In less than one month, Utah Republicans are going to vote for their party’s nominee—and likely their next U.S. Senator, as the state is one of the most conservative in the nation.
Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs is vying to fill this open seat, which is currently held by retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, who holds a candle as one of President Trump’s most vocal Republican critics.
Staggs was hand-picked by the president earlier this month to succeed Romney and is shaping up to be one of the most “America First” leaders for the U.S. Senate.
Although Staggs must ultimately succeed in winning the party’s primary, he recently won 70 percent of the delegate vote at Utah’s Republican Convention shortly after the president’s endorsement and is already revealing how he will surely be an upgrade from Mitt Romney.
During an exclusive phone interview with RSBN on May 14, Staggs explained some of what his tenure in the Senate would look like, particularly as someone who will make Utah “America First.”
Staggs maintained that if elected, Utah’s Senior Sen. Mike Lee, who endorsed President Trump in January, would “finally have someone who has his back.”
Riverton’s mayor also added that both he and Lee would be a “dynamic duo” who would “bring us to a majority” within the Republican caucus with other senators who are “America First.”
He further touted himself as one with a “huge support of Constitutional conservatism, America First principals,” and even “supporting President Trump.”
Although one centerpiece of Staggs’ campaign has been his support for “smaller, limited government, safer families, and a strong economy,” Riverton’s mayor also maintained that the three issues that must be addressed immediately are the “border, budget, and the regulatory state.”
Staggs told RSBN that the country must return to “what was so successful” with the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including the completion of the border wall.
Staggs also said he supported E-Verify, which confirms whether individuals are eligible to work in the United States, along with Remain in Mexico, a Trump-era policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they await hearings to determine their eligibility.
The mayor, who emphasized that the country should be doing more to put “America first,” explained that officials should “cut off” benefits that are going to illegal immigrants and that “states and municipalities who want to do this should not be receiving federal funds.”
The Republican also highlighted the influx of congressional spending as one of the “biggest reasons” for his running for Senate.
“When I first announced my candidacy a year ago, we were $32 trillion—now we’re $35 trillion in debt,” he told RSBN. “It’s unconscionable for my kids—to place that burden on them.”
Staggs said that debt could likely decrease if Congress stopped the omnibus spending bills, which he said have gone against the “regular order and regular process” for how spending had been previously conducted in the legislature.
“I pledge with Utahans—I will not vote for an omnibus spending bill. Period. Because it doesn’t allow us to go through the process that was outlined in 1974—the Congressional Budget Act. We need 12 appropriations sub-committees, each one producing its own budget, with ample opportunity to debate,” Staggs told RSBN.
He continued, “Senator Lee has called this current process of omnibus spending and continuing resolutions ‘the firm,’ where you’ve got Senate and House leadership—four people—they go into a backroom and cobble together thousand-page plus budgets and legislation and expect every member of Congress to pass it.”
“Go along, get along,” said Staggs. “That has to stop until we get back to regular order and regular process.”
The Republican mayor cited this as a reason for his refusal to support Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who he suggested has been a major contributor to this excess spending.
McConnell revealed earlier this year that he would step down from his leadership position in November. However, Staggs maintained in the months prior to the news that he would not be supporting the minority leader’s leadership bid.
“We need somebody new that will get back to the process, and by doing so, that will—I think—balance the budget finally, which we haven’t had since 2001,” Staggs told RSBN.
The mayor also highlighted the “crushing” regulatory state as another issue to address, promising to pass the REINS Act, which would bring the passing of business regulations over to Congress rather than “unelected bureaucrats” in order to reduce the regulatory impact.
“We’ll no longer allow unelected bureaucrats to pass rules that have the binding effect of law,” Staggs told RSBN.
He also called the regulatory state a “$4 trillion drag” on the economy, which costs “$10,000 to 20,000 per employee for employers to come into compliance with it.”
Staggs also suggested that Utah has been stymied from improving and increasing its critical infrastructure because of the bureaucracy and regulations from the Bureau of Land Management.
“Some 67 percent of all of our land in Utah is owned or controlled by the federal government. So, when you have such a constrained footprint upon which one can build, it exacerbates the growth problem,” he told RSBN.
Citing Sen. Lee’s “Houses Act,” Staggs said that vacant areas near cities, excluding national parks, could be used to add twice the amount of housing stock in the state.
According to the mayor, one percent of that land would “double the housing stock of Utah. It would add another 700,000 plus homes.”
Utah’s Republican Senate primary is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 25. Mayor Trent Staggs’ website can be found HERE.
