A leading Republican senator is slamming allegations of an affair with a senior military officer who lobbied Congress.

Iowa Republican Joni Ernst dismissed as "slander" claims that she slept with two military officials. The accusations were reported in ProPublica, a left-wing outlet with a history of attacking conservatives.

Ernst, the first female combat veteran in the Senate, is an influential voice on military affairs on Capitol Hill, where she sits on the Armed Services Committee.

Ernst accused of affair

The senator reportedly had a relationship with Maj. Gen. Christopher Finerty. The officer was accused of having multiple inappropriate relationships by the Air Force inspector general in a report earlier this year.

The inspector general report redacted the names of five women, including three on Capitol Hill. One of those women was Ernst, sources alleged to ProPublica.

Some of Finerty's colleagues said his interactions with Ernst gave the Air Force "undue influence" over Congress.

"I honestly felt sick to my stomach,” one said, according to a report about the investigation, “because it just felt so sleazy.”

Finerty reportedly exchanged sexual text messages with all three women on Capitol Hill. One of those relationships became physically intimate.

He defended the relationships to investigators by saying the women were all unmarried; Ernst divorced her ex-husband in 2019.

"The IG report found no evidence suggesting anything remotely approaching either conflict of interest or undue influence involving General Finerty and anyone on Capitol Hill. Further, the IG report found no law, rule, policy or guidance prohibited any of General Finerty’s relationships. Any suggestion to the contrary would be defamatory," Finerty's lawyer said.

"Slanderous lie"

Ernst also had a relationship with a legislative affairs official in the Navy around 2019, according to ProPublica's anonymous sources.

"The fake news media is clearly too busy gossiping to report the real news that Senator Ernst is focused on cutting waste at the Pentagon. Her votes and work in the Senate are guided by the voices of Iowans who elected her and her constitutional duty alone. Any insinuation otherwise by tabloid ‘journalism’ is a slanderous lie — full stop," a spokesperson for Ernst said.

During an acrimonious divorce, Ernst was previously accused by her ex-husband of having an affair with a soldier. She denied the claim at the time.

Ernst was a key swing vote during the contentious confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom she ultimately supported. She has also been a vocal supporter of Elon Musk's efforts to cut government waste through DOGE.