Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) hopes of rallying House Republicans behind his legislation to ban Mifepristone crashed on Thursday — his own party is not-so-quietly abandoning him according to a report from NOTUS. The Missouri senator acknowledged the uphill battle in comments to NOTUS, framing the silence from fellow Republicans as a strategic problem rather than a moral one. “Not talking about abortion, they may think that’s a feature. I think that’s a bug,” Hawley said. “I’m pro-life. I want to do what I can to advance the pro-life cause.” The bill has no realistic path forward in a possible Democratic-controlled Senate, so the clock is ticking, but the real problem for Hawley is that even in the Republican-controlled House, his own party is backing away. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), whose seat Democrats are actively targeting, openly rejected Hawley’s priorities. “It’s my opinion that each and every Republican has to run their own race,” Miller told NOTUS. “The state of Missouri is very much different from the state of Ohio.” Miller made clear he’s siding with President Donald Trump over Hawley.
“I respect his opinion. I am extremely pro-life and I’ve never been anything but pro-life. But I’m going to go ahead and stick with President Trump on this one and not the senator,” Miller said, adding he remains undecided on the bill. He argued abortion is an issue that “should reside” at the state level. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), facing a brutal reelection fight thanks to California redistricting, hasn’t even bothered to read the legislation. Instead, he urged Republicans to focus on anything but abortion heading into November. “I think what we should be focusing on right now is funding the government, get DHS back open, pass the farm bill, getting permitting reform done and working on things that actually make our economy better and make our country stronger,” Valadao said. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), running in a competitive district, flatly refused to support the bill. When asked if Republicans should prioritize abortion before November, Lawler simply smiled and said, “No.” The political reality is stark: abortion is toxic for Republicans in 2026. A December AP-NORC poll found that 71% of voters want the government to prioritize economic issues, compared to just 4% who identified abortion as a key concern. The House version of Hawley’s bill, introduced by Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), currently has only five co-sponsors. Harshbarger acknowledged her team hasn’t even begun serious lobbying efforts, blaming the crush of other congressional business. “We have to work on educating the other members,” Harshbarger told NOTUS. “It may be a personal thing that they want to sponsor or don’t want to sponsor, maybe they don’t feel the same way, or they have a district that, you know, if they do sponsor it, they’ll say, ‘Well, we’re not going to vote for you.’” Hawley’s bill would force the FDA to revoke approval of mifepristone — the most widely used abortion pill — and allow patients to sue manufacturers. Medication abortion now accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions, making it a prime target for anti-abortion activists. But for vulnerable Republicans worried about their seats, the political calculus is clear: supporting Hawley’s crusade is a losing proposition.
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