President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has been vetting potential members of his Cabinet for months, and the American public doesn't care if the FBI performs the background checks on Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and other nominees, Sen. Bill Hagerty said Sunday.
"What the American public cares about is to see the mandate they voted in delivered on," the Tennessee Republican told ABC News' "This Week," when asked about calls being made by some Republican senators for FBI background checks on Hegseth.
After former Rep. Matt Gaetz dropped out of contention for attorney general, the focus has turned on Hegseth, whose nomination to lead the Pentagon has been hit with a sexual misconduct controversy involving payments made to a woman who claims he allegedly assaulted her during a conference.
"Don't let these allegations distract us," Hagerty said Sunday. "What we need is real, significant change.
"The Pentagon has been more focused on pronouns than they have on lethality the past four years. We need to get back to business, and I think Pete is just the person to do it."
Further, he said that he is "certain that there was significant vetting" for every candidate through Trump's team.
The Trump transition team has not yet signed agreements to allow the FBI background checks that are standard practice for presidential nominees, such as Hegseth, who will require Senate confirmation.
Hagerty, though, told ABC's Jonathan Karl that Trump will fire the members of his administration who don't follow his agenda.
He also slammed the records of some of the current members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for their actions in connection with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
"They've not been held to account," Hagerty said. "President Trump will fire people that don't do their job well.
"I fully expect everybody coming into the Cabinet will listen to President Trump. They'll let him set the policy, and they'll execute according to that plan."
Other Trump nominees have faced criticism as well, including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
But Hagerty said Trump wants his nominees to be confirmed quickly, and that he wants the Senate to "have these hearings done quickly and expeditiously."
Hagerty added that he supports the use of recess appointments, which would allow Trump to put his Cabinet in office temporarily while Congress is out of session. But he said he has not spoken with the president-elect about whether that should be done if a nominee does not have enough GOP support to be confirmed.
"I haven't spoken with President Trump about the specific plans," he said. "What he wants to do is see these appointments made quickly.
"He wants to see us get through the confirmation process. And, again, I think everything should be on the table."