On Sunday, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told moderator Kristen Welker that former President John F. Kennedy had previously appointed his brother, in response to a question about whether President-elect Donald Trump should try to keep the Justice Department independent from the White House. Robert F. Kennedy as attorney general and Trump “can pick whoever he wants.”
“I think that John F. Kennedy appointed his younger brother Bobby as the attorney general. “The president is going to pick whoever he wants,” Barrasso told Kristen Welker, host of NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We will have hearings on the president’s nomination as attorney general of the United States. I look forward to these discussions and hearings,” Barrasso added. “With the majority we have in the Senate, I look forward to moving quickly to get the president’s office in place so that he can begin work on January 20.”
His response comes days after Trump is predicted to retake the White House, strengthening Republican control of the presidency and Senate.
Since the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, presidential administrations have typically sought to give the Justice Department relative independence from the White House, even though the attorney general is a political appointee.
Barrasso also spoke about Trump’s agenda, which favors a grand plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States.
On Thursday, Trump told NBC News in a phone call that “it has no price” when it comes to implementing the plan.
“It’s not about the price tag. It’s not – we really have no choice. When people kill and kill, when drug lords destroy countries, and now they will return to those countries because they are no longer here. There’s no price tag,” said President-elect Welkere.
On Sunday, Barrasso dodged questions about whether there would be limits on how much Trump could spend on the deportation plan.
“I agree that there is no price tag for protecting the safety and security of our country and our citizens. President Trump is going to implement the law, and we haven’t had anything like that in the last four years,” the senator said when asked if he agreed with the lack of a “price tag” on Trump’s plan.
Barrasso added that Trump’s deportation plan was part of what made him a successful president, telling Welker, “If you look at it … the number of people who support deporting these individuals is the vast majority of Americans, and I believe that.” the president’s success had a lot to do with his landslide victory in last Tuesday’s election.
Pressing more about the price tag of this plan, which could be in the billions of dollars, Barrasso continued to promote Trump’s plan without directly answering the question, saying, “I agree with the president about where we should start. We have to start with the people who committed crimes, stayed in this country, stayed in this country, are on the watch list of terrorists, convicted of murder and rape in other countries, who call it crime. This is the place to start in this country. This is where President Trump is going to start.”
Barrasso, a doctor who specializes in orthopedics, also dodged questions about whether he would support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccinator and fluoride skeptic serving in the Trump White House.
“Well, I’m not going to comment on anybody because President Trump hasn’t nominated anyone in that direction yet,” the senator said.
A few weeks before Election Day, Kennedy who has a long history of spreading demonstrable falsehoods said about vaccines was in line to play A health care leadership role in the next Trump administration, one thing Trump did not deny.
On the eve of the election, Trump said that Kennedy’s “plays a major role in management” if the election goes his way, adding that he would be open to Kennedy’s more controversial ideas, such as banning certain vaccines or removing fluoride from the US water system.
“He’s a very talented guy and he has strong vision,” Trump said during the campaign that week, adding that Kennedy “can do anything he wants to do.”
After the election, Kennedy told NBC News that he “take someone‘etc. vaccines“, he added, “if vaccines work for someone, I’m not going to take them away. People should have a choice.”