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SALT LAKE CITY — When Rep. John Curtis was running for reelection to his 3rd District House seat two years ago, he said he was often asked by Republican voters and delegates to take a harder-line stance on conservative issues — to be more of a "fighter."
A common refrain from these voters was: "Why aren't you more like Marjorie Taylor Greene?" — referring to the firebrand representative from Georgia with close ties to former President Donald Trump.
But Curtis — who is now running for the Senate seat currently held by Mitt Romney — said he's heard a different tune from delegates this time around, the result of constituents who are "tired of us not getting things done," Curtis told the KSL and Deseret News editorial boards Wednesday. As for appeals to be more like Greene, Curtis said: "I haven't heard that once this go-around."
"I have been called to task by delegates because they want people who will work ... across the aisle more, and I think that's kind of ironic, right, to come to me and say, 'You're not doing it enough,'" the congressman said.
Curtis hasn't been shy in the past about acknowledging how dysfunctional Congress — and the House of Representatives in particular — can be, and last year called on voters to prioritize different qualities in candidates if they want things to change.
"Many come to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol now not to legislate, but to be activists, create viral moments and pass blame on others," he told a crowd gathered at Utah Valley University in August 2023. "This creates an environment that promotes government by crisis."
He described the requirement for some voters that their elected leaders reject anything resembling bipartisanship as a "litmus test" that might be beginning to erode.
"I still see that type of politics, but it feels to me like the pendulum swinging a little bit and that people are tired of us not getting things done, tired of us not finding solutions," Curtis said. "There's no better example than immigration. It's some of these gnarly issues that we're having a hard time finding answers on, so I'm pleased; that's been very refreshing to me."
Curtis praises Speaker Mike Johnson
The difference in approach between Curtis and Greene is on full display this week after the House on Saturday approved a series of bills, including additional foreign aid to Ukraine. The decision to bring the bills to the floor for a vote has angered some in the Republican caucus, and Greene introduced a motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, from his post.
Johnson ascended to the role after a similar ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Curtis voted in favor of aid to Ukraine, and praised Johnson as a leader who has "done a fabulous job." Despite calls for Johnson's removal, Curtis is confident he will remain speaker, even if he has to rely on some Democrats to keep him in power.
Some in the Republican caucus have taken to referring to a "uniparty" of Democrats and Republicans who have worked across party lines to pass recent foreign aid and surveillance bills. Curtis rejected this opposition to the process, calling it "hypocrisy" to criticize the bipartisan efforts given that a small faction of GOP lawmakers relied heavily on Democratic votes to strip McCarthy of his speakership last fall.
Curtis said the vote to aid Ukraine is "incredibly important" not just for Ukraine, but for the United States.
"I have no doubt had Putin been as successful as he thought he would be ... at some point he would have rolled on another country, and at one point that would have been a NATO country," he said.
Although several opposing candidates in the race have taken a position against further aid to Ukraine, Curtis said his role as a congressman is different than that of a candidate.
"This is the reality of elected office — you have to show leadership," he said. "I've got two roles: I'm a candidate, and I'm a member of Congress. If I put my candidate hat on, I can move all over, right? ... Because of my role, I took that vote, and to me it was leadership."
