As Iowa's Sen. Joni Ernst contemplates whether to support Pete Hegseth for Secretary of the Department of Defense, I can’t help wondering if her life experiences will inhibit her from being fair to him.

In the hearings, all of the Senators will have situations in their past that influence their decision-making.

But with the nomination of Pete Hegseth on the line, I wonder if Sen. Ernst has the ability to realize the potential for her to make an unfair assessment.

There is no doubt that a huge effort is being made to defame Hegseth and his own history.

According to the New York Post:

Hegseth, 44, has been facing mounting accusations about the Army combat vet’s binge drinking, financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct, much of which was said to have occurred while he was heading up two veterans’ affairs advocacy groups between 2007 and 2016.

Is anyone concerned that almost all of the accusations were made anonymously?

One whistleblower who had attacked Hegseth’s performance at the Concerned Veterans for America was contradicted by a letter written by a trustee of the organization:

Randy Lair, trustee for Concerned Veterans for America, wrote a letter in January 2016 to Fox News, where Hegseth was a contributor, seeking to ‘set the record straight’ about Hegseth's departure.

‘The truth is Pete resigned his position as CEO of Concerned Veterans for America as a result of a difference of opinion as to the future of the organization and so that he could focus on other endeavors, including his relationship with Fox News,’ Lair wrote in the letter. ‘Pete was not terminated by the organization and, in fact, we at CVA worked with him through this difficult decision and mutually agreed the end of 2015 was the best timing for both parties.’

Will the Senate committee be informed about this kind of information?

This particular Advise and Consent process could be a disgrace and a sham.

But will Sen. Ernst see through the lies? She has a few things that might influence her in her decision regarding Hegseth.

First, she was the unfortunate victim of sexual assault when she was in the military. Although Hegseth was accused of raping a woman who willingly accompanied him to his room at a conference, he insists the interaction was consensual. The case never went to court. Much later, he paid her a non-disclosure fee, so that the whole situation remained private. Will Ernst hold this against Hegseth?

Second, I just learned that Ernst lost out on another Republican leadership position:

(Radio Iowa) – A report by The Hill, Wednesday, said Iowa Senator Joni Ernst lost out on her bid to become the Republican Senate Conference Chair. The third highest leadership position is being filled instead by Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas. It was the only contested race for a GOP leadership position outside of the Senate leadership race.

I wonder how that loss might have affected her.

Third, Ernst had also said previously that she would like a position in the Trump administration, too; there is some speculation that she herself was interested in the DOD position.

Fourth, Hegseth was critical of women in the military serving in combat; he hasn’t been specific about which roles were not acceptable, but he did confirm they could serve in a war theater.

I have no idea about Ernst’s response to the Hegseth statement.

Finally, as I said, I’m not convinced that every effort is being made to verify the accusations against Hegseth, particularly because many of them were made anonymously. Will they be accepted on face value, even if they can’t be verified?

I just hope Sen. Ernst is self-aware enough to realize that there is a powerful interest in removing Hegseth from consideration, and that she will make every effort to be fair.

The country depends on it.

Image: Official photo, via Wikipedia // public domain