Washington DC - The White House slammed Republican Senator Josh Hawley for launching an anti-abortion rights group which some see as his first move towards a potential run for president in 2028.

White House insiders told Axios that Republicans are angry with Hawley because they see his new nonprofit as a major risk to the GOP's chances in the 2026 midterm elections.

"Clearly, Senator Hawley and his political team learned nothing from the 2022 elections, when the SCOTUS abortion ruling resuscitated the Democrats in the midterms," one insider said.

The comment was in reference to the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively allowing a number of prominent Republican states to enact extremely restrictive abortion laws.

"Picking a fight on an issue like abortion in a midterm is the height of asinine stupidity," another insider said.

The move is seen by others as part of a strategy to push Vance aside and claim the 2028 presidential nomination, the Daily Beast reported.

Hawley is widely considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, as are Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul in addition to Vice President JD Vance.

The Missouri senator and his wife Erin announced the new nonprofit, dubbed the Love Life Initiative, along with pro-life polling published by the Daily Signal.

"Most women have an abortion because of a lack of support," Erin Hawley told the outlet. "We want to change that. We want to build a culture that is pro-life and pro-family."

"We believe there needs to be a strong voice advocating for life and making it easier to start a family," Hawley said in a separate statement.