‘One of the Most Ridiculous Statements I’ve Ever Heard,’ Sen. Blumenthal Slams Tuberville’s Comments on Vetting Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) strongly rebuked his colleague, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), after the Alabama Republican suggested it wasn’t his party’s responsibility to vet President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks. Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, made the comments during an interview on CNN, claiming that Trump had already done the necessary vetting for nominees like Pete Hegseth.

“Donald Trump did all the vetting they needed to do on Pete Hegseth, and I just can’t believe we even have people on our side who are saying, ‘Well I’ve gotta look at this, gotta look at that,’” Tuberville told CNN’s Manu Raju. “What they’re doing is they’re throwing rocks at Donald Trump, they’re not throwing them at Pete Hegseth…that’s not our job to do that, that’s the Democrats.”

The remarks sparked immediate outrage from Blumenthal, who questioned the Republican senator’s understanding of his constitutional duties. Appearing on CNN’s The Source, Blumenthal didn’t mince words, calling Tuberville’s comments “one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever seen or heard.”

“The reason is quite simply, the Constitution does beg to differ,” Blumenthal continued, emphasizing that senators are sworn to provide “advice and consent” on presidential nominees. Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, underscored that part of a senator’s responsibility is to thoroughly evaluate the qualifications of every nominee, regardless of the president’s endorsement.

Blumenthal further argued that Tuberville’s stance violated the senator’s oath of office: “We take an oath not to a president, but to the Constitution, and I think that any senator who says I’m just going to vote in favor of whoever the president sends up because the president has vetted him enough, is really violating their oath of office.”

The Connecticut senator also pointed out that Trump has bypassed the traditional FBI background checks for many of his nominees, calling on the Senate committee to “insist on it.” This practice, Blumenthal argued, further highlights the importance of senators doing their due diligence to protect the integrity of the nomination process.