Key Republican Joni Ernst Gives Boost to Embattled Pete Hegseth Nomination
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a key player in the struggle over Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as defense secretary, offered a boost on Monday to President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee.
(Bloomberg) -- Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a key player in the struggle over Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as defense secretary, offered a boost on Monday to President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled nominee.
“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” Ernst said in a statement after meeting with Hegseth.
Hegseth’s nomination is mired in allegations of sexual misconduct along with accusations of alcohol abuse and mismanagement of two veterans organizations.
Ernst, a combat veteran and rape survivor who is an influential voice on military matters in the Senate, has pointedly declined to support Hegseth after meeting with him last week. But her noncommittal statements angered many conservatives and provoked threats of launching a primary challenge against her in two years.
Her statement Monday fell short of signaling a vote in favor of his nomination but it conveyed public encouragement for continuing to seek confirmation.
“I am supporting the process,” Ernst told reporters when asked if she would vote in favor of Hegseth’s appointment. She called the meeting very productive. “He does respect that I’m taking the time.”
Trump’s team was said to be examining alternative candidates for the position last week as Hegseth came under criticism. But Trump defended Hegseth in a social media post late in the week and in an NBC interview.
Hegseth “is a very smart guy,” Trump said in an interview for Sunday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “He loves the military and I think people are starting to see it, so we’ll be working on his nomination.”
Hegseth is set to meet with Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski later this week - two other potential holdouts. He can lose no more than three Republican votes and win confirmation given Republicans will have 53 votes and the tie-breaking vote of the vice president.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is facing allegations that he raped a woman in 2017, a claim he has repeatedly denied. He was not charged after the allegation, but paid the accuser a financial settlement. A lawyer for Hegseth had said the encounter was consensual.
The New Yorker also detailed his resignation from two veterans advocacy groups. The magazine highlighted a 2015 whistleblower report that described Hegseth as intoxicated on the job as president of Concerned Veterans for America and alleged that he and members of his management team pursued sexual relationships with the group’s female staff. Years earlier, another veterans’ advocacy group Hegseth also ran closed amid allegations of financial mismanagement.
Hegseth and other contentious choices by Trump drew more attention following former Representative Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration to lead the Justice Department after he was scrutinized for alleged sexual misconduct.
Also in the spotlight are vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Heath and Human Services Department; Tulsi Gabbard who was accused of being a Russian sympathizer, to run national intelligence, and Kash Patel to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ernst also met with Patel and Gabbard on Monday and backed their nominations.
Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has also repeatedly opposed women in combat. That stance puts him at odds with Ernst, whose daughter serves in the Army.
Ernst sometimes criticized Trump, including in 2017 when she opposed a plan to ban trans members of the military, but has generally voted for his agenda and nominees.
Ernst helped lead a bipartisan push to combat sexual assault in the military. In 2019, she told Bloomberg she was raped in college and later physically abused by her ex-husband.
(Updates with additional detail beginning with fifth paragraph)
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Business NewsNewsKey Republican Joni Ernst Gives Boost to Embattled Pete Hegseth Nomination
First Published:10 Dec 2024, 03:26 AM IST
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