The ruling class establishment in Washington, D.C. is pulling out all the stops to cut Donald Trump’s legs out from under him before he even takes office for a second time.
They want to ensure that his incoming administration at least starts off on the back foot.
But a RINO Senator is thanking her lucky stars after this anti-Trump scheme blew up in her face.
Heat lands on Iowa’s RINO Senator for threat to vote against Donald Trump’s Defense nominee
The battle over President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations is heating up.
But the real fight isn’t with Democrats – it’s with establishment RINOs.
As such, Senator Joni Ernst (RINO-IA) recently dropped the charade that has been her political persona to date to become the leading opponent to Trump’s nomination of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
Of course, in reality, Ernst didn’t necessarily oppose Hegseth’s nomination as much as she likely supported the idea of taking the Secretary of Defense role for herself.
Even after meeting with Hegseth on Capitol Hill, Ernst maintained that she wasn’t yet ready to support his nomination, despite her years-long effort to convince Iowa voters that she’s an America First Senator.
With Republicans’ razor-thin Senate majority, Trump can only afford to lose four RINO votes in his nominee’s confirmation battles.
Considering the urgency of getting Hegseth and others across the line, the America First movement has begun ratcheting up the pressure on Ernst and other RINO holdouts.
Case in point, Building America’s Future announced that the group would be spending $500,000 to run TV and digital ads across Iowa demanding that the Senator confirm Hegseth and other Trump nominees.
“America needs a Defense Secretary who knows what it means to fight, and understands the price of freedom,” the group stated in the ad. “Pete Hegseth is a patriot, a decorated combat veteran and a warrior who will stop at nothing to keep America safe.”
“The Deep State is trying to stop his nomination, but Pete isn’t backing down. Call your senator today and urge them to confirm Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense,” the ad continues.
Lesson learned? Republican AG and other Iowa conservatives line up to challenge Ernst if necessary
To make matters worse for Ernst, Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird penned an op-ed for Breitbart in which she called for all “Republican” Senators to support Hegseth, leading many to speculate about a potential primary challenge to Ernst.
“In recent days, it’s become clear that D.C. politicians think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years,” Bird wrote. “When voters select a president, they are selecting that president’s vision for a cabinet that will enact his agenda.”
“What we’re witnessing in Washington right now is a Deep State attempt to undermine the will of the people,” she added. “We must not let Washington kill nominations before the Constitutional confirmation process even begins.”
Iowa-based talk radio host Steve Deace also increased the speculation over a primary challenge to Ernst by flat out saying publicly that he’d happily challenge her when she is up for re-election again in 2026.
“Defeating an incumbent US Senator takes high name ID, connections, and funding potential,” Deace wrote on X. “I’m one of the few people in Iowa with all three. I don’t want to be a Senator, but I am willing to primary her for the good of the cause if I’m assured I have Trump’s support going in. Or I am willing to throw my support and network behind someone else President Trump prefers to primary Joni Ernst instead.”
Joni Ernst sucked as a Senator long before this. The rest of the country is just now finding that out. However, defeating an incumbent US Senator takes high name ID, connections, and funding potential. I’m one of the few people in Iowa with all three. I don’t want to be a… pic.twitter.com/DjcQnIMeEr
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) December 6, 2024
Needless to say, Senator Ernst has put herself in quite the predicament.
Her ego and unquenchable desire for more power have exposed who she truly is, and made her a major target for the America First movement.
That’s why she recently waved the white flag, reversing course to suddenly claim that she’ll “support [Hegseth] through this process.”
Of course, Ernst stopped short of saying she’d vote for Hegseth, but clearly she saw the walls closing in on her, and, at least for now, she appears to have thought better of using Hegseth’s nomination as political theater to try to advance her own political career.
But that won’t stop the rest of the ruling class RINOs from continuing to subject Pete Hegseth, and other Trump nominees, to the same treatment they gave Justice Brett Kavanaugh.