Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax Thursday that all of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for his incoming administration are holding up well against Democrat attacks at their confirmation hearings.
"I think all the nominees did great," Johnson said on "Wake Up America," referring to Wednesday's hearings. "President Trump selected individuals that are intelligent, that are articulate, and that are fighting. And they fight pleasantly. You'll notice that none of them have really taken the bait of, sort of, just the nastiness of the Democrats."
Johnson said that he finds it "galling" to listen to his Democrat colleagues during the confirmation hearings "wondering whether Trump's Justice Department is going to be weaponized against his political opponents."
"That is what they have been doing, quite honestly, throughout President Trump's first term, certainly during President [Joe] Biden's term," he said. "It's a classic tactic of the left to falsely accuse your political opponent of exactly what it is you do."
On Wednesday, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., accused Russell Vought, Trump's pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, of abusing the National Emergency Act by transferring funds to build the border security wall in Trump's first term. Seemingly unfazed, Vought calmly explained the authorization that allowed him to make the transfer.
When asked if Democrats will change their tactics when questioning nominees, Johnson said, "No, they'll continue to be nasty."
"Notice what they're not concerned about is the fact that in 2019, we spent $4.4 trillion, and now for the last five years, we've averaged $6.5 trillion," he said. "We've increased the size of government by $2.1 trillion on average, and right now we're spending $7 trillion. So that's $2.6 trillion higher. Democrats have no concern about that. What they're concerned about is a dispute over 'did they properly transfer money within the Defense Department to build the fence to keep America secure.' That's what Democrats are concerned about."
Department of Homeland Security secretary nominee Kristi Noem's confirmation hearing is set for Friday, and Johnson said he's expecting more of the combative lines of questioning he's seen from Democrats throughout the hearings so far.
"Democrats are nasty," he said. "They play politics. It's a blood sport to them. All they want to do is grow the size of government, and for some reason, they're dedicated to open borders. But, obviously, America is not. I think it's one of the main issues, one of the main reasons President Trump won is his primary pledge was to secure the border. What we'll hear from Gov. Noem is exactly how she and President Trump and [incoming border czar] Tom Homan plan to secure it."
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