Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi to face senators as key Republican says she’ll back Hegseth for Pentagon – US politics live

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Republican senator and combat veteran Joni Ernst's endorsement of Pete Hegseth expected to ensure his confirmation as Pentagon chief

Joni Ernst saw combat as an army national guard soldier in Iraq, and now represents Iowa in the Senate. The Republican was an early holdout to former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon, since he has publicly said that women should not serve in military combat roles.

Hegseth walked that stance back at his confirmation hearing yesterday, and in a statement released last night, Ernst confirmed she will vote for him:

After four years of weakness in the White House, Americans deserve a strong Secretary of Defense. Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks.

Democrats at the hearing tried to steer the attention of lawmakers towards the allegation of sexual assault made against Hegseth, which he denies, as well as stories that he drank to excess and mismanaged the finances of two veterans charities. None of those reports appeared to sway Republicans, and Ernst’s endorsement is widely viewed as giving him the votes he needs to win Senate confirmation.

Here’s a look back at yesterday’s hearing:

Trump's attorney general pick Pam Bondi to face senators as key Republican says she'll back controversial Pentagon nominee

Good morning, US politics blog readers. A battery of Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet are going before senators today, including South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the homeland security department, senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state and former congressman and intelligence official John Ratcliffe as director of the CIA. But the marquee event of the day will be former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing to lead the justice department, a role in which she could make good on Trump’s promises to retaliate against his political enemies. Bondi voiced support for Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election, and you can expect Democratic senators to demand answers about whether she would bring election denialism into the justice department, if confirmed.

Meanwhile, it appears that Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host who Trump nominated to serve as his defense secretary, won over a key Republican senator in his tense confirmation hearing yesterday. Iowa’s Joni Ernst has announced that she will support Hegseth, after expressing hesitation over comments he had made opposing women serving in combat roles. Hegseth has been dogged by a sexual assault allegation and reports of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement, but Ernst’s endorsement is seen as a major step to winning over other Republicans wary of installing him at the Pentagon.

Here’s what else is going on today:

• Joe Biden will deliver his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office at 8pm.

• Inflation, the politically damaging economic trend Trump vowed to reverse, came in slightly higher than expected in December, according to just-released consumer price data from the labor department.

• Dangerous winds are expected to strike fire-ravaged parts of Southern California again, threatening new blazes. Follow our live blog for more.