Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said she will meet with Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth again next week as he continues to pitch himself to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“Pete Hegseth and I will continue our constructive conversations as we move forward together in this process. We plan to meet again next week,” Ernst wrote in a Friday post on the social media platform X.
“At a minimum, we agree that he deserves the opportunity to lay out his vision for our warfighters at a fair hearing.”
Some believe Ernst is one of the GOP members holding out support for Hegseth, which could lead to a harsh confirmation hearing and process for the former Fox News host. Later on Friday, President-elect Trump said he was confident that Hegseth would be confirmed by the Senate.
Ernst previously served in the Iowa National Guard as a lieutenant colonel during the Iraq war. She and Hegseth met earlier this week, and Hegseth said they met again Friday.
“I just had another substantive conversation with Senator Ernst, I appreciate her sincere commitment to defense policy, and I look forward to meeting with her again next week,” he wrote Friday on X.
After their initial meeting, Ernst remained noncommittal about her support for Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon.
