We have documented statements by Josh Hawley on 2026 Midterm Elections, Abortion, and Artificial Intelligence, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
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Hawley announced a proposed federal framework for Flock and similar ALPR networks. His proposal would require written approval and audits of searches, delete most vehicle data after ten days, restrict sharing with private parties and prohibit facial recognition in these networks.
“Law-abiding Americans should not be treated like criminals.”
The case concerns continued use of networked license plate surveillance. Hawley calls it a threat to liberty unless Congress imposes rules and proposes regulated use with limits on searches, retention and sharing.
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Missouri, questioning Smith at the Senate Judiciary hearing
Condemned
Statement summary
Questioning Smith at the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley said the Constitution protects members' work product and phone records and that Smith knew it, and that Smith's office went to the phone companies and hid from the court that it was seeking the records of members of Congress. He said his own phone was one of those obtained.
“The only problem was the Constitution protects members of Congress' work product and their phone records. And you knew that was the case, didn't you?
...
You went to the phone companies, and you hid the fact from the court that you were seeking the records of members of Congress, didn't you? You didn't tell the court you were seeking subpoenas from the phone companies for members of Congress, did you? You hid that from the court. Isn't that correct?
...
My phone was one of them that you got.”
Watch the original video (opens in a new tab)Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters (hearing video) · Senate Committee on the JudiciarySen. Josh Hawley's questions and Smith's answers, about 4:18:40 to 4:21:10, and Smith's closing response at about 4:26:06 to 4:26:25 on the archived video timeline
Why we used this label
Hawley said the Constitution protects members' phone records, that Smith knew it, that Smith hid from the court that the records were members', and that his own phone was among them. That rejects the collection and the way the nondisclosure orders were obtained as improper, so we labeled it Condemned.
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Missouri and Senate Judiciary Committee member, in an interview on Fox News's Hannity
Condemned
Statement summary
Sen. Josh Hawley told Fox News's Sean Hannity that Jack Smith should be charged and lied to Congress, saying a House deposition had asked Smith whether he obtained members' text messages and he said no.
“He should be charged. He lied to Congress. He lied to the House.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Hawley on Hannity: "He should be charged. He lied to Congress."0:00 to 0:34 clip of Sen. Josh Hawley answering Sean Hannity on Fox News, from "Can he be charged? Will he be charged?" to "trying to get his hands on everything related to Donald Trump."
Why we used this label
Relative to how members' phone records and texts were obtained, Hawley says Smith should be charged and lied to Congress about obtaining members' text messages. That rejects the conduct as improper and accuses Smith of dishonesty about it, so we labeled it Condemned.
Role at the time: United States senator from Missouri
Defended or excused
Statement summary
After a Senate hearing for FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton, Hawley urged the FDA under her leadership to end abortion-drug availability in Missouri and every other state and restore safety restrictions.
“We've got to make sure that she is committed to ending the abortion drugs' availability in the state of Missouri and every other state. That they're going to put back in place the safety restrictions and they're going to follow the law.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Hawley says FDA commissioner nominee denied dangers of chemical abortion; demands answers amid lawsuits, official reviewParagraphs beginning "What I want to be real sure about" and "We've got to make sure."
Why we used this label
This statement concerns potential FDA action and does not by itself establish Hawley's position on congressional enactment.
Josh Hawley voted nay on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Voted against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran, a vote to let U.S. involvement continue without congressional authorization.
Role at the time: United States Senator for Missouri, at the first Missouri Prayer Breakfast in the Russell Senate Office Building and in a subsequent official press release
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Six months after his bill stalled in committee, Hawley unveiled a four-page "Declaration for Life" drafted by more than 30 pastors, which calls on Congress to ban mifepristone on the grounds that state abortion restrictions cannot stop the drug being mailed across state lines. He said he would ask officeholders and candidates in both parties to sign it as a commitment to end chemical abortion, and renewed his request for a vote on his legislation.
“This Declaration for Life, written by pastors, is calling on everyday Christians across America to stand for life and confront the scourge of chemical abortion.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Hawley Unveils Declaration for Life with Christian Leaders · Josh HawleyOfficial Senate office press release following the first Missouri Prayer Breakfast, held September 16, 2026, in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building. Includes the text of the four-page Declaration for Life.
Why we used this label
Here he not only restates the proposition but attaches a loyalty mechanism to it, asking candidates to pledge support for the ban. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, because the statement is addressed to Christians and churches rather than to legislators and could be read as a cultural appeal rather than a legislative demand. That loses because the declaration's own operative request is that Congress ban the drug, and Hawley paired the unveiling with a renewed call for a vote on his bill.
Sen. Josh Hawley called for Senate leadership to bring his frontier-AI bill to the floor for a vote, saying "frontier AI demands frontier legislation."
“Frontier AI demands frontier legislation. The American people deserve nothing less from Congress. Leadership needs to bring my bill to the floor for a vote.”
Hawley argues Congress should act on frontier-AI legislation, supporting the case's premise that safeguards are needed, though from a legislative-process angle distinct from Warren's development-pause framing.
Role at the time: U.S. senator and Senate Judiciary subcommittee chair
Mixed or conditional
Statement summary
Senator Josh Hawley said police should retain useful cameras, but argued that Congress should set privacy rules for the networks and their vehicle-location data.
“All that said, I want police to have the tools they need. Cameras can help recover stolen cars, find missing children, and catch fleeing criminals.”
Hawley defends the investigative utility of cameras while criticizing unrestricted, searchable movement records. He calls for legal safeguards rather than an outright ban.
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Trump backs company controls and outside audits for frontier AI. Critics want enforceable federal safeguards, and the White House now calls incident reporting mandatory without identifying enforcement mechanisms or penalties.
Senator Josh Hawley wants Congress to revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone and ban the abortion pill nationally. His bill has stalled in committee, and in September he began pressing Republicans to sign a pledge backing it.
An issue tracker recording where members of Congress and 2026 midterm candidates stand on the unauthorized Iran war, based on their votes on war-powers resolutions, campaign statements, and public remarks.
Hawley and Durbin want STOP CSAM enacted through the defense bill so victims of online child exploitation can sue platforms. Civil-liberties groups said in 2025 that its recklessness standard threatens encryption. A July 2026 Senate manager's package repeats those liability terms unchanged.
Republicans say Jack Smith's team improperly obtained members of Congress's phone records and texts and used nondisclosure orders to hide it. Smith and Democrats say the toll records were approved and lawful; Smith says the texts came from White House phones. Member counts differ.
