Sen. Hawley speaks out on the dysfunction of Congress

Candidate Josh Hawley campaigned on the dysfunction in Washington. Now U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is getting a firsthand look.

"It's every bit as bad as it looks. It really is," the senator shared with me in an interview before the annual Cape County Lincoln Day.

Hawley said the way Congress handles the budget is "dumb." He pointed to the spending package passed by Congress in February which he opposed. Though it ended the government shutdown, Hawley took issue with the last-ditch effort finalized hours before the Senate vote.

"Look for me to introduce some ideas in the months to come on how we can change that process and actually get a sensible budget process that reflects the way American families, Missouri families actually setup their family budget and stick to it and keep to it."

Hawley supported President Trump's border security emergency declaration. When the Senate voted on a measure of disapproval, Hawley opposed the measure.

A Constitutional attorney, Hawley pointed to the 1976 National Emergencies Act which he said gives the President this authority. He added every President since has used it, including on spending disputes with Congress.

"President Reagan used it twice when he and Congress had a spending fight. He thought there was an emergency situation. Congress didn't. He wanted more money. Congress wouldn't give him all that he wanted. He invoked the statute and repurposed some funds in order to do something which he thought was important for national security," Hawley said.

But is the border situation an emergency? Hawley said yes and it's worse than he originally believed.

"Cartels control 100 percent of the southern border. That's testimony directly from the head of border patrol to me in response to my questioning. ... We have a massive rise in drug smuggling." Meth, fentanyl and heroin are all coming across the border, Hawley said.

"This president has been extremely patient in trying to work with Congress to get funding for the wall and for border security. And Congress just won't give it to him," he said.

Hawley pointed to the dramatic surge in illegal immigration during the first three months this year.

"We saw when the president got elected, during his first year in office illegal immigration went down because he said he was going to get tough on border security. And he did. But it has now reversed trend and is going up dramatically. But worse than that what we're seeing is a fundamental change in the nature of illegal immigration on our border."

The change includes more adults coming with children and, Hawley noted, border security can't confirm in most cases if it's really parents and their children. In fact, he said, cartels are actively using kids as human shields and a mechanism for claiming asylum.

"Problem is we have to release those people into the interior of this country and almost none of them ever come back for their court cases. So it's creating a humanitarian crisis. It's why human smuggling is way, way up. It's why human trafficking is way up. ... Basically, unless we do something about it we're incentivizing the cartels to use children as human shields. And this has got to stop."

The President's new budget calls for more border funding but not at the expense of military construction projects, Hawley said. If Senate Republicans stick together, he said they can use a simple majority vote to pass a budget measure. The question will then be whether the House, controlled by Democrats, can get anything done.

Judiciary committee

The Wall Street Journal editorial board chided Hawley weeks after being sworn into office when he paused the nomination of Neomi Rao.

Hawley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had concerns over Rao's views on "substantive due process," a phrase that's been the basis for inventing rights not included in the Constitution. It's been a red flag on the abortion issue.

The senator spoke with Rao three times and was assured she did not believe substantive due process was rooted in the Constitution. He said she "spoke very approvingly of the sanctity of life," committed to judicial restraint and would rule according to the text of the Constitution. It was enough to earn his vote out of committee.

Why is this important? Besides the direct implications, consider the case of Karin Immergut. The judicial nominee from Oregon went through the committee confirmation process before Hawley joined the committee. In February she was part of a package of judges who were renominated from 2018.

Committee leadership assured Hawley she was a good pick and he voted in favor of advancing the nominee.

"This just shows you why you cannot just accept people's word for it because we were not told she was pro-choice," Hawley said. "Leadership did not identify that she was pro-choice. We only learned that later. This is why you have to do your own due diligence and not take anyone's word for it. ... So I will not support her on the floor of the Senate."

Right to life

Hawley called President Donald Trump "the most pro-life president of my lifetime" and conversely called out Senate Democrats who filibustered the Born Alive Act. The legislation would have required medical attention for any child who survives a failed abortion.

"America was founded on the premise that every person matters. Every person has dignity. And I don't get my dignity because someone who's powerful decides to give it to me. It belongs to me because God gave it to me. We have got to get back to that revolutionary faith and preach that again, because the Democrat Party is abandoning our core beliefs as Americans."

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.