(NewsNation) — Following the Republican debate on Wednesday, Sen Tommy Tuberville told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas he’s still backing former President Donald Trump.

Tuberville rejected the candidates on stage as career politicians, saying what the country needs is an outsider to lead in Washington.

He also defended Trump’s ability to hold office after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Trump unfit for office and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised questions about Trump’s age.

“He’s a lot more mentally fit probably than me. And I’m a lot younger,” Tuberville said.

Tuberville dismissed the four separate court cases Trump is facing. accusing Democrats of going after Trump because he stands for the Constitution.

Tuberville recently ended his hold on 400 military promotions, which he refused to allow the Senate to confirm over his objections to a Pentagon policy on abortion. He blamed the length of the hold on Democrats who would not negotiate.

“But I started this hold a year ago. I thought this would last two or three weeks,” he said.

Tuberville referred to the policy as taxpayer funding for abortions. The military does not pay for abortions but does pay the travel cost for service members who are stationed in states where abortion is restricted if they need to go to another state for reproductive care.

While Tuberville’s hold on promotions has ended, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is now holding up a smaller number of promotions over the candidates’ views on diversity, equity and inclusion.