Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) said she would “support” Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of defense on Monday, less than a week after she said she was not yet prepared to vote for his confirmation.
After meeting with Hegseth on Monday, Ernst released the following statement:
I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process. Following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.
Ernst’s tone was a far cry from the more skeptical one she sported during an appearance on Fox News in which she was asked directly if she would support Hegseth and responded like this:
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 that is incredibly important. So again, all I’m saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we
will continue to have conversation in the upcoming months.
“It doesn’t sound in your answer that you’ve gotten to a yes,” observed anchor Bill Hemmer about her reply.
“I think you are right,” confirmed Ernst. “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.”
Politico reported last week that Trump himself viewed Ernst as a pivotal vote:
We hear Trump himself is eager to get a readout of how Hegseth’s meeting yesterday with Ernst went, knowing full-well that everyone was looking to her — the combat veteran and advocate for survivors of sexual assault in the military — to determine whether Hegseth stands any shot at surviving.
Watch above via CNN.