Pete Hegseth, who has been nominated to lead the Department of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump, appears to have the votes to be confirmed after a key potential holdout announced that he would be supporting him.

Burgess Everett, the congressional bureau chief for the news outlet Semafor, reported Thursday that Senator John Curtis (R-UT) would be supporting Hegseth’s nomination. Curtis was previously named as a potential holdout when anonymously-sourced, unverified allegations of heavy drinking and sexual assault were levied against the Trump nominee last month.

Ernst then faced a relentless pressure campaign from the Trump base, while multiple Iowa Republicans indicated that they would challenge her if she opted not to support Pete Hegseth after his confirmation hearing. After meeting with the Trump nominee on multiple occasions, Ernst indicated on Tuesday that she will be voting to confirm.

 

Hegseth meets with Senator Ernst in her office last month

A Pete Hegseth confirmation appeared likely after he testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee earlier this week. Hegseth — a veteran of the War on Terror and a former host at Fox News — was relentlessly attacked by Democrat senators throughout the hearing. The attacks did not appear to land, however, as odds of a confirmation skyrocketed past 90 percent on the popular prediction platform Polymarket in the hours following the hearing.

“Excuse me. What I do know is Mr. Patel was a career prosecutor. He was a career public defender, defending people. And he also has great experience within the intelligence community,” she added.