Trump DHS pick Markwayne Mullin advances despite Rand Paul ‘no’ vote
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul stood by his criticism of Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-OK, but couldn’t stop Trump’s Homeland Security pick from advancing out of his own committee.
Mullin’s confirmation as Secretary of Homeland Security advanced in a narrow 8-7 vote from the Committee on Homeland Security, which Paul chairs. Paul was the only Republican to vote against Mullin’s confirmation; if the rest of the committee had voted on party line, Mullin’s nomination wouldn’t have advanced, but Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted to confirm Mullin.
Fetterman said Mullin has displayed “consistent kindness and professionalism” during their tenures.
Paul sang a much different tune during Wednesday’s hearing, grilling Mullin hard over comments he’d made about Paul.
Mullin called Paul a “freakin’ snake” at a political event in Oklahoma and justified a 2017 attack on Paul that left the Kentucky senator with six broken ribs and a severely damaged lung.
Paul is a skeptic of use of force by federal immigration agents, who killed two people in Minnesota this winter. He tied Mullin’s comments to the actions of officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection, which are agencies under the purview of DHS.
“You told the media that I was ‘a freakin‘ snake‘, and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked 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,” Paul said.
Paul also criticized Mullin’s “sheer lack of self-awareness,” particularly as he seeks to lead an agency with more than 260,000 employees. Trump fired Noem on March 5 following criticism of her handling of the killings in Minnesota, questionable spending and personal issues.
Democrats at a brief hearing to vote Thursday added that they thought Mullin’s conduct was unbecoming for an agency head, citing a dust-up he had with a union leader in 2023. That union leader, Sean O’Brien, has since made amends with Mullin and was on hand as a character witness for Mullin’s Wednesday hearing.
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, criticized Mullin Thursday for “advocating physical violence as a means to resolve political disagreement.”
“There will be no shortage of political disagreements facing the next DHS Secretary,” he said. “The department and the American people deserve a leader who is steady and proven under pressure, not just someone better than the very low bar set by his predecessor.”
Mullin’s nomination now moves onto the full Senate, where a simple majority vote is required to confirm him to the post. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate.
Democrats have blocked federal funding to DHS absent significant reforms in the wake of the Minnesota killings. As a result, the department’s funding lapsed on Feb. 14, leaving airport security workers — the Transportation Security Administration is under the Department of Homeland Security — without pay for the past month. Airports across the country are reporting travel delays as a result.
