January 20, 2021

With the U.S. on high alert for right-wing terrorism and more U.S. soldiers in Washington, D.C. than in Afghanistan and Iraq, combined, Sen. Josh Hawley – the same MAGA mind who helped incite the armed insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 with lies – would rather delay the Department of Homeland Security from getting a secretary ASAP because nominee Alejandro Mayorkas is too kind to brown people for Hawley's taste.

CNN correspondent Manu Raju explained that to fast-track the nominee, all 100 senators have to agree to a quick vote. Hawley’s objection will slow down the process but will not stop the confirmation. So why is he going through this charade at such a time?

RAJU: Hawley says in a statement released just moments ago that he has concerns with the president-elect's immigration plan and he contends that Mayorkas in his confirmation hearing today did not do enough to satisfy his concerns about securing the southern border. So, as a result he's announcing he will essentially slow down this process, object to any efforts to fast track this nomination.

So, the guy who faced a murderous mob at the Capitol just two weeks ago is more worried about immigrants thousands of miles away than in ensuring a peaceful transfer of power. And Hawley is a senator from Missouri, a state nowhere near the border.

Anchor Brianna Keilar sounded disgusted. “He can look outside of his window and see what is happening,” she said, meaning the threat of home-grown terrorism that he “does not seem to be concerned” about. “What is his political calculation when any reasonable person would say that this is not something that should be slowed down?” she asked.

It’s all about that racist, MAGA cred:

RAJU: Well, he is aligning himself with the Republican agenda on immigration, the hard core elements of the president's base, the outgoing president's base. Donald Trump's view on immigration has been the view of Josh Hawley and other Republican senators, and Hawley himself, of course, has[n’t] taken time to even acknowledge Biden's victory.

You mentioned him aligning himself with Donald Trump. He was the first senator to announce he would join House Republicans and object to the states’ electoral results. He did that with Pennsylvania even after the riot happened on January 6th. He still said he would -- he still objected and dragged out the process. He argues he is well within his rights to do that. He's not showing regret for his actions, in fact, defending it, saying he did not condone violence. He says he condemns violence.

Hawley can talk about condemning violence for the rest of his political life, which I hope will not be long. But first, he helped incite it and now he’s inhibiting the country’s ability to prevent it.

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