Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) will deliver his first address from the Senate floor. In an opinion piece published in Deseret News, Curtis invited Utahns to help shape the content of his speech by sharing personal reflections and experiences tied to key American principles.
To prepare, Senator Curtis is making independent visits to four historic sites where, he says, “American principles aren’t just spoken, but felt:”
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City, Utah
Constituents who have visited any of these places or been moved by their meaning are encouraged to share their stories by emailingexperience@curtis.senate.gov.
The Senator’s full op-ed is below and available at Deseret.com.
Before delivering his maiden floor speech, Sen. John Curtis promises to ‘listen and reflect’
By: Senator John Curtis (R-UT)
May 4, 2025
The Greek storyteller Aesop is credited as the first to offer the insight, “After all is said and done, more is said than done.” He may have been offering a vision of our social media driven society of influencers and experts, or perhaps he just caught a future glimpse of the United States Senate.
Having been a senator for a little over 100 days, I am attempting to listen and think first so that both what is said and what is done will indeed make a difference for the citizens of the nation.
It’s no secret that Utahns — and for that matter, Americans across the country — are uneasy. Economic uncertainties, financial stress, disruption to institutions, the heartbreaking loss of life in the Middle East and Ukraine, potential job loss facing federal workers, political polarization, and the unprecedented change emanating from the presidency have left many wondering: What’s next?
People are searching — not always for something they can put into words, but something they can feel — something that reassures them that, despite it all, things will be okay.
As a United States senator — serving in what some call the most prestigious and greatest deliberative body in the world — I feel the weight of meeting this moment. It presses on my shoulders every single day. How do I play my part in ensuring our country remains that shining city on a hill, a beacon of hope not just for those overseas but for our own communities? How do I help the president bring peace and prosperity home? And how do I ensure that those who feel left out of this American promise know they are part of it?
I wrestle with these questions continually. How can I follow my own convictions while fulfilling my duty in a way that brings me peace? How can I ensure I am doing all I can — thinking harder, working smarter, finding better solutions, speaking for those who have no voice, standing up for those who can’t and fighting for the vulnerable — to be the leader my constituents, my family and my faith expect me to be?
I don’t have all the answers. I do have many questions. I know you do too. On May 14 I will deliver my maiden floor speech in the United States Senate. Much is said on the floor of the Senate. Much has been said there about differences in politics and approaches to policy. Not nearly enough time is spent talking about principles that lead to getting things done. Before I say anything to my colleagues and constituents from the well of what I revere as a vital institution in our constitutional republic, I am going to listen and reflect.
For me, this will not be a traditional political listening tour — it is actually more of a pilgrimage to places where American principles aren’t just spoken, but also felt. Places where principles are celebrated and venerated because of what was done, based on those principles. I am going to listen to the voices of the past that sparked and stirred our shared story. I am going to listen to your voices. I will visit four significant spots: the Holocaust Museum, The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Arlington National Cemetery, and Ensign Peak in Utah.
At each of these sites, I will listen and learn. I will reflect on the journey of those who have faced oppression, adversity and an uncertain future. I will look for commonalities between their struggles and the challenges we face today. And I will seek lessons that can guide me in my work — lessons about resilience, about justice, about the pursuit of peace and prosperity for all.
I plan to make these visits by myself. I want to walk alone, to listen, to feel, to seek inspiration. I want to be open to the kind of quiet promptings that come when we are truly present. I hope to hear the voices of the past speaking to me, guiding me toward a better understanding of what must be done today.
I am also inviting you to join me, virtually. If you have had an experience at one of these hallowed places, or have been moved by the principles such places contain, I invite you to share them with me at experience@curtis.senate.gov. You will influence not only what I say in my maiden speech on the Senate floor, but will shape the way I work for our nation in the crucial days and months ahead.
I am also sending a personal invitation, asking my 99 colleagues in the Senate to share with me their thoughts, reflections and experiences in these places of profound American principles.
My commitment to Utahns and citizens everywhere is not that I will always get it right as a senator. Not that I will always have the perfect words. Not that I will always be in the right political or policy place they prefer. But I promise to never stop striving — to be better, to do better, to think deeper, to elevate conversations, and to find the higher ground of common ground while serving the people of Utah and America in the U.S. Senate.
And to the extent that these moments of reflection allow me to do this better, I know I will return not just with a greater understanding — but with a renewed determination to lead with wisdom, compassion and conviction. I can’t wait to experience this journey, learn from and with you, and share our shared experience with my colleagues in the senate.
My season serving as a United States senator will be measured not by what was said, but by what was done. Results matter! I believe what will be done will be the result of applying timeless American principles, the very principles that have made and preserved us a nation, to the challenges of today. What will be done, together, will echo longer and louder than anything that could ever be said.