Key GOP senator says she's not ready to support Hegseth for defense secretary

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday she isn't ready to support Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary.

"Well, I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday, and I do appreciate his service to the nation. I also am a combat veteran. So, we talked about a number of those issues, and we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important," Ernst told Fox News. "So, again, all I'm saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we will continue to have conversations for months."

Pressed by host Bill Hemmer that it "doesn't sound in your answer that you got to a yes," Ernst replied, "I think you are right."

Hegseth continues to make the rounds on Capitol Hill to try to convince senators that he's up to the job amid allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of finances. He denies the allegations.

He met Wednesday with Ernst, a key Republican member of the Armed Services committee and herself a survivor of sexual assault.

Upon leaving the meeting, Hegseth told reporters that he and Ernst had an "engaging and instructive conversation."

Ernst later posted, "I appreciate Pete Hegseth's service to our country, something we both share. Today, as part of the confirmation process, we had a frank and thorough conversation."

ABC News has previously reported Ernst to be on a growing list of candidates emerging to possibly replace Hegseth as Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense.

When asked Wednesday if there was any chance she was being considered to replace Hegseth, she merely responded, "Mr. Hegseth is the nominee." She was tight-lipped over whether their meeting alleviated any concerns she might have.

Ernst is the first female combat veteran in the Senate. She also has a long record of supporting legislation aimed at addressing sexual assault and harassment in the military, and has been outspoken about her own experiences with sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence.

Notably, Hegseth has said that women should not serve in combat roles in the military, and he continues to face his own allegations of sexual misconduct and impropriety.

Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegations. On Wednesday, he told the Megyn Kelly show "absolutely not" in regards to rape accusations, and he denied many of the claims that he mistreated women.

All eyes will be on Ernst as Hegseth's confirmation process plays out. Last month, Ernst told ABC News that an FBI background check into Hegseth would be "helpful."

In an interview with Bloomberg News in 2019, Ernst first disclosed the details of her rape as a college student at Iowa State University, in which she tearfully retold being in a "physically and sexually abusive" relationship with someone who raped her.

During her college years, she volunteered at a safe house for battered and abused women and children.

While speaking to Bloomberg, Ernst also alleged that her ex-husband, Gail Ernst, had physically abused her in an incident in which he "grabbed [her] by the throat" before he "threw [her]" on the ground and "pounded [her] head." Gail Ernst declined to comment on the allegations at the time. 

Ernst also claimed to have endured sexual harassment in the military, which she described to Time Magazine in 2014.

"I had comments, passes, things like that," Ernst said. "These were some things where I was able to say stop and it simply stopped but there are other circumstances both for women and for men where they don't stop and they may be afraid to report it."

"Sexual assault has no place in our military -- or anywhere else -- and it's far past time we take more steps toward preventing and reducing these heart-wrenching crimes," Ernst said in a statement after introducing a bipartisan bill in 2021 to prevent military sexual assault.

Ernst was a member of Iowa State University's ROTC program at 20 years old before joining the U.S. Army Reserve. She later served as a company commander of an Iowa National Guard transportation unit in Kuwait.

She spent 23 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Ernst has been vocal about her support for Trump, despite him also having been accused of sexual assault by multiple women -- which he has repeatedly denied. Ernst was even a contender to be his running mate in the 2016 election.

"I would encourage women to stand up and say, 'You know what, I'm not going to put up with his nonsense, but I do agree with him on this policy,'" Ernst said in a 2016 interview with WHO. "Sometimes we have to look beyond certain aspects of a person and figure out do we agree."

She also told Bloomberg that it was "outrageous to suggest that anyone who has been the victim of sexual assault should therefore be a Hillary Clinton supporter."

Ernst became the first woman to represent Iowa in either house of Congress when she was elected to the Senate in 2014.