Throughout an look on an Iowa radio present on Tuesday, Ernst stated she believed that Hegseth adequately answered all her questions throughout his listening to earlier than the Senate Armed Providers Committee.
“He pointed out the woke issues at the Pentagon, and I think we’re at a point where now we can start moving forward. People know where he stands on these issues,” Ernst stated. “I will be supporting President Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.”
Ernst’s help is a big boon for Hegseth’s odds, virtually making certain he’ll lead the Pentagon in Trump’s incoming administration. Assuming all Democrats oppose his nomination, Hegseth can afford to lose simply three Republican senators. And whereas some within the GOP, together with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, nonetheless haven’t stated how they’ll vote, Tuesday’s affirmation listening to demonstrated that many are on board with Hegseth and are prepared to provide his abhorrent alleged conduct a cross.
A part of what makes Ernst’s raving endorsement notable is her historical past as a fight veteran and sexual assault survivor who beforehand raised issues over Hegseth’s skill to guide the Pentagon. In December, she cited issues over Hegseth’s previous opposition to girls serving in fight roles, although he walked this again throughout Tuesday’s listening to.
It was additionally unclear how Ernst, who has crusaded for years to deal with sexual misconduct within the army, would reply to allegations that Hegseth raped a girl in 2017. (Hegseth maintains that the encounter was consensual.)
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee to be protection secretary
Maybe Ernst can abdomen Hegseth’s nomination as a result of she deliberately distanced herself from a few of the worst fees in opposition to him. In keeping with new reporting from The New Yorker, Ernst declined an invite to fulfill with the girl whom Hegseth paid to settle that 2017 sexual assault declare.
Or possibly Ernst merely bowed to outsized stress from the GOP base. After assembly with Hegseth in December and voicing doubts about whether or not she’d vote in his favor, she was relentlessly bullied by hardcore MAGA adherents. Not solely did a few of Trump’s most ardent supporters run adverts in Ernst’s residence state of Iowa, however in addition they questioned her conservative bona fides on social media. Mega-billionaire Elon Musk additionally pledged to bankroll major challenges to Republicans who went in opposition to the president-elect.
This stress very probably helped change Ernst’s tone on Hegseth. Notably, on Tuesday, as Democrats slammed the protection nominee over his alleged ingesting downside and previous feedback towards girls, Ernst tossed him softballs.
“As secretary of defense, will you appoint a senior-level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response?” she requested.
“Senator, as we have discussed, yes I will,” Hegseth responded.
Ernst is up for reelection in 2026 in a state that went for Trump by greater than 13 share factors in November. Provided that, it’s probably she would’ve been focused by MAGA followers had she not kowtowed to the president-elect and refused to again Hegseth. That sort of politicking may work for the likes of Collins and even Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who can also be on the fence about confirming Hegseth, however not the majority of Senate Republicans who want Trump’s base of loyal Republicans to retain their positions in Congress.
Ernst’s onetime arms-length angle towards Hegseth signaled that some Senate Republicans would try to take care of independence below a second Trump administration, however the Iowan’s modified tune means that for Republican lawmakers, Trump remains to be king.
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