Late. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined Newsmax on Thursday and was asked to weigh in on the president-elect Donald Trumps controversial nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be his attorney general.

Cruz did not offer his support to Gaetz, insisting that a confirmation hearing take place to judge Gaetz’s “merit,” despite Trump’s insistence that his nominees be pushed through as recess appointments.

Newsline anchor Bianca de la Garza Cruz asked Gaetz“The question is, will he make it through confirmation? Will you vote to confirm him? What do you think of him as an election? Because Trump put that out there about the truth and said he’s going to root out the corruption at the DOJ. He wants honesty, integrity, transparency. Are you on board with him as Attorney General, Senator Cruz?”

“Well, I think it’s extremely important that we root out the partisan bias that under Joe Biden has infected the Justice Department, as it infected the FBI. Joe Biden has weaponized our law enforcement and used it to target his political enemies. It 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 gives advice and consent. And I trust that process. The nominee, like any other will, will have intensive scrutiny, will have confirmation hearings. And each nominee will be judged on merit.

I will say that it was a choice that I think was very surprising to the entire Senate. So we will judge the nominee on merit. But there is a process that will be developed that examines a particular nominee’s background, their experience and their suitability for a role.

Cruz was caught off guard when de la Garza followed up, “So you keep an open mind. We know that Mike Lee from Utah, with whom you sit on the Judiciary Committee, was also on the list. What do you think about 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 follows the law, that has integrity, that is constitutional, and that has the courage to root out the incredible bias and gunmanship that has plagued this DOJ,” Cruz responded, adding:

Look, I’m a Justice Department alumnus, and the DOJ has a long, long tradition of being non-partisan, following the law regardless of anyone’s party. And it must return to that tradition. And it will take very strong leadership by the Justice Department to get there.

Watch the clip above via Newsmax.

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