Romney set to exit the U.S. Senate, Washington will be without one of its strongest conservative critics of Donald Trump when the president retakes the White House in the new year. The retiring senator will reflect on his two-decade political career, which included the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, a term as Massachusetts governor and several skirmishes with Trump loyalists in Congress, at a final news conference Friday in Salt Lake City. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Romney, 77, chose not to run for reelection this year after representing Utah in the Senate since 2019.