President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, celebrated that he had a "great meeting" with Sen. Joni Ernst after the Iowa Republican slow-walked an endorsement of the Cabinet nominee.
"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 told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview Monday evening. "And we supported her in that effort, and have continued to."
"You get into these meetings and you to listen to senators – it's an amazing advise and consent process -- and you hear how thoughtful, serious, substantive they are on these key issues that pertain to our Defense Department," he continued. "And Joni Ernst is front and center on that. So to able to have phone calls and meetings time and time again to talk over the issues is really, really important. The fact that she's willing to support me through this process means a lot."
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Hegseth has been spending his days on Capitol Hill meeting with Republican senators to rally support as he battles allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and mismanaging a veterans nonprofit organization. Hegseth has denied the allegations and vowed that he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed to Trump's cabinet.
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Among Hegseth's meetings on Monday, he again met with Ernst, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, after meeting with her last week.
Last week, Ernst withheld committing to voting in favor of Hegseth, but hinted Monday that she is beginning to support the Trump nominee.
Ernst wrote in a statement Monday that "as I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources."
She added in her statement that "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."
Trump nominated Hegseth, a former National Guard officer, as secretary of defense last month, saying "with Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down." Hegseth was a host on "Fox & Friends Weekend" before Trump's nomination.
Fox News Digital reported Sunday, following Ernst's initial hesitation to support Hegseth, that Trump’s allies were expected to ramp up criticisms against her as she stalls on offering support to Trump’s secretary of defense pick.
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"It's really this simple: If you oppose President Trump's nominees, you oppose the Trump agenda and there will be a political price to pay for that. We are well aware that there are certain establishment Senators trying to tank the President's nominees to make him look weak and damage him politically, and we're just not going to allow that to happen," a top Trump ally told Fox News Digital.
Hegseth continued in his interview with Hannity that he will also meet with Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who Hannity identified as a pair of more liberal Republican senators compared to their colleagues.
"We will be meeting with Sen. Collins on Wednesday and Sen. Murkowski on Tuesday. And let me tell you, Sean, the founders got this right. This is not a trivial process. This is a real thing: advise and consent of a nominee who the president has chosen. And I'm so grateful that President Trump would have the faith in me to lead the Defense Department, to choose me to do that. But this advise and consent process, meeting with all the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and they all have great questions, and my answers are for them," Hegseth said.
The SecDef nominee also pushed back on claims of impropriety during the interview, arguing "the left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media – show trial – and we're not going to let that happen."
"I'm going to walk into the door of every one of these senators with just, as an open book, willing to answer their questions, because they deserve answers. … I've heard great things about all of these senators and the questions they want to ask, and we look forward to earning these votes. That's what it's about, ultimately earning the votes through the committee and through the entire U.S. Senate," he said.
Reports surfaced last week alleging Trump had lost faith in his nominee as Democrats slammed the choice and some Republicans, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, remarked the allegations against Hegseth were "disturbing." Trump bucked the claims when he doubled down on his support of Hegseth in a Truth Social post on Friday, while Vice President-elect JD Vance also said the Trump team is "not abandoning this nomination."
"Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. "He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!"
Fox News Digital's Cameron Cawthorne and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
