Congress
Republicans defend Ernst ahead of Hegseth vote
As Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) remains under the microscope as she weighs her vote to confirm Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, two of her Republican colleagues jumped Thursday to defend her.
Ernst, who has met twice with Hegseth and appears to be warming toward him, has garnered fierce pressure from within her own party over not being immediately ready to support the Fox News host as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary.
Speaking Thursday at the centrist group No Labels’ “Power to the Middle” conference in Washington, Republican Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis said he had “talked to a sitting senator today who has what feels like the entire world coming after her, because she may or may not support one of the Trump nominees.”
“She’s being plummeted with threats, with all sorts of things that don’t belong in political arena, and her staff is. And so you talk about pressure, right?” Curtis continued, without mentioning Ernst by name. “And speaking with her, she has to worry about things like, ‘Well, if I vote against this nominee, what happens to my state when I need something from this administration?’”
Those threats, he quickly added, had been “never directly said. It’s implied.”
Earlier on Thursday at the same event, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican and outspoken Trump critic, called out Republicans for slamming Ernst “for not being good enough” — even though, Murkowski said, she is “one of the more conservative, principled Republican leaders in the Senate right now.”
Murkowski added that she is worried Ernst could be primaried by another Republican who shows more loyalty to Trump.
A spokesperson for Ernst did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The House Steering Committee voted Thursday to allow Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to serve a second term as chair of the Transportation Committee, as has been expected since his lone challenger dropped out of contention for the gavel earlier this week.
The decision comes a week after Steering granted Graves a waiver to bypass conference term limits that hold members to a total of three terms. Graves has spent two terms as ranking member and one as chair.
Graves had presented a condensed version of the pitch he made for his waiver in which he hammered home the case to the panel that he can move quickly to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s priorities in the new Congress, especially when it comes to the impending surface transportation bill. The Steering panel apparently liked that pitch, which also was likely strengthened by Graves having only had one full term as chair.
Rep. Tim Walberg is slated to helm the House Education and the Workforce Committee after defeating Rep. Burgess Owens.
The Republican Steering Committee voted Thursday afternoon to designate the Michigan Republican as chair after he and Owens, of Utah, gave presentations to the panel, according to Walberg’s office and two people with knowledge of the vote. His appointment now heads to the full conference for final approval, which is largely a formality.
This will be the eight-term lawmaker’s first time wielding a full committee gavel. He has been a member of the committee for more than a decade, and his victory comes nearly two years ago after his loss to Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), who won a rare party waiver to lead the Republicans on the committee for a fourth time.
Read more about his education positions.
Read more about his workforce and labor positions.
Olivia Beavers contributed to this report.
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Defense secretary, is shifting his stance on LGBTQ+ service members.
The former Fox Host has previously labeled policies allowing gay and transgender troops a “Marxist agenda.” But when asked by reporters on Thursday during a meeting with Sen. Rand PaulRand Paul (R-Ky.) whether he supports gays serving in the military, he said, “Yes.”
The apparent pivot comes after meetings with more moderate Republican senators, including Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
And it follows a CNN report Thursday highlighting comments Hegseth made in his 2024 book, The War on Warriors, and in recent media appearances. He has called the original “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and its 2011 repeal a “gateway” and “camouflage” for broader cultural shifts that he argues have weakened military cohesion and effectiveness.
Asked about the report, Hegseth replied, “I don’t feel the need to respond to BLN.”
- Sam Graves gets Steering’s blessing for another term as chair of Transportation
- Walberg bests Owens to lead House Education and the Workforce panel
- Hegseth backtracks on criticism of gays in the military
- ‘Now she’s the world’s problem’: Some Arizona Republicans relieved Lake is heading to Washington
- ‘Weaponized’ agency: Ramaswamy, Musk attack SEC after diversity ruling setback
- Congress nears deal on disaster aid, funding patch to avert pre-Christmas shutdown
- House Republicans tap French Hill to chair Financial Services
- Republicans defend Ernst ahead of Hegseth vote
- Trump says he’ll pull vaccines if he finds they’re unsafe
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