ICYMI: Senator Coons highlights Senate’s crucial role in confirmations during Fox News Sunday interview

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream this weekend to express his concerns about several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominations and warned against efforts to bypass the Senate's advice and consent role by using recess appointments.

This past week, Trump announced several cabinet picks for his future administration, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as Attorney General, and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii to be Director of National Intelligence.

While Senator Coons discussed his willingness to meet with President-elect Trump's nominees to discuss their positions and qualifications and spoke positively about Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been nominated to be Secretary of State, he made clear that he expects the Senate to carry out its constitutional role of advice and consent to ensure the nominees will be able to manage their departments and advance the interests of the American people.

Senator Coons: You introduced me, Shannon, as someone who will get a chance to vote on all of these nominations. I certainly hope that's the case and that we won't see nominees jammed through in recess appointments where there's no confirmation hearing, no confirmation vote, and they take over incredibly powerful positions for up to two years.

Of course, I'd be willing to meet with President-elect Trump's nominees. I did the previous time he was president. I voted on many of them, and I look forward to meeting with RFK Jr. I have to say, though, that his long record of being an anti-vaccine campaigner gives me real pause and concern. That would be the first thing I would ask him about, because the fact that American children are vaccinated against things like measles, mumps and rubella keeps us safe and saves millions of lives a year. So, getting to the bottom of his real views on a wide range of issues - from vaccines to dietary supplements to the research work of CDC, NIH and FDA, and whether he's pro-choice or pro-life - all of that would be important for us to get some clarity on.

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Shannon Bream: Do you think that all Republicans, all 53 of them once you flip into the new year - if that McCormick seat holds, as we expect in the midst of this recount - do you think all of them would vote to adjourn the Senate? Do you think there are some Republican colleagues of yours who would say 'we're not going to adjourn the Senate and go along with this recess end-run?'

Senator Coons: Likely yes, Shannon, because they understand our constitutional role. We're a check and balance. We're there to be a guardrail. You cited earlier a Wall Street Journal editorial that said, frankly, if you take the confirmation process out, and you only put people in the cabinet as a result of recess appointments, then there's a real risk that future administrations - future presidents - will jam in increasingly marginal characters who are there because of their popularity or their celebrity or what they've said, but who lack the requisite skill and experience, policy views and character to lead what are huge and significant federal agencies. I agree with that view.

The full interview can be watched here.