Sen. Joni Ernst previously expressed doubts about Pete Hegseth taking on the role of defense secretary.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has voiced support for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, following his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
“After four years of weakness in the White House, Americans deserve a strong Secretary of Defense,” Ernst said in a statement after Hegseth’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense.”
The senator said that she would work with Hegseth “to create the most lethal fighting force” and hold him to his commitments of “auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks” if he is confirmed as defense secretary.
Ernst, a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor, had previously expressed doubts about Hegseth taking on the role, following his past comments suggesting that women should not serve in combat roles. Hegseth also faced allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, which he had denied.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Ernst questioned if Hegseth would support women continuing to serve in combat roles, to which Hegseth responded affirmatively.
“My answer is yes, exactly the way that you caveated it,” he told Ernst. “Women will have access to ground combat roles, given the standards remain high.”
Hegseth stated that he would conduct a review to ensure that the standards “have not been eroded” if he becomes defense secretary.
“That will be part of one of the first things we do at the Pentagon, is reviewing that in a gender-neutral way, the standards, ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center,” he said.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also questioned Hegseth’s stance on women serving in combat roles.
