Rand Paul Presses Markwayne Mullin in Heated DHS Confirmation Hearing

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, faced a tense confirmation hearing Wednesday, with the sharpest questioning coming from a fellow Republican, committee Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky, according to CBS News and NPR. Trump nominated Mullin to replace Kristi Noem, who Trump said earlier this month would leave the job at the end of the month, CBS News reported.

Paul opened with a statement on political violence, recalling the 2017 assault on him in his yard that left him with broken ribs and a damaged lung, CBS News reported. He said Mullin had called him a “freaking snake” and told the media he understood why a neighbor attacked him. “You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted,” Paul said, adding that Mullin had never said so to his face. Paul asked why the public should trust “a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.” He later played a compilation of Mullin’s combative past remarks, including a 2023 Senate hearing in which Mullin challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight, NPR and CBS News reported. O’Brien, who has since made amends with Mullin, sat in the audience in support, NPR said.

Mullin did not apologize, CBS News reported. He said he had meant that he could understand the neighbor’s action given Paul’s behavior, said Paul “fights Republicans more than you work with us,” and accused him of spending money against his campaigns. But he also said he would set aside “partisan bickering” to “earn the job.” “Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge. And I also admit when I’m wrong,” Mullin said, per NPR. Paul asked that the record reflect “a lack of contrition.”

Scrutiny was not only from one side. NPR reported that Paul and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., both raised questions about Mullin’s foreign travel, including trips to places where, as Mullin put it, he “smelled” war, and why they were not disclosed on federal reports. A source told CBS News that Paul blocked Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who leads the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, from introducing Mullin. “I’m really disappointed,” Britt told reporters, saying she would submit her remarks for the record.

The hearing came at a difficult time for the department. NPR reported that an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota brought protests and the deaths of two U.S. citizens, and that the agency is shut down as Democrats press for changes to how immigration officers operate. Trump’s post announcing the nomination said Mullin would “Keep our Border Secure,” per NPR.

Even if Paul votes no, Democratic committee member John Fetterman has said he will support Mullin, so the nomination is likely to move to the full Senate, where a simple majority is needed, CBS News reported. NPR reported that Fetterman told the hearing his experience with Mullin had been “consistent kindness and professionalism.”