Ernst, Key Gop Vote, Noncommittal On Hegseth Nomination

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) told Fox News in an interview Thursday morning that she’s not ready to support Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as secretary of Defense and wants to thoroughly review his background and allegations of misconduct before making a decision on how to vote.

“Well, I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday, and I do appreciate his service to the nation. I also am a combat veteran so we talked about a number of those issues and we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important,” Ernst said when asked whether she would support Hegseth.

Pressed by the Fox News host, who observed that she hasn’t “gotten to a yes,” Ernst replied: “I think you are right.”

And she said that Hegseth’s confirmation hearing would be critical: “I think for a number of our senators they want to make sure that any allegations have been cleared and that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting process.”

Ernst met with Hegseth for 45 minutes in her office Wednesday afternoon.

“We did have a very thorough discussion over a number of those issues,” she said.

Ernst sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will handle Hegseth’s confirmation hearing if he remains the nominee to head the Defense Department.

Republicans are expected to have a one-seat majority on the committee next year, which means that if any Republican senator on the panel votes against Hegseth it would complicate his ability to advance to the Senate floor.

Ernst, herself a survivor of sexual assault, has made combatting sexual assault in the military one of her top priorities. That has put her in the spotlight because Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a 30-year-old staff member at a Republican women’s conference in 2017.

Hegseth has vigorously denied any wrongdoing and says the encounter in 2017 was consensual.

The local district attorney did file a charge against him citing a lack of sufficient evidence of a crime.