Sen. Josh Hawley speaks with reporters outside the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., October 20, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican widely suspected of having aims on the 2028 presidential nomination, has continued to cause frustration among his congressional colleagues due to his obsession with an issue many of them see as repellent to voters, according to NOTUS.
Despite President Donald Trump's appointees being credited with overturning Roe v. Wade, he and many other members of the GOP have tried to avoid anti-abortion issues since the party drastically underperformed in the 2022 midterms, which was widely attributed to its abortion stances. While Trump has since returned to the White House and Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they have opted not to pursue much in the way of high-profile anti-abortion legislation in spite of their advantages, fearing more voter revolt.
One Republican lawmaker who has consistently bucked that trend is Hawley, who has made numerous moves in the past year to try and put a national spotlight on anti-abortion causes. Most recently, he put forward a bill that would ban Mifepristone, the drug used for medication abortions, at the federal level, with NOTUS reporting that the move has renewed frustrations from his conservative colleagues by reviving their "least favorite campaign issue."
"Not talking about abortion, they may think that’s a feature. I think that’s a bug,” Hawley told the outlet. “I’m pro-life. I want to do what I can to advance the pro-life cause.”
According to NOTUS's Thursday report, Democratic opposition means the bill is dead-on-arrival in the Senate, but even in the House, where Republicans still hold a razor-thin majority, some in the party have spoken out against Hawley for dredging up anti-abortion policies beyond the state level. Rep. Max Miller, an Ohio Republican in a district considered vulnerable in the upcoming midterms, spoke with the outlet about his view that abortion issues should remain a matter for the states.
“It’s my opinion that each and every Republican has to run their own race,” Miller said. “The state of Missouri is very much different from the state of Ohio... I respect his opinion. I am extremely pro-life and I’ve never been anything but pro-life. But I’m going to go ahead and stick with President Trump on this one and not the senator."
Rep. David Valadao of California, another Republican in the Democrats' midterm crosshairs, also expressed frustration about Hawley's priorities.
“I think what we should be focusing on right now is funding the government, get DHS back open, pass the farm bill, getting permitting reform done and working on things that actually make our economy better and make our country stronger,” Valadao said.
When pressed about whether or not the GOP should focus on abortion issues ahead of the midterms, Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, another lawmaker considered vulnerable to Democrats, said only, "No," with NOTUS noting that he smiled while giving the answer.