Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville asserted on Monday that his Republican Senate peers who oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees are going against the desires of their own voters, who supported Trump at the polls.

“I don’t understand it,” he said in a Monday phone interview with The Daily Wire. “The American people gave him a mandate. This is his team now. He needs the opportunity to put the people around him that are gonna help him with his agenda. Who are we to say that we know more about these people than Trump?”

He pointed out that numerous senators, including several Republicans, do not support Trump.

“I went through the first process with Biden when I first got here,” he added. “There were zero Democrats that voted against any of his nominees. Zero. We got three or four of these nominees fighting to get all the Republican votes. They’re fighting hard and they’re having to go see senators more than once. It makes no sense to me whatsoever.”

Tuberville appeared to be referencing Pete Hegseth’s second meeting with Republican Senator Joni Ernst (IA) on Monday. Hegseth has become one of Trump’s most contentious nominees, facing numerous allegations from Democrats and the media concerning sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Tuberville asserted that because Trump personally selected his nominees, Republicans should support his choices.

“We’ve got people in the Republican side, for some reason they’re trying to push the envelope too much,” he said. “I’m gonna take President Trump’s word that the people he picked are vetted, and they’re the type of people that he needs, but it’s just hard to watch what’s going on up here because it’s Republicans versus the Democrats, and the media and they gang up on us up here.”

“But again, everybody’s got to make their own decision,” he commented. “These senators that are representing these states that President Trump won very easily, I think that to me that says, hey, give him the team he wants and let him go with it because we’re not gonna have very long. We’re gonna have a 2 years. It’s gonna be very tough and he needs people fighting for him on every side to beat the Democrats, right?”

Ernst said Monday evening that she would “support Pete” through the confirmation process.

When asked why Democrats so often show more unity than Republicans, Tuberville responded: “I’d say the leadership.”

“You got leadership in the Democratic side that basically says you vote this way or it’s gonna be the highway. You won’t get any campaign money or you’re gonna be, you’re gonna be primaried. On our side, you’re your own person, which you should be. But for instance, I represent the people of Alabama. I don’t represent me and the people sent me up here and I looked at the amount of votes that President Trump got out of Alabama…I’m on President Trump’s side.”