Hawley calls for Capitol prayer fast
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The gist
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley announced a Dec. 15 hour of fasting and prayer at the Capitol after Republican midterm losses.
Critics mocked the one-hour length, turning the faith event into a dispute over response to a massacre.
Background
Josh Hawley is a 46-year-old Republican senator from Missouri, an evangelical Presbyterian who often cites his faith in political matters; he was not on the ballot in the midterms. He announced the event after Republicans' midterm losses and Democrats' wins, which he called 'shocking and historic.' Hawley has called for prayer before elections as well as after, and earlier in the month joined a 72-hour prayer session supporting Missouri abortion-restriction legislation that voters rejected.
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 2026Hawley announced on X he would host a time of fasting and prayer for the nation on Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 12 to 1 at the Capitol, calling last Tuesday's results 'shocking and historic.'
- Nov 9, 2026Critics mocked the plan on X, including over the one-hour duration; Hawley's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Nov 10, 2026Reports of the ridicule were published, citing the Daily Beast.
- Dec 15, 2026Scheduled date of the hour-long fasting and prayer event at the Capitol, noon to 1 p.m.
Key terms
- midterm losses
- US general elections held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term, when all House seats and about a third of Senate seats are contested.
- evangelical Presbyterian
- A Protestant Christian movement emphasizing personal conversion, Bible authority, and spreading the gospel.
- MAGA
- Political slogan and movement associated with Donald Trump's campaigns and his political base.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Hawley said the midterm results were 'shocking and historic' and 'call for a historic response,' urging Christians to gather and seek the Lord at the Capitol.
- Critics
- Former Obama NSC staffer Tommy Vietor replied 'A whole hour?' and former Obama White House staffer Christopher Hale said Christ fasted 40 days and nights while Hawley and MAGA 'will only give our nation an hour.'
- Caution
- Former Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews wrote she was 'sending Josh Hawley thoughts and prayers,' adding she's 'told that's an adequate response to a massacre.'
- Party
- Rep. Gwen Moore quoted a Bible verse back at him, saying he 'voted to force children and the elderly to fast involuntarily by cutting food assistance,' while the group Majority Democrats said it would 'wait until 1 PM to have lunch' in solidarity.