Josh Hawley joined the United States Senate in 2019 at age 39, making him the youngest member at the time. Since then, the senior U.S. senator from Missouri has made quite a name for himself.
Hawley is known perhaps most notably for his raised fist in solidarity with Trump supporters on January 6. He’s an ardent supporter of the president, and was the first Republican senator to say that he would object to the 2020 election results.
But he’s also positioned himself as a champion of working class Americans, and on several occasions has broken from his party to work with Democrats and Independents — Hawley and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, introduced in February bipartisan legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for five years.
Hawley's two identities in the Senate — social conservative and populist — was the subject of a New York Times story by political reporter Robert Draper.
"He describes himself as a Christian nationalist and believes that the founders basically had espoused Christian ideals," Draper told KCUR's Up To Date on Monday. "And he very much promotes those ideals."
"He is also charting what seems to be a parallel course as someone who talks about populist issues. ... Not only how can we best advance the economic welfare of working class Americans, but also, how can we rein in a capitalist system that sometimes goes out of control," explained Draper.
KCUR has invited Sen. Hawley on Up To Date numerous times and hasn't heard back.
While the end of Hawley's upward trajectory remains unknown, the senator has long been rumored to harbor presidential ambitions.
"It remains to be seen once again, whether Hawley will ever assume a real leadership role on this, or if these are kind of niche issues," said Draper.
- Robert Draper, domestic politics reporter for The New York Times
