Hermans's first job was as a consultant in Utrecht. Hermans entered on the House of Representatives on 23 March 2017, and she was her party's spokesperson for healthcare. She served as deputy parliamentary leader of the VVD. In July 2023, in the aftermath of Prime Minister
Mark Rutte's resignation from national politics and as leader of the VVD, Hermans declined to run to become the next
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. Following the
November 2023 general election, she served as spokesperson for
AIVD,
medical ethics, and long-term care and as acting parliamentary leader of the VVD, while party leader
Dilan Yeşilgöz was still
demissionary Minister of Justice and Security. Alongside
Eelco Heinen, Hermans assisted Yeşilgöz in
talks to form a new governing coalition in 2023–24. After the PVV, VVD,
NSC, and
BBB formed the
Schoof cabinet, Hermans was sworn in as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth on 2 July 2024. The
Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth was established simultaneously, and its responsibilities had previously been part of the
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy with
Rob Jetten as
minister without portfolio. When past
climate change denial by members of the fellow
coalition party PVV was raised during her confirmation hearing, Hermans declared that she was committed to
climate change mitigation and that she wanted to promote an optimistic message of
green growth. The governing agreement, presented in September 2024, included a continuation of existing plans to increase
wind power and the construction of four
nuclear power plants . Hermans later warned that it would not be possible to finish the first nuclear plant by 2035, as had been targeted by the preceding cabinet. The
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) concluded the following month that the likelihood of the Netherlands meeting its 2030 target – reducing emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels – had fallen from 15% to less than 5%, partly due to the cabinet's reversal of its predecessor's measures. Hermans responded that she was working on additional initiatives. ==Political positions==