Republican senator accuses Dems, media of double standard on outrage over Trump's cabinet picks

A Republican senator clashed with NBC anchor Kristen Welker successful a Sunday interrogation aft helium pushed backmost against the scrutiny implicit President-elect Donald Trump's furniture nominations, compared to their attraction of President Biden's much arguable staffing picks.

Democrats successful Congress and successful the media person blasted Trump's furniture nominees implicit their qualifications, including combat seasoned Pete Hegseth arsenic caput of defense; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem arsenic caput of homeland security; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., arsenic lawyer general; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. arsenic caput of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. 

On NBC's "Meet the Press" connected Sunday, Welker pressed Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, if Kennedy's skepticism toward vaccines could beryllium a "deal breaker" successful confirming the Trump nominee to caput the HHS.

Mullin denied this would beryllium a dealbreaker for him earlier launching into a rebuke of Democrats and wide voices successful the media for not showing the aforesaid outrage implicit immoderate of President Biden's more arguable furniture and staffing picks at the commencement of his term.

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"No. I perfectly — admit Bobby Kennedy taking hard look astatine the vaccine. There’s immoderate questions that person to beryllium made. And I admit immoderate of the scrutiny that’s going connected there. I deliberation Bobby tin reply each those and I person sat down and had agelong conversations with him and I really find the feline highly intelligent erstwhile it comes to this stuff," helium said. "And immoderate of the worldly does rise a batch of questions. But I bash got a question for you. The Democrats are spending truthful overmuch clip talking astir the scrutiny of President Trump’s picks and yet, did we walk this magnitude of clip scrutinizing Biden’s picks?"

"I mean, we tin speech astir Rachel [Levine], the adjunct caput of HHS. I deliberation that’s a beauteous arguable pick, from immoderate pronoun helium oregon she decides to use," Mullin continued.

Mullin besides raised concerns astir Sam Brinton, the "nonbinary" erstwhile apical Department of Energy authoritative nether Biden, who escaped jailhouse time aft being accused of stealing luggage from airports connected 3 abstracted occasions. 

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President Biden has faced GOP disapproval for immoderate of his administration's hirings. (Getty Images)

"I didn’t spot this aforesaid benignant of scrutiny that the Democrats utilized connected these idiosyncratic picks. There’s been a batch of picks. I mean we tin speech astir Pete Buttigieg. Is helium truly qualified to caput the Department of Transportation?" Mullin added.

As Mullin scolded the Democratic Party and media's messaging astir Trump's picks, Welker attempted to chopped in.

"Senator — clasp on, let's enactment —" Welker began.

"I don’t spot the aforesaid level of scrutiny," Mullin continued.

"We've scrutinized each of those picks, robustly," Welker changeable back, earlier returning to her question connected Kennedy.

Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary successful the Department of Health and Human Services. (Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images)

Biden's prime for adjunct HHS secretary, Rachel Levine, was the archetypal openly transgender national authoritative to beryllium confirmed by the Senate. Levine faced disapproval from Republicans connected assorted issues specified as sex alteration surgeries for minors and was labeled by a New York Post op-ed arsenic "America’s No.1 sex extremist."

Biden's Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, was appointed to the apical furniture presumption aft serving arsenic the politician of South Bend, Indiana, for 8 years, with immoderate questioning astatine the clip whether helium had capable related acquisition for the job. Since taking office, Republicans have amplified those concerns aft a bid of perceived missteps from Buttigieg, including the fallout from the proviso concatenation situation and the devastating bid derailment successful East Palestine, Ohio.

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller and Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.

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