Josh Hawley nearly tripled his Senate salary with $467,000 in book royalties, filing shows
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- GOP Sen. Josh Hawley is the latest lawmaker to reveal a significant publishing income.
- He disclosed $467,000 in book royalties, far more than his $174,000 salary for being a senator.
- Publishing is one of the few legal ways that lawmakers can earn big money outside of Congress.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley made $467,000 in publishing royalties in 2021, a figure that dwarfs his congressional salary, financial disclosures show.
The Republican disclosed publishing income on Monday that almost triples the $174,000 salary senators typically receive.
The documents show that Hawley received $467,000 in royalties from Regnery Publishing, a conservative imprint that took his book, "The Tyranny of Big Tech," after it was dropped by Simon & Schuster.
Senators are usually prohibited from earning more than $29,595 outside of their federal salary, but there are loopholes for stock trades, rental income, and book royalties and advances.
Hawley's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Hawley's 2021 disclosure did not specify which book the royalties were for, nor whether further payments are forthcoming. "The Tyranny of Big Tech" is the sole book by Hawley advertised on Regnery Publishing's website.
The title rails against the outsize power of companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google, accusing them of colluding to silence conservative voices. Reviews in Wired and The Washington Post found the latter claim to be poorly supported.
Regnery stepped in to publish the title after it was dropped by Simon & Schuster in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Simon & Schuster said it would not publish Hawley in light of his role objecting to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, the issue which spilled over into violence on the day of the riot.
Hawley is not the only one padding his income through publishing. In 2020, 26 lawmakers in the House and Senate received a combined $1.8 million from book advances and royalties, as Insider's Kimberley Leonard reported.
High-profile politicians are well positioned to leverage their names in publishing, such as Sen. Tim Scott, a GOP rising star tipped as a potential presidential candidate.
His 2021 financial disclosures showed that he made $184,167 for his forthcoming memoir, "America, A Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity," as Kimberley Leonard reported.
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Tammy Duckworth also signed six-figure deals for books.