Story highlights Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, mounting a bid to become DNC chair, criticized President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, expressing disapproval of his appointments

Ellison said he's "concerned" about Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions nomination for attorney general, and slammed the appointment of Stephen Bannon as a chief White House aide

(CNN) Rep. Keith Ellison sounded a defiant tone Monday when asked about giving President-elect Donald Trump a chance to succeed, saying that Trump "has already made it pretty clear where he's going with this thing" with his appointments so far.

"I am giving him a chance. He has selected [Stephen] Bannon, he's not talking about reform, he's bringing lobbyists in already," Ellison -- an emerging leader in the Democratic Party who is mounting a bid for Democratic National Committee chair -- said in an interview on "New Day."

"My thing is, yeah, we gave him a chance already. And he put in Bannon, he put in [ret. Lt. Gen. Michael] Flynn, and he put in Jeff Sessions," the Minnesota lawmaker continued, rattling off a list of hardliners and loyalists whom Trump has named to high-profile administration posts. "To me, he's already made it pretty clear where he's going with this thing."

Ellison zeroed in on the selection of Sessions for attorney general, saying that Sessions' failed confirmation as a federal judge under President Ronald Reagan is "really a problem."

"Let me just tell you, man, anybody who is rejected from a judgeship because of their record of racism, I just think you know you really got to be concerned about that," he said.

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