Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday accused President Barack Obama’s pick for surgeon general of not being a “health care professional” because the doctor had backed a ban on military-style assault rifles.

During an interview on CNN, host Candy Crowley pointed out that the surgeon general should “voice” of public health during the Ebola crisis, but Republicans in the Senate had blocked the appointment of Dr. Vivek Murthy.

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“Of course we should have a surgeon general in place,” Cruz told Crowley. “And we don’t have one because President Obama, instead of nominating a health professional, he nominated someone who is an anti-gun activist.”

“And a doctor,” Crowley pointed out. “That’s a health professional.”

“He’s a doctor,” Cruz admitted. “Where he’s made his name is as a crusader against Second Amendment rights, and as a consequence, he didn’t have the votes among Republicans or Democrats.”

“And so was it a mistake for the president to nominate an extreme partisan on an issue that is not connected to public health?” the Texas senator added. “Yes, that was a mistake.”

Watch the video below from CNN’s State of the Union, broadcast Oct. 19, 2014.