Weeks before even taking office, President-elect Trump is already sorely testing the loyalty of Republican senators by pushing an array of controversial nominees to key positions, putting enormous pressure on GOP senators.
Sens. Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), two Republican senators who came under withering criticism last week for raising doubts about Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, on Monday began changing their tunes, sounding more upbeat about his embattled nomination.
Both senators raised doubts about Hegseth’s viability last week — either by declining to express support for him, in the case of Ernst, or calling the allegations against the nominee “disturbing,” as Graham did.
Both senators came under a hail of criticism after raising doubts about Hegseth’s nomination, which Trump pledged to keep fighting for in a statement he posted Friday morning on Truth Social.
Ernst on Monday issued a much more upbeat statement about Hegseth after declining to support him last week.
She described their conversation as “encouraging” and noted that Hegseth committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon.
“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” she said.
She met with the embattled nominee a second time after talking to him face-to-face last week.
Graham also sounded much more positive about Hegseth after meeting with him Monday, emphasizing his personal relationship with the nominee and pushing back against “anonymous allegations.”
“I have known Pete for many years, and I am familiar with his service in Afghanistan, as I was doing my reserve duty at the same time,” Graham said.
“The accusations being made regarding financial management of veterans service organizations and personal misconduct should only be considered by the committee if they are supported by testimony before Congress — not anonymous sources,” he declared.
Graham sounded much more apprehensive about the nominee last week.
“I think some of these articles are very disturbing,” Graham told CBS News. “He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of........