Josh Hawley

Joshua David Hawley born December 31 1979 is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Missouri a seat he has held since 2019 A member of the Republican Party Hawley served as the 42nd attorney general of Missouri from 2017 to 2019 before defeating twoterm incumbent Democratic senator Claire McCaskill in the 2018 election He was reelected in 2024 Born in Springdale Arkansas to a banker and a teacher Hawley graduated from Stanford University in 2002 and Yale Law School in 2006 After being a law clerk to Judge Michael W McConnell and Chief Justice John Roberts he worked as a lawyer first in private practice from 2008 to 2011 and then for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty from 2011 to 2015 Before being elected Missouri attorney general he was also an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Law and a faculty member of the conservative Blackstone Legal Fellowship As Missouri attorney general Hawley initiated several highprofile lawsuits and investigations including a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act an investigation into Missouri governor Eric Greitens and a lawsuit and investigation into companies associated with the opioid epidemic His political beliefs have been described as strongly socially conservative and populist In December 2020 Hawley became the first senator to announce plans to object to the certification of Joe Bidens victory in the 2020 United States presidential election and led efforts in the Senate to do so Although he did not directly encourage the January 6 attack on the US Capitol some observers perceived his actions as inflammatory In January 2021 Hawley said he did not intend to overturn the election results