President-Elect Donald Trump and his allies are planning on targeting U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) over her seeming opposition to Pete Hegseth, Fox News reports. 

Hegseth, of course, is the man whom Trump has chosen to be the next Secretary of Defense.

Trump's nomination, however, has not gone as smoothly as he would have likes, as Hegseth has faced opposition, including from within the Republican Party.

Ernst is one of the leaders of that opposition, and this is significant given the fact that Republicans do not have a large majority in the U.S. Senate, which will be tasked with affirming or denying Hegseth's nomination.

The latest

According to Fox, "Trump's allies are expected to ramp up criticisms against [Ernst]."

The outlet quotes a "top Trump ally" as saying:

It's really this simple: If you oppose President Trump's nominees, you oppose the Trump agenda and there will be a political price to pay for that. We are well aware that there are certain establishment Senators trying to tank the President's nominees to make him look weak and damage him politically, and we're just not going to allow that to happen.

There is certainly some truth to this statement, as the Republican establishment has come out against some of Trump's picks, including Hegseth and Matt Gaetz, whom Trump initially selected to be the next U.S. attorney general.

Ernst's support is important not just because she is part of Senate Republicans' small majority, but also because she is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will hold the secretary of defense nominee’s confirmation hearing.

Thus far, Ernst has refused to give Hegseth her support.

Background

There has been some talk about whether or not Trump might simply decide to replace Hegseth to avoid a potential rejection of his pick by the Senate.

Trump, over the weekend, made it clear that he is sticking with Hegseth, at least for now.

"Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe," the president-elect said.

He added:

He was a great student - Princeton/Harvard educated - with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!

Reports have suggested that, if Hegseth's nomination fails, Trump could replace him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Trump himself has not confirmed this.