Hawley approves first Biden Cabinet nominee after defending opposition to all prior nominees
Hawley’s support came after he defended on Monday his prior record of not voting to advance any Biden Cabinet secretary nominees, insisting that he evaluates each pick individually.
“I take them one at a time, if there is someone I think will be good to Missouri, that I can defend to my voters, somebody who I think is going to be good for the job, I’ll vote for them,” Hawley told CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday, pointing to his support of a deputy defense nominee who was confirmed by the chamber through a voice vote.
But in a sign of his first roll call vote in favor of a nominee, Hawley had voted to advance Rouse’s nomination during Tuesday afternoon’s procedural vote. The final confirmation vote on Rouse was held Tuesday evening.
But the insurrection that left five dead doesn’t appear to have shaken the senator’s loyalty to the former President.
Trump, he added, is “a guy with a strong point of view, he’s a former President and he’s not going anywhere.”
While Hawley said he doesn’t agree with Trump that the election was stolen, he declined on Monday to take issue with the former President’s remarks.
“He’s very consistent,” Hawley offered. “He’s going to say what he believes.”
This story and its headline have been updated to reflect Hawley’s vote to confirm Rouse.
