hawley 'voluntarily' resigned from armed services committee, denies it's mcconnell's payback

[butters]

he retains his position on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, and takes up a position on the Energy committee... but the Armed Services Committee is a big old apple

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was booted from his perch on the powerful Armed Services Committee last month as retribution for delaying the confirmation of numerous Defense Department nominees last year, and for his role in challenging Mitch McConnell’s hold as the chamber’s top Republican, sources tell CQ Roll Call.

When the Armed Services panel announced its roster last week, Hawley’s name was conspicuously absent from the list — a surprise move that came directly from McConnell’s office, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The sources, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the decision, come from both sides of the aisle.

Hawley’s removal, the circumstances of which have not been previously reported, stemmed in part from his involvement in attempting to postpone the Senate GOP’s leadership elections in November to allow for a long-shot bid from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to replace McConnell as Republican leader.

Hawley’s removal was also spurred by his repeated objections to attempts to quickly confirm DOD nominees for the better part of the past year, the sources said.

Hawley said in July that his objections — which hold Pentagon nominees in limbo, unable to receive the confirmation vote needed to begin work — were a way for him to pressure SASC Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., to hold public hearings on the August 2021 Abbey Gate attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, and because he could not convince the White House to “stop their cover-up of the events at the gate, and the role they played.”

https://rollcall.com/2023/02/08/hawleys-departure-from-armed-services-draws-speculation/


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...pc=U531&cvid=ad71140bbbbc46cbdf482d0fe0ad53bc

According to CQ Roll Call, Hawley’s ouster was “retribution” for his quixotic campaign to force Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to resign by holding up civilian nominees to Pentagon posts and for Hawley’s support for Scott’s challenge to McConnell. Both McConnell’s and Hawley’s offices deny that the senator’s departure from Armed Services is the result of reciprocity.