In one of the most extraordinary and unprecedented opinion pieces in recent years, incoming U.S. senator and former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates GOP votes to authorize subpoenas, depositions in Obama-era probe Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' MORE (R-Utah) today wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post that excoriated President Donald Trump and warned Republicans and all Americans about the dangers presented by the Trump presidency.

Romney wrote, among many other things, the following sentence:

“I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions.”

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Romney was not referring to Democratic leaders in Congress or to previous Democratic presidents or presidential nominees. He was referring to the highest-ranking Republican in America, President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE, and promising to speak out forcefully whenever the president crosses lines that American presidents should never cross.

“Divisive.” “Racist.” “Sexist. ” “Anti-immigrant.” “ Dishonest.” “Destructive to democratic institutions.”

Those are the words that Romney used, conveying the role he will seek to play when he may soon become the most important Republican senator.

Romney, writing about the need for American leadership of the alliance of democratic nations and the need for America to oppose dictatorships and defend human rights, also wrote this:

“In a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, 84 percent of people in Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Sweden believed the American president would ‘do the right thing in world affairs.' One year later, that number had fallen to 16 percent.”

Romney’s call to action against the wrongs he rightfully condemns follows the extraordinary resignation in protest of former Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE, who directly confronted policies and practices that attack and undermine America’s democratic allies and that praise or advance the interests of America’s dictatorial adversaries and enemies.

It will be fascinating to watch Romney play the role he promises to play in the Republican Senate. While he stated in his op-ed that he looks forward to working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.), his presence will dramatically increase pressure on McConnell to take principled positions opposing Trump when necessary, which he has repeatedly refused to do.

Let's consider the role Romney could play in the government shutdown, of which Trump took ownership when he publicly stated he would be glad to shut down the government unless Congress agreed to support his ultimately doomed plan to build a wall on the Mexican border.

The wall proposal was built on the lie, obvious to everyone who knows anything about Mexico, that Mexico would pay for the wall. This was not true when Trump campaigned on it. It is not true today. It will never be true.

It is an outrage that Trump, the chief officer of the executive branch of government would force a shutdown because he wants Americans to pay for the wall he falsely promised Mexicans would pay for.

There is a deal to be had. I would support Democrats agreeing to increase funding for border security above their current proposal if — and only if — Trump agrees to include a full solution that would protect the Dreamers and an end to the cruel and unusual immigration policy of family separations.

In the midterm elections, Democrats won a decisive mandate from voters on immigration. Trump spent the closing weeks of the campaign aggressively trying to provoke fear and anger on the phony issue of the so-called caravan.

Day after day, week after week, Trump railed about the caravan, an issue he stopped railing about the day Democrats won a decisive victory to regain control of the House of Representatives. This is what a mandate looks like.

While Romney, warning in his op-ed against anti-immigrant rhetoric, did so in nonpartisan terms, Senate Republicans would be well-advised to heed his warning and follow his example.

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Otherwise, the likelihood is that Senate Republicans could experience in the 2020 elections what happened to House Republicans in the 2018 midterms, especially with so many Republican seats being contested then.

It is no coincidence that the prominent and respected Sen. Lamar Alexander Andrew (Lamar) Lamar AlexanderTrump health officials grilled over reports of politics in COVID-19 response Now is the time to renew our focus on students and their futures CDC says asymptomatic people don't need testing, draws criticism from experts MORE (R-Tenn.) has already announced his retirement, which is exactly what happened to House Republicans before the 2018 midterms.

In January 2018, I publicly predicted that then-Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAt indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Peterson faces fight of his career in deep-red Minnesota district MORE (R-Wis.) would not run for reelection. It is now possible that Sen. McConnell and/or Sen. John Cornyn John CornynSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Republican Senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal MORE (R-Texas) might similarly not seek reelection in 2020.

Romney could play a historic, invaluable role in the Senate, from immigration reform to defending special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE, among a long list of issues.

Senate Republicans would be wise to heed the warning from Romney for the good of our country and their party.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.