The Iowa senator supports Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, despite allegations of assault and drinking — but she doesn’t want to talk about it.

Sen. Joni Ernst said she will vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next secretary of defense, making the controversial nominee's path to the helm of the Pentagon more likely.

Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst confirmed her support for former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense late

On Monday, the night before hearings to confirm Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for Secretary of Defense, were set to begin, The New Yorker reported that Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) — a key vote on the Armed Services Committee — had declined an offer to meet privately with the woman whom Hegseth paid to settle a sexual assault claim.

The Iowa Republican’s decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Mr. Hegseth will have enough votes to be confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s defense secretary.

Pete Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of the Defense Department has enough Republican support needed to clear the Senate Armed Services Committee after he picked up a key endorsement after his confirmation hearing.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) used her time at Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing to ask about Pentagon spending and Hegseth's views on women in the military.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who had been seen as a key Republican skeptic of Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department, said she will support him after his performance at Tuesday's confirmation hearing.