The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted Thursday to advance Senator Markwayne Mullin's nomination to serve as the next Homeland Security secretary, with Democratic Senator John Fetterman crossing party lines to give Mullin the deciding vote.
Mullin was able to overcome staunch opposition from committee Chair Rand Paul (R., Ky.), who questioned the Oklahoma Republican's fitness for the role, describing him as "a man with anger issues."
Now that Mullin’s nomination has successfully advanced out of committee, he is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate despite opposition from Democrats who have raised questions about an overseas trip Mullin says he took to a combat zone several years ago. Senate Democrats have demanded that Mullin provide details about the mysterious trip but the nominee insists that he was traveling on behalf of the House of Representatives and that the trip was classified.
Paul opened Mullin's confirmation hearing on Wednesday by pointing to Mullin's past involvement in a would-be "brawl" in the Senate committee, as well as his suggestion that Paul may have deserved to be assaulted by his neighbor in 2017. That attack left Paul with six broken ribs and a damaged lung.
"A guy who brawls, a guy who can't say he's against violence against me… I don't know how he could, from my point of view, be a leader of ICE or border patrol. I'll be a no," Paul said after the hearing.
But Mullin's nomination was still able to advance out of the committee in an 8-7 vote after Fetterman broke with fellow Democrats to give Mullin the needed vote.
"We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation's security," Fetterman said on social media on Thursday.
Other Democrats agreed with Paul’s position that Mullin was unfit to lead the agency, with Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, saying he believed Mullin lacked the experience and “temperament” to take on the role.
Paul told Mullin during the hearing on Wednesday that he was “shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain, and my family so much pain."
"I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” he added.
"You were confronted by constituents who were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs," Paul said. "Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a 'freaking snake' and that you 'completely understood' why I had been assaulted."
Mullin's comments about Paul came last month, at the McGrath Breakfast Group in Tulsa as he took questions from voters.
"The question is why did I vote to give illegals more money? I didn't. The president made it very clear he wanted appropriation bills passed. If any amendment passes, it kills the whole bill. Rand Paul's amendment sounds good, right? The problem is Rand knew that if that bill passed, it would kill the other eleven appropriation bills, which would throw us into the shutdown," Mullin replied.
He said he had to vote against it "because if it would have passed, not only would it have killed the bill, but it would also have killed the farm bill which is tied to social programs." He accused Paul of trying to "kill the farm bill because he's trying to legalize hemp for drinks in Kentucky because of tobacco industry shifts."
"I respect Bernie Sanders because he's an open socialist, and you know that he's a communist so you know what you're getting," he went on to say. "Rand Paul's a freaking snake. And I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did. And I told him that to his face. It stirred people up like Cheryl (Mullin's wife), who don't know the backstory. And then that night Rand sends out a fundraising letter on it. It's a gimmick."
Paul's 2017 attack, which was reportedly over Paul raking leaves near the dividing line between the two properties, resulted in the attacker being sentenced to 30 days in jail. Paul's assailant was also ordered to pay him more than $500,000 in damages as the result of a civil lawsuit.
Paul went on to accuse Mullin of lying when he claimed to have told Paul to his face that he deserved the assault.
"That's a lie," Paul said. "You've got a chance today: you either can continue to lie or you can correct the record. You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified. So today, you'll have your chance."
During the hearing on Wednesday, Paul also presented a video compilation of clips of Mullin praising violence. In 2023, Mullin challenged Sean O'Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to a fight during a Senate hearing.
Mullin, for his part, defended himself in comments at the hearing, maintaining he had, in fact, told Paul to his face that he deserved the attack.
"Sir, I think everybody in this room knows that I'm very blunt, direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I'll say it directly to your face," he said, adding that during his time in the U.S. House, "We actually did have this conversation, because remarks that I made – you were in a room, I simply addressed that I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I could understand why the neighbor did what he did."
"As far as my terms and snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I've worked with many people in this room. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us," he said.
"For you to say I'm a liar, sir, that's not accurate," he added.
Mullin was tapped by President Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security after the president fired the outgoing DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, after a tumultuous period for the agency that included two highly-scrutinized agent-involved shootings in Minnesota.
DHS officials are quietly optimistic that Mullin will work better with senior DHS officials like White House Border Czar Tom Homan and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, than his controversial predecessor.
Mullin said during his hearing that his goal is for the department not to be a leading story every day.
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