Josh Hawley Handcuffs Mitch McConnell’s Sneaky Nominee Tactics

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) put holds on Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) hand-selected nominees Wednesday, handcuffing the minority leader’s designs to put his minions in positions of power within the administrative state.

Hawley’s decision to not rubber stamp McConnell’s nominees speaks to his willingness to combat McConnell’s leadership:

• Hawley previously called for a change in Senate Republican leadership.
• He voted for Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) to oust McConnell as leader.

RELATED VIDEO — McConnell Sides with Biden on Bundling Ukraine, Israel Aid: “I View It as All Interconnected”:

Hawley opposed McConnell’s effort on Wednesday to confirm two of his former aides to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). McConnell’s proposed nominations are part of a broader deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), which includes:

• Dozens of Biden nominees
• Just a handful of McConnell’s selections

“By agreeing to such a negotiated package in exchange for just a few Republican appointees you have personally deemed a priority, I believe we risk giving away too much,” Hawley wrote.

“If Republicans are planning to install dozens of Biden nominees for positions across the federal government — without a vote — in exchange for just a handful of our own selections, I want to be sure that we get our nominees right,” Hawley wrote.

RELATED VIDEO — Sen. Hawley Slams Christopher Wray for Using FBI Against American Catholics:

U.S. Senate

“Andrew Ferguson, nominated to be a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, should answer additional questions on his philosophy concerning Big Tech, given the importance of that issue to our conference,” he wrote. “I also believe that Todd Inman, who is under consideration for the National Transportation Safety Board, should be asked to further articulate his views on various transportation policies, including rail safety and autonomous vehicles.”

Reforming and purging the administrative state of establishment employees is a priority for the America First movement. If reelected in 2024, Trump said he would work to deconstruct the administrative state, the apparatus of unelected bureaucrats in federal agencies who write binding rules with, without, or against the law.

• The administrative state uses its rule-making ability to essentially usurp the separation of powers between the three branches of government by creating a so-called fourth branch of government not created by the Constitution.
•  Nearly 2 million federal government employees in federal agencies make up the administrative state.