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For Immediate Release
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Mairead Lynn, 484-678-0444

As Hawley Once Again Puts National Security At Risk, Senate Must Reject His Antics and Quickly Confirm Mayorkas

Weeks after Hawley helped incite a deadly insurrection, he’s now obstructing swift confirmation of Biden’s Homeland Security nominee Accountable Senate War Room is calling on senators to reject Hawley’s obstruction, work together to quickly confirm DHS nominee Alejandro Mayorkas Seven Democratic Senators filed an ethics complaint against Hawley for his role in violent insurrection on January 6

WASHINGTON

After helping to incite a deadly attack against the Capitol, Senator Josh Hawley is now blocking the nomination of the person responsible for stopping violent insurrection attempts and other national security threats--the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Hawley's role in the insurrection led seven Democratic senators to file an ethics complaint against him yesterday. While it's unsurprising that Hawley is once again putting the demands of his extreme base over national security, the Accountable Senate War Room is calling on the rest of the Senate to reject Hawley's sideshow, and come together to confirm this critical nominee as quickly as possible. Amid the COVID-19 health crisis, historic civil unrest, and growing threats of cyber security attacks, it has never been more critical to have the president's experienced choice at the helm of DHS.

"It's hard to imagine Senator Hawley doing the right thing after helping to incite a violent insurrection and showing no remorse about it, even as further evidence comes to light showing how much deadlier this attack could have been," said Mairead Lynn, spokesperson for Accountable.US Senate War Room. "Senator Hawley's opinion on how to best protect our country moving forward should carry little weight -- and if he doesn't stop playing politics with this critical nominee, it's going to be on the rest of the Senate to come together and get Mayorkas confirmed as quickly as possible so he can clean up Trump and Hawley's mess, tackle the worst cybersecurity crisis we've seen, and protect our country from national security threats."

A summary of how Josh Hawley is putting our national security at risk is below and the full research can be found here.

Josh Hawley's Obstructionism Is Putting National Security At Risk

SUMMARY: Josh Hawley led the charge in the Senate to overturn the Electoral College's vote, helping to incite the violent insurrection at the capitol. Despite the attack, Hawley proceeded with his objections to Biden's win--even as some of his Republican colleagues dropped theirs--and continued to peddle lies about election fraud. Actions have consequences and even a senator cannot escape them, Hawley is now facing:

  • Calls for his resignation from editorial boards in his home state and across the country

    • St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board wrote that the "violent armed anarchy on display at the nation's capitol Wednesday was brought to you by none other than Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley."
    • Kansas City Star Editorial Board wrote that "no one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible for [the] coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol than one Joshua David Hawley."
    • Los Angeles Times Editorial Board wrote that the violent insurrection at the Capitol was "the predictable outcome of the grotesque charade being played not just by Trump but by Sens. Ted. Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and others who have aligned with Trump's blatantly false assertions of voting fraud."
  • Hawley's mentor, former U.S. Senator Jack Danforth, stated that helping Hawley win elected office was the biggest mistake of his life:
    • Danforth: "I thought he was special. And I did my best to encourage people to support him both for attorney general and later the U.S. Senate and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life."
  • Criticisms from fellow Republican Senators who called his actions "dumbass" and questioned his motives behind the objections
  • Seven senators have now asked the Ethics Committee to investigate Hawley's role in the attack on the Capitol
  • Loss of corporate support as he lost a book deal and a hotel chain backed out from holding a planned fundraiser in February

Undeterred, however, Hawley has continued working to undermine national security. On Inauguration Day, Hawley was one of just 10 senators to oppose Biden's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, even though she had broad bipartisan support. He is now blocking swift confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkasas Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security even though there is a "widely recognized need to move forward with getting a new national security team in place."

Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.