Josh Hawley, a Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, castigated Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) on Wednesday for asking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) for his "permission" to sit down with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.
Hawley appeared on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" to discuss his campaign against McCaskill, where he called her out for being a rubber stamp for Schumer. He specifically talked about McCaskill's silence on whether she will support Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation following her meeting with him Tuesday.
"This is a state, Missouri, that voted for President Trump by 20 points. A conservative judge is a big part of that and when we think what's on the line in the Supreme Court, Brian – immigration, the Second Amendment, religious liberty – this is not a hard decision," Hawley told Fox's Brian Kilmeade. "Claire McCaskill ought to quit hiding, come out right now and say she is going to support him, and then stand up to her party and challenge them to support him also. That would be leadership."
Later in the segment, Hawley said McCaskill tends to do whatever Schumer wants her to do, saying she had to get "permission" to sit down with Kavanaugh.
"A Missouri senator should not be asking party bosses for permission to do anything, let alone meet with Supreme Court nominees," Hawley said.
McCaskill said her Tuesday meeting with the nominee was "welcomed" but did not say whether she would support his confirmation.
"I welcomed the opportunity to talk with Judge Kavanaugh about his views on ensuring Missourians retain critical health care protections, removing dark money from politics, and guaranteeing powerful corporate interests don’t prevail over individual Americans—and look forward to hearing more about how he approaches these issues during his upcoming confirmation hearing," McCaskill said of the 45-minute meeting.
Hawley said Trump has helped his campaign "hugely" over the last several months and that he hopes the president will be back soon to help him campaign.