Hawley endorses Trump after warning to be ‘very careful’ in Senate reelection bid

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) endorsed former President Trump for the GOP nomination for president Tuesday, adding to his growing list of congressional endorsements. 

Hawley told Politico in an interview that he will back the GOP front-runner and has expected for more than a year that Trump would win the Republican nomination. 

“I’m with him. He’s asked me several times to support him. I said ‘yes,’ and I’ve been saying for a year that I think he’s gonna be the nominee. I support him. I’m gonna vote for him,” Hawley said. “Don’t worry — you can put me down as support, endorsed, stand with.” 

Hawley is one of at least 18 GOP senators who have endorsed Trump’s run, while nearly 90 House members have also thrown their support behind him. No other candidate comes close to those numbers in congressional endorsements. 

The Missouri senator’s backing comes after Trump warned him and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) about being “very careful” in their own 2024 reelection bids. 

“So interesting that the Democrats are looking hard at the Senate races in both Missouri and Texas. Josh and Ted must be very careful, stranger things have happened!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post. 

The Senate seats up for election in 2024 give Republicans more opportunities to pick up seats next year, likely putting Democrats on defense to hold onto several of their seats in key states.

But, Democrats have also indicated an interest in targeting some incumbent Republicans including Cruz, Hawley and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).