SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst made her most extensive comments yet about Pete Hegseth, telling a largely GOP audience at a security conference in California Saturday that she needs to hear more from the embattled U.S. Defense Secretary newly elected President Donald Trump. Choose important issues before deciding whether to support him.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault,” said Ernst of Iowa, a military veteran who has spent much of her time as a lawmaker improving the way assaults are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. offensive measures within the military, so I would like to hear more about that.’
Ernst is one of several Senate Republicans deciding the fate of Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host who has spent the past week on Capitol Hill trying to win support from Republican senators who should confirm him run the Pentagon.
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Hegseth has fought for his appointment amid allegations of excessive alcohol consumption and the revelation that he paid a settlement after being accused of sexual assault which he denies.
Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and others have defended him in recent days. Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in a taped interview Friday that he believes Hegseth will be confirmed and that senators have called him to tell him Hegseth is fantastic.
“Pete is doing well now,” the president-elect said in a clip of the interview that aired Sunday. “I mean, people were a little concerned. He’s a young guy with a great track record.”
Ernst has faced pressure from Trump supporters to support Hegseth. Unlike most of her Republican Senate colleagues, Ernst is not only a survivor of sexual assault, but has also served in combat as a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard — work Hegseth has spoken out against .
He said last month that women “upright” should not serve in combat roles.
“I would like to hear about the role of women in combat in our great American military,” Ernst said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
She also wanted to see how Hegseth — who has no leadership experience in the Pentagon — would handle financial issues at the Defense Department.
“Balancing the books and managing and overseeing an $877 billion industry is extremely important,” Ernst said.
A day earlier, Hegseth posted on social media that he “had another substantive conversation with Senator Ernst. I appreciate her sincere commitment to defense policy and I look forward to meeting her again next week.”
Ernst said she looks forward to seeing him before the Senate Armed Services Committee and being part of a confirmation process “where he will have to answer some very tough questions.”
“There will be a very thorough screening before he moves forward,” Ernst said, adding that she wants to make sure it is a fair process.
During a meeting with Ernst, Hegseth will likely have to elaborate on a 2017 California police report after a woman accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her after he took her phone, blocked a hotel room door and refused to let her leave after the two had met. at a Republican conference.
Asked in an interview Wednesday for Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM satellite radio program whether he sexually assaulted the woman, Hegseth said “absolutely not.” He called it a “really unfortunate situation” and said he paid her a settlement because he “had to,” claiming her lawyers said they would “release him.”
Hegseth said the payment was intended to keep the matter quiet because he was concerned it would affect his job at Fox News. His 2017 accuser has remained anonymous, and on Saturday Ernst said she would trust the FBI “to investigate and bring this to the committee.”
