By: Kayla Pasacreta

Sen Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the longest serving Senate Republican, announced his retirement Tuesday afternoon. Hatch is chucking up the deuces after serving 42 years in the U.S. Senate. In his video announcement, Hatch states, "When the president visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter. I've always been a fighter. I was an amateur boxer in my youth, and I brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington...But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching."

Hatch annouced his retirement in the Twitter video below:

The announcement comes just a week after the Salt Lake Tribune's stinging editorial crowning Hatch as a man with "an utter lack of integrity" and called on him to step down. 

Hatch's retirement leaves speculation that failed 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney may run for the Senate seat. Romney has a residence in Utah as well as political ties to the state.