Sen. Joni Ernst gave what seems to be her stamp of approval for Secretary of Protection nominee Pete Hegseth regardless of her historical past of standing up for the very kind of girls Hegseth is accused of assaulting and opposing.
“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,” Ernst wrote in an announcement posted to X.
“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”
Just some days in the past, nevertheless, it was unclear if the Iowa Republican would approve Donald Trump’s choose.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault,” Ernst stated Saturday at a California safety convention, “I’ve worked very heavily on sexual assault measures within the military. So I’d like to hear a lot more about that.”
Hegseth informed Fox Information’ Sean Hannity in an interview on Monday that he had “good discussions” with Ernst.
“It was a great meeting. People don’t really know this. I’ve known Sen. Ernst for over 10 years. I knew her when she was a state senator running to be the first female combat veteran,” Hegseth stated. “And we supported her in that effort, and have continued to. …The fact that she’s willing to support me through this process means a lot.”
This modification in tone may come as a shock. In spite of everything, Ernst’s status suggests she wouldn’t be in favor of a man like Hegseth. In 2019, the main points of Ernst’s abusive marriage had been thrust into the highlight. The senator—whose once-sealed, now public, divorce affidavit elicited a slew of tabloid-style assaults—additional revealed that she had been raped in school.
“I didn’t want to share it with anybody, and in the era of #MeToo survivors, I always believed that every person is different and they will confront their demons when they’re ready,” she informed the outlet. “And I was not ready.”
Standing on the opposite aspect of comparable accusations, Hegseth faces resurfaced rape allegations from 2017—through which he allegedly paid the accuser to remain quiet and have the costs dropped. Hegseth was accused of raping an unconscious sufferer at a lodge after a Republican ladies’s convention occasion in Monterey, California. The nameless sufferer acknowledged within the report that she suspected she was drugged, and that she couldn’t “remember most of the night’s events.”
Moreover, the sufferer recalled that she had approached Hegseth on the occasion. Per her recollection, she informed him she “did not appreciate how he treated women” after she noticed Hegseth rubbing ladies “on their legs.” The sufferer recalled grotesque particulars after coming again to consciousness in an unfamiliar lodge room with Hegseth.
Finally, Hegseth paid the unnamed girl in alternate for dropping the lawsuit.
Including insult to damage, even Hegseth’s mom joined the general public discourse by calling out her son’s abuse of ex-wife Samantha.
“You are an abuser of women—that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego,” Penelope Hegseth wrote to her son. “You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
And if this wasn’t sufficient trigger for concern for Ernst, given her previous, others may need additionally thought she would have stated no on account of her complete political platform. Ernst ran for the Senate in 2014 on the premise of preventing sexual abuse in army ranks.
On the time, she introduced she would again the removing of instances of sexual assault from the army chain of command to keep away from conflicts of curiosity or political pressures, a transfer that put her at odds with a lot of the GOP.
“This legislation must ensure that sexual crimes in the military are both independently investigated and prosecuted,” she wrote on the time.
“This will not be an easy challenge. I understand many in my own party in Washington will oppose this plan, as will many in the military and Pentagon. However, this should not be a partisan issue, and as a woman in uniform, I know that we must act now.”
The previous “Fox & Friends” host’s sexist remarks concerning ladies within the army has an attention-grabbing juxtaposition with Ernst’s historical past.
“I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” Hegseth stated in a Nov. 7 interview on the “Shawn Ryan Show.”
Every day Kos reached out to Ernst’s workplace for remark however didn’t instantly hear again.
