Only days after emerging from a private meeting with #Pete #Hegseth sounding unconvinced about his fitness to lead the Pentagon, Senator #Joni #Ernst,
the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate and a survivor of sexual assault,
indicated that a second sit-down had allayed her concerns.

And she suggested that a torrent of allegations against Mr. Hegseth that had put his candidacy in jeopardy
— including sexual assault, sexual impropriety in the workplace, public drunkenness and fiscal mismanagement
— might not be disqualifying unless his accusers came forward publicly.

Her shift suggested that Trump’s MAGA base was ready, willing and able to bully Republicans into submitting to his desires.

Trump’s hard-line backers paid for ads in Ms. Ernst’s home state,
questioned her Republican bona fides on social media
and even threatened to launch primary challenges against her in 2026 to push her toward supporting Mr. Hegseth as the nominee.

Some prominent Trump activists, including #Charlie #Kirk
and #Stephen K. #Bannon, the right-wing strategist, pushed to recruit #Kari #Lake,
the former Republican candidate for governor of Arizona who grew up in Iowa, as a potential challenger to Ms. Ernst.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/us/politics/ernst-hegseth-defense-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare