Ernst Appears to Flip on Hegseth After Private Meeting

The Trump nomination of Pete Hegseth initially went over like a lead balloon in the Senate (and publicly, quite honestly).

That sentiment now seems to be changing, as Trump just flipped a problematic Senator in the GOP.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) who seemed like a hard no, is now saying she will support Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense.

Supporting Pete

Hegseth is facing resistance for two different reasons.

First, there were sexual assault allegations made against him, but these allegations were previously investigated and police found no evidence of the woman’s claims.

It sounded more like she got caught cheating on her husband and threw Hegseth under the bus to try to cover it all up.

Second, and this is where I have a problem, it appears like Hegseth still likes to party like a frat boy, with numerous former co-workers having come forward to say that he would get black-out drunk at work functions.

As is usually the case, most of the complaints are coming from anonymous sources, so Hegseth is being patient and fighting his way through these allegations.

Fox News Chad Pergram reported that Senator Ernst stated, “Following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.

“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

Since we are not part of the process, we are going to have to trust our elected officials to do their jobs and properly vet Hegseth.

If they are comfortable these allegations are more fiction than fact, then we have to trust their judgment.

My only hope is that they are not ramming through Trump's appointments just so Trump does not get upset with them.

If Hegseth does get approved, I will surely be rooting for him, but I will still have my ears up because these voiced concerns are troubling to me.