‘I Will Be Supporting Pete’: Sen. Joni Ernst Backs Hegseth Following Conservative Pressure Campaign

Shawn Fleetwood reporting for The Federalist

Following a widespread conservative pressure campaign, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, revealed on Tuesday evening that she will be voting to confirm Pete Hegseth as President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of defense.

“I am breaking news. … Yes, I will be supporting President Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth,” Ernst said during an interview on Simon Conway’s radio show.

The Iowa Republican’s announcement came hours following Hegseth’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he endured grotesque slanders and unhinged tirades from the body’s Democrat members. The former Fox News host also fielded policy-related questions from the panel’s GOP members, including Ernst.

Tuesday’s announcement marks a major win for Hegseth and conservative voters, the latter of whom galvanized to pressure GOP senators to confirm Hegseth following revelations that Ernst was leading a behind-the-scenes effort to nuke his nomination.

Trump world sources told The Federalist last month that Iowa’s junior senator was spearheading an “aggressive” personal jihad against Hegseth. This included Ernst making calls to Trump to convince him to dump Hegseth and enlisting Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to lobby the president-elect to replace Hegseth with Ernst.

Both Ernst and Graham seemingly changed their tunes on Hegseth’s nomination following The Federalist’s reporting and subsequent conservative backlash.

Graham signaled his willingness to back Hegseth following Tuesday’s hearing, writing on X, “With today’s performance, I believe Pete Hegseth’s path to confirmation has been assured.”

During his testimony, Hegseth detailed his plans to “bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense” and make the Pentagon an agency “laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.”

“Like many of my generation, I’ve been there. I’ve led troops in combat, been on patrol for days, pulled a trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex-cuffed insurgents, called in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies, and knelt before a battlefield cross,” Hegseth said. “[T]his is not academic for me; this is my life. I led then, and I will lead now.”

The Army veteran discussed major issues implicating the military, including DEI and its harmful effects on military readiness, and the Navy’s waning fleet. He also fielded questions about the Pentagon’s budget problems and the ongoing recruiting crisis jeopardizing the military’s efficiency and readiness.