Two days before he'll be sworn in as the newest senator from Utah, Mitt Romney criticized President Trump as having "not risen to the mantle of the office” in an op-ed for the Washington Post.

The big picture: After excoriating Trump in a scripted appearance during the 2016 campaign, Romney has largely held his tongue in the first two years of the Trump presidency and stayed under the radar as he made — and won — his bid for the Senate.

Romney's piece focused on Trump's foreign policy and relationships with allies while maligning his "name-calling" and "conduct." He pointed out that areas where he agreed with Trump were on longtime, mainstream Republican policies.