BURSTPresident Trump's Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth on Monday held a second meeting in less than a week with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a key figure in his ongoing push to win confirmation to lead the Pentagon.
Hegseth told reporters following the 30-minute sit-down that the pair had a “great meeting,” which took place in the throes of questions surrounding his viability to win a green light from enough Republicans in the upper chamber.
Ernst has said in recent days that Hegseth has not won her backing, even in the midst of increasing pressure from allies of Trump.
“She had been dedicated to making the Pentagon work for war-fighters for a long time,” Hegseth said upon leaving her office. “We’ve had great extensive conversations about that and I just appreciate her commitment to the process and we look forward to working together.”
“It was a great meeting,” Hegseth continued, adding he would meet with the Senate Armed Services Committee member again “whenever she wants.”
“We look forward to sharing more about it later on,” he said.
When asked by a reporter if he thought she was backing him yet, Hegseth responded, “I would never speak for her.”
Ernst has emerged as a key hurdle for Hegseth to clear if he has any chance of winning Senate approval. A retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, she could scuttle his hopes of getting through the Armed Services panel if she opposes him.
She also has been an outspoken advocate for service members who have been sexually assaulted, sharing publicly about surviving assault herself.
Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman stemming from a 2017 encounter that he says was consensual. He was never charged.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault so I have worked very heavily on sexual assault measures within the military, so I’d like to hear a little more about that, and I’d like to hear about the role of women in our great United States military,” Ernst said over the weekend on a panel at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
“I am excited to sit down with him again, but there will be a very thorough vetting before he moves forward. So [I] look forward to seeing him in front of the committee as well — and I know that he’ll be there and have to answer some very tough questions,” she added.