Joni Ernst Privately Expresses Interest in Becoming Trump’s Next Secretary of Defense

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is privately expressing interest in becoming the secretary of defense in Donald Trump’s next administration, according to two sources.

National security leaders have approached Ernst and told her she would be a good fit for the job, another source familiar with the senator’s conversations told NOTUS, citing her military background and her experience on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If she were to get the position, Ernst would become the first female secretary of defense.

While Ernst’s name has been floating around Trumpworld to lead the Pentagon — Bloomberg reported late last week that she is in the running — sources said the conversations had not yet escalated to anything official, and she is not actively pushing herself for the position.

“Washington’s rumor mill will never stop churning,” a spokesperson for Ernst told NOTUS, “but Sen. Ernst is laser-focused on serving Iowans and her colleagues as conference chair and carrying out President Trump’s agenda in the Senate.”

In an interview with Fox News Business on Monday morning, Ernst said she “spoke to the leader of the transition team last night” and discussed recess appointments and how the Senate could get Trump’s nominees confirmed quickly.

While she was the last member of Senate GOP leadership to endorse Trump — waiting until after he swept Super Tuesday states — Ernst spent a good chunk of the general election cycle barnstorming the country for Trump, speaking at events in Pennsylvania and Nebraska.

She also attended his Election Day watch party in West Palm Beach.

But with loyalty being a top test for Trump’s cabinet, it is unclear if Ernst declining to endorse ahead of the Iowa caucus and waiting until after Super Tuesday to endorse Trump would affect her getting the position.

Ernst is also in a contentious leadership race for the No. 3 position in Senate GOP leadership, chair of the Senate Republican Conference, which sources have said is her top focus right now. She’s up against Sen. Tom Cotton, who recently took his name out of the running for any Trump administration jobs and has reportedly locked down enough votes to win the position.

Among the other names being floated for secretary of defense is Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret who has been one of Trump’s most vocal advocates in the House, and Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Armed Services chair. (Trump ruled out former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley from serving in the next administration.)

Waltz endorsed Trump in April of 2023, and he’s become one of his staunchest defenders. (Waltz’s office did not return a request for comment.)

But one complicating factor for choosing any House Republican — and, to a certain extent, a Senate Republican — is math. Republicans are projected to hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but their majority could be even slimmer in the House — if they hold a majority at all.

Already, Trump’s announcement that he will nominate Rep. Elise Stefanik to serve as his next ambassador to the U.N. is complicating the math for the GOP, so appointing another congressional Republican to his administration — particularly before all the House races are decided — may be a challenge.

—
Reese Gorman is a reporter at NOTUS.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated where Senate Republican Conference chair ranks in Senate GOP leaadership. It is the third highest ranking position.