Military

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and several colleagues sent a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) today in response to concerns that committee members would be capped at one round of five-minute questioning during the long-awaited hearing on the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, set for next Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021 on Capitol Hill. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) signed onto the letter, demanding members get more time to question Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Commander of U.S. Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie next week.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) gave a speech on the Senate Floor honoring Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz of Wentzville, Mo. and each of the 56 Missourians who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war in Afghanistan. In his speech he pledged to hold the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin, Secretary Blinken, and Jake Sullivan resign.

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and eight colleagues sent a letter to Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) calling for hearings on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Our nation is forever indebted to the brave Marines who made the ultimate sacrifice today. And we remember as well the innocent Afghanis who needlessly perished. Joe Biden has now overseen the deadliest day for US troops in Afghanistan in over a decade, and the crisis grows worse by the hour. We must reject the falsehood peddled by a feckless president that this was the only option for withdrawal. This is the product of Joe Biden’s catastrophic failure of leadership. It is now painfully clear he has neither the will nor the capacity to lead. He must resign.”

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released the following statement on the crisis President Biden’s failure of leadership has caused in Afghanistan.

Last night, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released his hold on Dr. Mara Karlin’s nomination to be the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities. Senator Hawley held Dr. Karlin’s nomination in order to ensure her commitment to a strategy of denial and a force planning construct that focuses on China. He released his hold after receiving a letter from Dr. Karlin in which she expressed just that.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released the following statement on his vote against Senate Democrats’ proposal to require women to register for the Selective Service System

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will reintroduce the Taiwan Defense Act (TDA), following new signs of China’s increasing belligerence in the Asia-Pacific and imperial ambitions worldwide. Sen. Hawley’s bill ensures the United States is able to defeat any attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced legislation to improve the U.S. military’s response to sexual assault. The Professionalizing the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Act tasks the Department of Defense with evaluating options for establishing a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) military operational specialty (MOS) and reporting its findings and recommendations to Congress. The Hawley-Gillibrand bill comes after the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee reported on growing concerns of SARCs lacking the training and resources needed to be effective at providing support to military sexual assault victims.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Congressman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) reintroduced legislation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to ease the burden active duty military servicemembers face when renewing concealed-carry licenses while stationed outside of their state of residency. The U.S. Military Right to Carry Act allows servicemembers to renew their permits by mail and requires states to treat members of the military equally to state residents in issuing concealed carry permits.