SCOOP: Josh Hawley says he’s not running for president in 2024

• Senator Josh Hawley is not running for president in 2024, the Republican lawmaker told Insider on Tuesday.
• His recent actions – fiery speeches, a new book, and a strong defense of President Donald Trump – had made it appear as if he was starting to audition for the White House.
• The field of GOP 2024 is effectively frozen until Trump publicly announces whether he will seek a second term or step down.
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories

Senator Josh Hawley, the Republican from Missouri who led efforts to reverse the 2020 presidential election results, has said he will not be running for the White House in 2024.

“No, I’m not running,” Hawley told Insider in a brief interview in the hallway Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol before taking refuge in an elevator. He didn’t elaborate.

The hard-talking first-term senator appeared to be eyeing the Oval Office, with a new book due out in May by a Tory editor after being scrapped by Simon & Schuster. His national profile has grown thanks to fiery speeches and his loyalty to current former President Donald Trump.

But Hawley, a rising 41-year-old man who also served as Missouri’s attorney general, also drew the ire of Republicans and Democrats. Some have even called for his resignation for his role in spearheading then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to secure a second term despite losing the presidential election last November.

Hawley led the charge in the Senate to challenge the electoral college’s vote tally that would confirm President Joe Biden’s victory. Hawley’s repeated false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election helped inspire an angry crowd of Trump supporters to violently attack the Capitol on January 6 as they sought to halt the counting process.

Hours before Trump supporters walked through police barricades and ransacked the Capitol, a photograph went viral of the senator outside the historic building raising his fist at them in support.

Read more: 7 Democratic Senators Call for Ethics Inquiry into Cruz and Hawley to Determine Whether Their Electoral College Objections Contributed to the Capitol Seat

Hawley is one of many Republicans who typically plan to explore a presidential election in 2024. Insider in December ranked him No. 8 among potential candidates in the next presidential election cycle. Of course, 2024 is still a long way off and gives Hawley plenty of time to change his mind, as many politicians do.

But the GOP field is currently on hold until it becomes clear what Trump plans to do.

If Trump chose to try a second term, he would enter the Republican presidential primary as the clear leader and make it difficult for any other Republican to win the primary.

Trump’s overall popularity has fallen to historically low levels, but he remains beloved by the Republican Party, and in November he received the most votes for a sitting U.S. president.

Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Frozen GOP 2024 field

The prospect of a 2024 Trump race is forcing Republicans to dance cautiously.

On the one hand, some of the possible White House contenders will try to woo the 74 million people who voted for Trump in November. At the other end of the spectrum, some will try to forge their own path and prepare to jump if Trump doesn’t run.

When Insider asked Hawley if he thought Trump should step down so other Republicans can publicize their presidential ambitions and set the stage for a campaign, he replied, “I don’t know, you should ask them. Ask my colleagues. “

Another potential GOP hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida objected when asked about his plans for 2024. Rubio ran for president against Trump, but failed in the 2016 Republican primaries. .

“I am running for the Senate in 2022. I haven’t thought beyond that,” Rubio told Insider on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

When asked if he wanted Trump not to be allowed to serve in office – the end goal of the Senate Democrats’ impeachment trial, and a move that would open the field to other Republicans – Rubio said : “Who are we to say that who can they vote for?”

Rick Scott, a Republican colleague and junior senator from Florida, also refuted speculations he would seek the presidency.

“I’m not running for president,” Scott told Insider.