Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said over the weekend that all of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees will be given the same opportunity to be confirmed when the Senate starts its hearings in January.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday NBC News interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet The Press” while discussing Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) prospects of being confirmed to U.S. Attorney General.
“There’s no question that Matt Gaetz and I have had our differences,” he said. “And that’s no secret. Moving forward, I do respect President Trump’s right to appoint these individuals. But underneath Article II, section II, Congress has to advise and consent.”
“And Matt Gaetz is going to go through the same scrutiny as every other individual,” he continued. “And I’m going to give him a fair shot, just like every individual. And at the end of the day, the Senate has to confirm him.”
He said that he would set aside his personal opinions of Gaetz and would solely look at whether he is qualified to hold the role.
Mullin said that he “absolutely” believes that the House Ethics Committee should release a report about alleged misconduct that was set to be released before Gaetz resigned.
“I believe the Senate should have access to that,” he said. “Now should it be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations. But that should be definitely part of our decision making.”
Mullin said that he agreed with some of Gaetz’s views, especially ones about needing to rein in federal departments and agencies.
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