GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin defends RFK Jr. on vaccines, says he supports recess appointments as a last resort

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., on Sunday defended Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, saying that Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, is "extremely intelligent when it comes to" vaccines and questioned levels of autism in the United States.

"I've sat down and had a long conversation with [Kennedy], and I actually find the guy extremely intelligent when it comes to this stuff. And some of this stuff does raise a lot of questions," Mullin told NBC News' "Meet the Press" when asked whether Kennedy's history of questioning the efficacy of vaccines is a deal-breaker for the Oklahoma senator.

"I have said that there's some positives to vaccinations. I've also questioned the vaccines multiple times, and I think they should be questioned," Mullin told moderator Kristen Welker before baselessly linking vaccines to autism, something that Kennedy has repeatedly done for years, even though there is no evidence that vaccines cause the condition.

"For instance, why is America highest in autism? What is causing that? Is it our diet, or is it some of the stuff we're putting in our children's system?" Mullin said, adding: "What is causing that? And if it isn't vaccines, there's nothing wrong with actually taking a hard look and finding out, is that's what's causing it? Is it something else that we're putting in our systems? We do know we're not as healthy as we should be right now."

While it is true that autism spectrum disorder has been diagnosed at increasing levels "most years since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking ASD in 2000," according to the CDC , the agency notes that "the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASD."

The agency points to two studies , one from the National Academy of Medicine and one from the CDC that found that vaccines do not cause autism. The first reviewed the safety of eight individual vaccines for children and adults. The second study reviewed antigens given to children during the first two years of life. Both studies found that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.

Kennedy has a long history of baselessly questioning the efficacy of vaccines and has also promoted conspiracy theories about fluoride, heavy metals in food and pesticides.

Mullin also spoke on Sunday about some of Trump's other cabinet nominees, like former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who was nominated to be the next attorney general, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who was selected to be the next secretary of defense.

Mullin agreed that he and Gaetz, who once served together in the House, "have had our differences," but he added, "Moving forward, I do, I do respect President Trump's right to appoint these individuals. But underneath Article Two, Section Two [of the U.S. Constitution], Congress has to advise and consent, and Matt Gaetz is going to go through the same scrutiny as every other individual, and I'm going to give him a fair shot, just like every individual."

Gaetz has long faced scrutiny from his colleagues and outsiders about a years-long federal investigation launched by the Department of Justice , looking into allegations that he may have been involved in human trafficking or had sex with a minor.

Gaetz has denied the allegations and the investigation ended with the Justice Department opting not to charge him.

The House Ethics Committee launched its own investigation into Gaetz, but with his resignation from the House this week, it is unclear whether their report will ever be publicly released.

Several senators, on both sides of the aisle, have asked to see the report as they consider how to vote on Gaetz's nomination and others still are skeptical that Gaetz will ever garner enough votes to be confirmed.

Last week, an attorney for the 17-year-old who said she had sex with Gaetz while she was a minor called on the committee to release, writing in a post on X that "she was a high school student and there were witnesses" when the alleged incident occurred.

Also last week, a lawyer for another woman interviewed by the committee said that his client "testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Rep. Gaetz having sex with a minor at a house party in Orlando in 2017."

On Sunday, Mullin told Welker that the findings in the report "should be definitely part of our decision making" as the Senate weighs whether to confirm Gaetz.

"I believe the, I believe the Senate should have access to that. Now, should it be released to the public or not? That, that's, I guess that will be part of the negotiations, but that should be definitely part of our decision making," Mullin said.

He also defended Hegseth, who is facing a newly-resurfaced allegation of sexual assault. Hegseth has denied the allegation and has not been charged with a crime.

In a statement to NBC News, Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth's attorney, denied the allegations but confirmed payments made to the accuser, saying in a statement that, "This is a situation where a consensual encounter occurred and, unfortunately, the woman had to come up with a lie to explain why the woman had not come back to her husband's room that night. It wasn't reported until days later until there was pressure from her husband. It was fully investigated by police and video surveillance as well as multiple eyewitness statements show that she was the aggressor."

"Mr. Hegseth is completely innocent. It wasn't until a couple of years later after she lost her job that she began trying to squeeze Mr. Hegseth for money," Parlatore added. "In 2023, Hegseth paid the complainant as part of a civil confidential settlement agreement and maintains his innocence."

"I think he's a good pick," Mullin told Welker. "But once again, as allegations come out, we'll figure out if, as, as the Senate moves forward with the advise and consent to the President of the United States and doing our constitutional duties, we'll figure out if he can get confirmed or not, and, and I do think that Pete's a good pick for this position."

Mullin also indicated that he would support Trump pursuing confirmation of some of his picks via the recess appointment process, something that Trump said he would ask of the Senate majority leader in a post on Truth Social before Senate Republicans elected Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as their new majority leader last week.

A recess appointment process would allow the president to place the House and Senate into recess so that he could appoint his nominees without having to go through the traditional Senate confirmation process.

It's something that the Senate strives to avoid, and it's why the chamber gavels into pro forma sessions even while it's in recess.

Mullin acknowledged that it is a "very difficult" process and recalled that President Barack Obama tried to use the recess appointment process and was rebuked by the Supreme Court.

"It'd be the absolute last resort," Mullin told Welker. "But if that's what we have to do to get the confirmation through, then absolutely, let's do it. But I would say that would be last option."