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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Loews Hotels said on Saturday it has canceled an upcoming fundraiser for U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, the latest fallout for Republican lawmakers following the U.S. Capitol uprising.
The Republican senator from Missouri helped organize an Electoral College challenge on the day that supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol over baseless claims that Trump won the November presidential vote.
“We are horrified and opposed to the events on Capitol Hill and to all those who supported and instigated the actions,” according to a Twitter statement from the hotel. “In light of these events and for the safety of our guests and our team members, we have informed the host of the February fundraiser that it will no longer be held at Loews hotels.”
The event was scheduled for February at his Portofino Bay hotel in Universal Orlando, hosted by Hawley’s affiliate political committee, Fighting for Missouri, according to Orlando Sentinel.
Hawley, who faces waning support from longtime funders and donors, was the first senator to announce a challenge to the Electoral College results, and his challenge continued even after the U.S. Capitol riot. January 6th. of Hawley waving to protesters outside the Capitol with a raised fist, although this happened before the crowds invaded the building.
Other than Trump himself, no politician has experienced the fallout like Hawley. Many donors have withdrawn their financial support. The Trump-opposed Lincoln Project has said it will remove full-page newspaper ads calling on its remaining donors.
Hawley’s office released a statement on Saturday saying he was not deterred by the reaction.
“If these companies don’t want the Conservatives talking, they should just be honest about it. But to equate leading a debate on the Senate floor with incitement to violence is a lie, and it is dangerous. I will not be dissuaded from representing my constituents and I will not give in to pressure from left-wing companies, ”he said.
Earlier in the week, Hawley also defended himself in a newspaper column accusing the media and “the Washington establishment” of deceiving Americans by calling him “insurgent.”
Meanwhile, former staff members of Claire McCaskill, the Democrat Hawley ousted to win the seat, have been implicated in launching a political action committee that began running ads on Friday accusing Hawley of ‘inciting the crowd to riot, reports The Kansas City Star..
Megan Brengarth, who describes herself as a former McCaskill organizer, is the treasurer of the new Just Oust Seditious Hacks PAC and a director of the political consulting firm that organized the PAC. Other former staff involved include Thomas Hatfield, who tweeted that he was “thrilled to be a part of it.”
On its website, the new PAC calls Hawley and other officials who have supported baseless allegations of electoral fraud in the presidential election as “traitors.”
McCaskill tweeted that she had no commitment with the PAC, but encouraged people to donate, writing that their money “will not be wasted.”
Hawley spokeswoman Kelli Ford dismissed the effort in a statement Friday, saying McCaskill and his team “will be as effective with this campaign as they were with the last.”
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