--- title: Sen. Orrin Hatch Slams Steve Bannon for Remarks On Mormons description: Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah has fired back at incendiary remarks made by the populist ringleader Stephen K. Bannon about Mitt Romney. canonical: https://time.com/5052251/hatch-romney-bannon-trump-senate/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-06T17:04:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:28:45.128Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sen. Orrin Hatch Slams Steve Bannon Over Remarks on Mormons og:description: "I've got a copy of the Book of Mormon with his name on it." og:url: https://time.com/5052251/hatch-romney-bannon-trump-senate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394fbaf67dc1ae6c/6988f40b4ee262970f31010f/gettyimages-885698842.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3917 og:image:height: 2203 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP-HATCH og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sen. Orrin Hatch Slams Steve Bannon Over Remarks on Mormons twitter:description: "I've got a copy of the Book of Mormon with his name on it." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394fbaf67dc1ae6c/6988f40b4ee262970f31010f/gettyimages-885698842.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sen. Orrin Hatch Slams Steve Bannon Over Remarks on Mormons > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Dec 6, 2017 5:04 PM UTC  US Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, speaks with the press after arriving with US President Donald Trump on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, December 4, 2017. US Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, speaks with the press after arriving with US President Donald Trump on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, December 4, 2017. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Dec 6, 2017 5:04 PM UTC The longest-serving Republican in the Senate criticized Steve Bannon’s remarks on Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. In a statement, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said he resents the former Trump adviser’s argument at a campaign rally in Alabama that Romney avoided service in Vietnam by “hiding behind” his religion as a Mormon missionary during the Vietnam War. “I also resent anyone attacking any persons religious views, but particularly our own Christian LDS faith and the selfless service of missionary work,” Hatch said. “I’d be more than happy to sit down with Mr. Bannon and help him understand more about the LDS church at his convenience. I’ve got a copy of the Book of Mormon with his name on it.” At a rally for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, Bannon harshly criticized Romney, who has [come out against Moore](http://time.com/5049202/roy-moore-mitt-romney-donald-trump/) over claims of sexual misconduct. “You avoided service, brother,” [said](http://time.com/5051659/steve-bannon-roy-moore-rally-mitt-romney/) Bannon, who spent seven years in the Navy. “You went to France to be a missionary while guys were dying in rice paddies in Vietnam.” He went on to claim that Roy Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct with underage girls, “has more honor and integrity in a pinky finger” than Romney and his family have “in \[their\] whole DNA.” The spat comes at a time when both Hatch and Romney are at a political crossroads. Hatch, who first came to the Senate in 1977, is expected by many to retire at the end of his term next November. If or when he does, Romney could be the one to run for his seat, according to an October report in [_The Atlantic_](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/hatch-romney/544211/)_._ The prospect of a run by Romney — a political moderate who criticized Trump during the 2016 presidential election — is anathema to the populist camp of the Republican Party. Earlier this week, Trump publicly praised Hatch during a trip [to Salt Lake City](http://time.com/5048440/donald-trump-mitt-romney-utah-senate/) and encourage him to run for reelection — a move, Politico [reports](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/03/trump-mitt-romney-utah-senate-hatch-276805), aimed at deflating Romney’s momentum. Romney has kept mum on his political future, but [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mitt-romney-utah-senate-race/) and other outlets report that he and Trump spoke late Tuesday night. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway described the exchange as a “wonderful conversation.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5052251/hatch-romney-bannon-trump-senate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5052251/hatch-romney-bannon-trump-senate/"},"headline":"Sen. 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