Ernst In No Rush To Confirm Hegseth As SecDef

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst made her most expansive comments yet on Pete Hegseth. The Iowa senator and military veteran said at a California security conference Saturday that she needs to hear more from President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick on key issues before she decides whether to support him. She mentioned surviving sexual assault and working heavily on such measures within the military, so she wanted “to hear a lot more about that.” And she wanted to know more about his views on the role of women in combat, which he has railed against. Ernst is one of several Senate Republicans who control Hegseth's fate, saying “there will be a very thorough vetting before he moves forward.”