Hawley will back Cornyn for Senate GOP leader

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a rising conservative star, announced this week that he will support Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the Senate Republican leadership race, giving Cornyn his first public endorsement in the Senate GOP conference.

“I’m backing John Cornyn for majority leader. In the last two years, nobody has done more to win back the majority than he has,” Hawley said in a statement.

“He tirelessly raised millions of dollars for competitive Senate races including mine,” he added.

Cornyn announced Friday that he raised nearly $33 million during the 2024 election cycle to support Republican senators and candidates, bringing his career fundraising total for Senate Republicans to nearly $415 million.

Hawley noted that Cornyn has expressed support for one of his top legislative priorities, extension and expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

“He has voiced his support for the RECA compromise that would fairly compensate hundreds of thousands of Americans poisoned by their government, including so many in Missouri,” Hawley said.

The Missouri senator also argued that Cornyn would “work closely and effectively with President Trump to deliver on the promise of our new majority.”

“I’m delighted to give him my support,” he said.

Only a few other Republican senators have declared their public endorsement in the race among Cornyn, Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to become the next Senate majority leader.

Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) are backing Thune, while Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is backing Scott.