Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been leading an “aggressive” personal jihad against Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, multiple sources within Trump world with direct knowledge of her outreach to Trump told The Federalist on Wednesday.
Ernst’s efforts included personal calls to Trump to urge him to dump Hegseth ahead of her meeting with the Army veteran on Wednesday afternoon. Ernst did not tell Hegseth during her meeting with him about her efforts to derail his nomination, sources told The Federalist.
“She’s waging a campaign to replace Pete with herself,” a Trump source familiar with her phone calls with Trump said.
Ernst posted a tweet on X following her meeting with Hegseth on Wednesday afternoon. The Iowa senator said she “appreciate[s] Pete Hegseth’s service to our country,” and that they “had a frank and thorough…
