Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is accusing Democrats of overblowing the severity of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and using the incident as a power grab.
“The politics of fear that the Democratic Party has been pushing on this country for a whole year, it’s the only thing they have to offer the country,” Hawley said during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News. “And what they’re trying to do with it is consolidate their power.”
Hawley accused Democrats in control of the federal government under President Biden of attempting to “weaponize the FBI against parents” and bemoaned that leaders on the political left have “called demonstrators insurrectionists.”
“It started last Jan. 6 and they have used that event to try and consolidate their power and try and push this fear politics,” he said. “And this is going to be the year … where Americans reject fear.”
After former President Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Hawley was the first senator to announce he would object to the certification of Electoral College votes, citing unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
“What we are doing here tonight is actually very important because for those who have concerns about the integrity of our elections, those who have concerns about what happened in November, this is the appropriate means, this is the lawful place where those objections and concerns should be heard,” Hawley said from the Senate floor on Jan. 6.
Critics of the firebrand senator this week circulated a video clip of an appearance he made on Fox News two days before the attack on the Capitol.
During the interview, anchor Bret Baier pressed Hawley on his decision to object to the certification of Biden’s victory.
“Are you trying to say that as of Jan. 20, President Trump will be president?” he was asked.
“Well, that depends on what happens on Wednesday, this is why we have the debate,” the senator responded.
“No it doesn’t,” Baier shot back. “The states by the Constitution say they certify the election … by the Constitution, Congress doesn’t have the right to overturn the certification.”
Democrats impeached Trump for a second time following the attack on the Capitol and have established a select committee to investigate the attack and to what extent the White House and his fellow Republicans aided efforts to overturn the election.