Tommy Tuberville calls on GOP colleagues to confirm Trump's cabinet picks without delay

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama voiced strong support for President-elect Donald Trump’s recent cabinet nominations, urging the Senate to confirm them swiftly.

“The Senate’s job is to advise and consent and to represent our constituents and our state,” Tuberville said, WHNT reported. “The majority of Americans voted for President Donald J. Trump. They want President Trump’s agenda now. I intend to do my part to ensure he has the people around him so we can work and work together."

“Now’s the time to put up or shut up,” Tuberville later added. “We have to get President Trump, his team I mean, to end of the day and they can’t be deep state. They can’t be shadow government. They have to be people that believe in this country. I promise you, we’re not going to put anybody I’m not going to vote for anybody that’s not qualified that I don’t think will work hard for the people of Alabama.”

Tuberville specifically praised on the Senate floor Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. Speaking from the Senate floor in front of a sign reading, “Number of Democrats who voted AGAINST Biden’s 21 Cabinet Nominees: 0,” Tuberville argued that the criticism of these nominees is rooted in political bias rather than qualification concerns.

“Ask yourself: why are my Democratic colleagues, the media, and the establishment losing their minds over these highly qualified nominees?” Tuberville asked. “It’s because of the dislike for President Trump, the America First agenda, and nearly 80 million Americans who voted to send him back to the White House.”

“Panic has set in at the DOJ, the intelligence community, and the entire DC swamp,” he added. “They’re finding out, as Barack Obama said, that elections have consequences.”

Shortly after winning the presidential election, Trump announced a series of rapid-fire cabinet appointments. While some have been widely accepted, a number of high-profile nominations have been met with significant backlash. Gaetz’s nomination as Attorney General, in particular, has faced criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Gaetz was subjected to a federal sex trafficking investigation which was closed without charges being issued.

Tuberville expressed support for Gaetz, dismissing the criticisms as rumors. 

“We’re going to look at facts not rumors,” Tuberville said on Fox News on Tuesday. “There’s more rumors up there going around about Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth…I’m looking forward to backing all of them as long as the facts are there.”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has also sparked resistance, particularly among Senate Republicans, due to his pro-abortion stance. Tuberville, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, stated that Kennedy’s position on abortion is an issue he plans to address. Tuberville said there are “several questions” he has for Kennedy, particularly his beliefs about at what point in a pregnancy an abortion should no longer be legally acceptable.