Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined Newsmax on Thursday and was asked to weigh in on President-elect Donald Trump‘s controversial nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be his attorney general.
Cruz did not offer Gaetz his support and insisted that a confirmation hearing would take place to assess Gaetz’s “merits,” despite Trump’s demand that his nominees be pushed through as recess appointments.
Newsline anchor Bianca de la Garza asked Cruz of Gaetz, “The question is, will he make it through confirmation? Will you vote to confirm him? What do you think of him as a pick? Because Trump put it out there on the Truth, saying he’s going to root out corruption at the DOJ. He wants honesty, integrity, transparency. Are you on board with him as attorney general, Senator Cruz?”
“Well, I think it is critically important that we root out the partisan bias that under Joe Biden has infected the Department of Justice, as it infected the FBI. Joe Biden has weaponized our law enforcement and used it to target his political enemies. That has to end,” Cruz replied, eventually turning to the question:
As for that particular nomination, look, we have a process under the Constitution where the Senate provides advice and consent. And I trust that process. That nominee, like every other will, will have a vigorous vetting, will have confirmation hearings. And every nominee is going to be going to be judged on the merits.
I will say that was a pick that was, I think, very surprising to the entirety of the Senate. And so we’ll assess the nominee on the merits. But but there is a process that will unfold that examines a particular nominee’s background, their experience and their suitability for a role.
Cruz was given an offramp as de la Garza followed up, “So you’re keeping an open mind. We know that Mike Lee from Utah, who you’re on the Judiciary Committee with, was also floated on the shortlist. What do you make of that?”
“Well, listen, Mike Lee is a dear friend and an incredible lawyer and a constitutional warrior. I don’t know that there’s a more important position in this Trump administration than attorney general. And so I think it’s critical to have someone there who will follow the law, who has integrity, who is a constitutionalist, and who has the courage to root out the incredible partisanship and weaponization that has infested this DOJ,” Cruz replied, adding:
Look, I’m an alumnus of the Department of Justice, and DOJ has a long, long tradition of being nonpartisan, following the law regardless of someone’s party. And it needs to return to that tradition. And it’s going to take a very strong leadership of the Department of Justice to get there.
Watch the clip above via Newsmax.
