GOP Hegseth holdout presses Defense secretary nominee on her top 3 issues in military

"I want to know, again, let's make it very clear for everyone here today, as Secretary of Defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?" Ernst asked former Fox News host Hegseth on Tuesday, saying women serving in the military was one of her top three concerns. 

"Senator, first of all, thank you for your service. As we discussed extensively as well, and my answer is yes, exactly the way that you caveated it. Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat roles given the standards remain high, and we'll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded," Hegseth responded. 

The Iowa senator said in her opening remarks that she is known for not keeping "anything hidden, pull no punches," while thanking Hegseth for joining the committee for the hearing. She explained that she had three top issues to ask Hegseth, including an audit of the Department of Defense, women serving in combat roles and "making sure that we are combating sexual assault in the military."

On the point of a DOD audit, Hegseth said he has long called for an audit and supports one, before moving onto his view of women serving in military combat roles and combating sexual assault in the military. 

"A priority of mine has been combating sexual assault in the military and making sure that all of our service members are treated with dignity and respect. This has been so important. Senator Gillibrand and I have worked on this, and we were able to get changes made to the uniform code of military justice to make sure that we have improvements, and on how we address the tragic and life altering, issues of rape, sexual assault. It will demand time and attention from the Pentagon under your watch, if you are confirmed," Ernst said. 

"So, as secretary of Defense, will you appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response?" she asked. 

Hegseth said that, as they had previously discussed, he would appoint an official to such a role. 

Late last year, Ernst initially withheld committing to voting in favor of Hegseth before backtracking and saying she would support the nominee as the Trump orbit was anticipated to ramp up criticisms against Ernst. 

"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 as Ernst hesitated about offering her endorsement.  

Ernst said in comments last month that she supported his nomination. 

"As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources," Ernst said at the time. 

"Women in our military, as I have said publicly, have and continue to make amazing contributions across all aspects of our battlefield," Hegseth responded. 

Hegseth responded that his concern revolves around standards used for women in combat roles and those standards getting watered down. 

"I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve alongside, shoulder to shoulder, men and women; black, white; all backgrounds with a shared purpose," Hegseth said.