Staff Reports
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is taking a stand against two RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) nominated to federal agencies. But it’s not because they’re liberal picks from President Biden. To the contrary, they’re actually former staffers for Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell!
Hawley is making sure the nominations get a thorough vetting before they’re just rubber-stamped by the Senate. He wants to be sure that these RINOs, recommended by McConnell to join the Federal Trade Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board, actually line up with conservative values.
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley feuds with Mitch McConnell over Republican nominees https://t.co/hUzbTp7B3i
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 20, 2023
This move by the first-term senator has only fueled the fire in his ongoing feud with McConnell, whom he openly criticized earlier this year in support of Sen. Rick Scott’s bid to become the new GOP leader.
In a letter to McConnell, Hawley expressed his concern about the risk of giving away too much in a negotiated package that includes nominees he personally deems a priority. McConnell’s office didn’t bother to respond, and questions from reporters at the Capitol were met with silence.
The nominees causing the commotion, Todd Inman for the NTSB and Andrew Ferguson for the FTC, have backgrounds that raise red flags for Hawley. Inman, a former campaign aide to McConnell and chief of staff to Trump’s Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was the subject of Politico reporting that revealed he helped McConnell and others gain special access to the agency and federal funding. On the other hand, Ferguson, Virginia’s solicitor general, was once McConnell’s chief counsel and served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hawley isn’t about to let these RINO sympathizers slide through without thorough scrutiny. He’s raising questions about Inman’s views on transportation policies and Ferguson’s stance on Big Tech, making sure these RINOs won’t derail the conservative agenda.
With senators away until the new year, the push to confirm the RINOs before the holiday break hit a snag. But Hawley’s determination to vet these nominees thoroughly means McConnell and the RINOs will have to face the music when Congress returns.
Hawley isn’t going to let the swamp dictate the terms. He’s standing up for conservative values and making sure that RINOs don’t sneak into federal agencies without a fight!
