After months under scrutiny on her efforts to defund Social Security, Senator Joni Ernst admitted that privatizing the program is still an option on the table that she would consider, in an interview on The Steele Report.

Asked if she’s still open to privatizing Social Security, Senator Ernst admitted, “I’ve said I’ve talked about it,” and said that Congress should be “talking about those options.”

WATCH: Ernst Says that Privatizing Social Security Should Be An “Option”

Senator Ernst’s continued push to keep privatization of Social Security on the table is just the latest evidence of her intention to slash Iowans’ retirement safety net in Washington. Ernst was caught at a closed-door fundraiser saying that spending on entitlements like Social Security was “out of control,” and she said that Congress should gut the program “behind closed doors so we’re not being scrutinized.” She also spearheaded multiple efforts to raid the trust fund. Ernst even skipped two recent forums that focused on protecting Social Security in order to hide from being held accountable for her extreme agenda.

“Senator Ernst’s intentions to defund Social Security are clear. If she’s elected to another six years in Washington, Ernst will put her corporate donors ahead of Iowa families by working to gut their hard-earned retirement benefits and is even willing to gamble them away on Wall Street,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson. “Privatizing Social Security should never have been on the table in the first place, and Senator Ernst’s willingness to defund the program shows that she can’t be trusted to look out for Iowans’ retirement security in Washington.”