Iowa Senator Joni Ernst announced that she would vote for Pete Hegseth to become Defense Secretary, making his path to Senate confirmation much easier.

Pete Hegseth pitched himself as a "change agent" to lead the Defense Department while Democrats excoriated him as unfit during his confirmation hearing.

A senator told Hegseth: "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."

Republicans appear poised to confirm Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the government’s largest and most complex agency

Hegseth wants to restore honor to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the native North Carolinian whose name was replaced at Fort Bragg last year. | Opinion

But did this happen at the Pete Hegseth hearings in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee this week? If you thought those kinds of questions would dominate the hearings, you must be living under the illusion that we live in a serious country.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who had been seen as a key Republican skeptic of Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department, said she will support him after his performance at Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.

Ernst previously expressed an openness to supporting Hegseth after she had "encouraging conversations" with him last month, but held off on officially endorsing him until after the hearing.

Ernst, an Army veteran and rape survivor, had previously expressed concerns over Hegseth’s past comments about women in combat roles and the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against

New reporting has revealed that the Trump administration plans to begin its mass deportation plans with an immigration raid in Chicago as early as Tuesday. Ameshia Cross and former Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent join Alex Witt to share their thoughts on this development and the Senate confirmation hearing of Trump Secretary of defense pick Pete Hegseth.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to vote Monday on Trump's choice to head the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth, but the full Senate vote may not happen until days later. As a result someone from the Biden administration would have to take over temporarily.