Sen. Hawley's moves toward 2028 bid annoy White House

"Zoom in: Hawley has split with Trumprepeatedly during the president's second term - including earlier this month, when he (briefly) joined Democrats in supporting a resolution to limit Trump's military authority in Venezuela. The senator later reversed his position after Trump attacked him and four other GOP senators who voted to advance the measure. But Trump allies who've been closely monitoring Hawley's moves point to more than a half-dozen other episodes in which he's broken with the president's positions."

"Hawley has criticized several of Trump's nominees, including Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In objecting to Energy Secretary Chris Wright's support for a clean energy power line that would run through Missouri and several other Midwest states, Hawley attacked Wright for "taking Missouri farmers' land and using your tax dollars to do it." He wrote a New York Times op-ed criticizing Trump's "big, beautiful bill" for imposing cuts to Medicaid."

"Hawley championed legislation that would ban the president, vice president and members of Congress from trading stocks. He's pushed for the full release of the files from the Justice Department's investigation of the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein despite the White House's resistance. He also opposed Trump's efforts to ban state-level regulation of AI. Perhaps most jarring to Trump aides: Hawley has taken to social media several times to divulge private conversations he's had with the president. The intrigue: It's all left Trump fuming, sources tell Axios -even as Hawley has supported th"

Senator Josh Hawley objected to certifying Trump's 2020 election defeat and was pictured raising his fist with Jan. 6 rioters before the Capitol assault. He has split with Trump multiple times during the president's second term, briefly joining Democrats to support a resolution limiting Trump's military authority in Venezuela before reversing after criticism. Hawley criticized nominees including Mehmet Oz, attacked Energy Secretary Chris Wright over a clean-energy power line through Missouri, and wrote an op-ed opposing a bill that would cut Medicaid. He championed a stock-trading ban for federal leaders, pushed to release DOJ Epstein files, opposed bans on state AI regulation, and publicly shared private conversations with the president, worsening tensions with Trump and allies.

Read at Axios