Josh Hawley fanned the flames for diehard Trump voters. Will his gambit pay off?

Republican senator who positioned himself as a political heir to the president is now facing fierce backlash after pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol

Josh Hawley, a 41-year-old US senator from Missouri, has spent the last four years positioning himself as one of the political heirs to Donald Trump - a more polished successor who can unite rightwing nationalism with populist economic policies. He is widely expected to run for president in 2024.

Hawley was the first Republican senator - soon joined by Ted Cruz - to announce that he would challenge the certification of the election results in Congress last Wednesday. Democrats, as well as several of Hawley's Republican colleagues in the Senate, lambasted Hawley's decision as irresponsible, inflammatory and politically cynical.