End Citizens United (ECU), a grassroots campaign finance reform organization, today inducted Senator Josh Hawley to its inaugural list of ‘Most Corrupt’ politicians running for reelection. The initiative is aimed at exposing and defeating the most egregious perpetrators of corruption in Washington.
“Senator Hawley is as corrupt as it gets,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “His brazen disregard for the will of the people and shameless pandering to corporate special interests make him a clear and present danger to the foundations of our democracy. From betraying Missouri families to leveraging his position of power for personal gain, he embodies everything that is wrong with the Senate. We’re going to hold him accountable by exposing his record and engaging with voters through Election Day to make sure they know just how corrupt he is.”
Hawley has built a record of fighting on behalf of corporate special interests against Missouri families, even trying to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He’s been one of Big Oil’s top recipients in the U.S. Senate, and he’s rewarded and protected them as they gouge Missourians at the pump. He’s been a darling of Big Pharma and the healthcare industry and voted against lowering the price of prescription drugs. Hawley has consistently worked to repeal the Affordable Care Act, jeopardizing healthcare access for Missourians and eliminating protections for those with preexisting conditions.
Hawley has a long history of allowing his corporate donors to get away with polluting Missouri and poisoning Missourians. One of his first acts as an elected official was to eliminate the environmental division in his office that was meant to defend Missourians from corporate polluters. As Attorney General, Hawley even made a sweetheart deal with a company that donated to his campaign, shielding the company from having to pay damages to Missourians they had exposed to toxic nuclear waste. Hawley stayed true to his corporate polluter donors in the U.S. Senate, earning a 4% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.
Hawley turned his crusade to ban abortion without exception into a family business. While his wife led the Dobbs case to overturn Roe and usher in Missouri’s total abortion ban, he bragged about his role in corrupting the courts to make it happen, and even used taxpayer resources to support her case. Now, as Hawley’s wife leads the case to ban the country’s most commonly used abortion pill nationwide, he has been involved every step of the way—putting his campaign donor on the district court, and using his taxpayer-funded office to support his wife’s efforts multiple times. As a pioneer behind efforts to criminalize abortion and to even restrict access to IVF, Josh Hawley has made sure his family will profit every step of the way.
Hawley is an existential threat to our democracy. He was the first senator to announce his support for overthrowing democracy and rejecting the will of the people in the 2020 election. Hawley infamously raised his fist in solidarity with the insurrectionists, helping incite their violent ambitions. But privately, as the mob descended on the Capitol, Hawley put his tail between his legs and fled the disaster that he encouraged.
ECU will highlight Hawley’s record of corruption and will work to engage voters and the media between now and Election Day, including in a new digital video released today.
ECU is dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, the group has had over 1 million donors and raised $200 million, with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than 4 million members nationwide.
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