DHS pick Mullin boasts of ‘special assignments’ abroad but offers few details

The top Republican on the Senate committee considering Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to run the Department of Homeland Security criticized his “machismo” Wednesday and said he should “explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues” to lead the agency.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, used his opening statement at the confirmation hearing to launch a withering critique of Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, for saying he understood why Paul’s neighbor violently attacked him in 2017. Leaning forward on the dais, Paul chastised Mullin, saying he suffered six broken ribs and had part of his lung removed after the assault, which took place after Paul’s neighbor tackled him over a dispute about lawn care.

“You told the media that I was a freaking snake and that you completely understood why I’d been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain,” Paul told Mullin. “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?”

In his opening remarks minutes later, Mullin led off by addressing Paul’s criticism. He said he does not condone violence and said nobody should be attacked from behind, and acknowledged that he could be “blunt.” But he rejected Paul’s claims that he had failed to tell him that to his face.

“ I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise. I don’t like that. But if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I’ll come straight to you,” he said. “I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back. So for you to say I’m a liar, sir, that’s not accurate.”

Mullin did not apologize for his remarks about the assault, however, telling the committee, “I did not say I supported it; I said I understood it. There’s a difference.”

But Mullin said to Paul and the other committee members: “I can set it aside if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge.”

Paul’s sparring with Mullin set an early tone for the hearing. President Donald Trump nominated Mullin to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, who is set to leave the position at the end of the month after the president removed her amid growing bipartisan criticism of her oversight of the department.

Paul was not satisfied with Mullin’s response. In follow-up remarks, Paul said Mullin’s aggressive comments were part of a “pattern.” He then played a video compilation of Mullin acting or speaking aggressively, including a fiery 2023 exchange between Mullin and the leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sean O’Brien, when Mullin told the union leader at a Senate hearing to “stand your butt up,” before standing from his seat and appearing to remove his ring. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont defused the conflict and directed him to sit down.

“It’s really more about this machismo that you have,” Paul said. “Your anger, low impulse control, you know, causes you to then go after and decide that you’re going to go after me as well.”

Mullin noted that he had resolved his differences with O’Brien and that the two are now friends. O’Brien was seated behind Mullin at the hearing in a show of support.

Mullin said he did not know the extent of Paul’s injuries when he made the statements and did not think that anyone should be attacked from behind. He said he hoped they could set aside their political differences.

A Kentucky jury awarded Paul more than $580,000 after the senator sued his neighbor over the altercation. The neighbor separately was found guilty of one criminal count of assaulting a member of Congress and sentenced to 30 days in prison.

“You offer no apology, sir, and you offer no apology today and no regrets,” Paul told Mullin. “I haven’t heard the word apologize. Haven’t heard the word regret. Haven’t heard, ‘I misspoke, and it was heated, and I made a mistake.’ Haven’t heard any of those words.”

“ Actually, it wasn’t heated,” Mullin shot back. “And I’m not apologizing for pointing out your character.”

As chairman of a committee with eight Republicans and seven Democrats, Paul wields significant influence on Mullin’s nomination getting voted out of committee for the full Senate to consider. However, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), a committee member, is the lone Democrat who has publicly stated that he is likely to support Mullin, meaning his nomination could advance even if Paul opposes him.

Mullin has been a staunch defender of the Trump administration’s policies, including the war in Iran and the president’s mass-deportation agenda, which has led to many violent clashes with protesters; the shootings of immigrants and U.S. citizens; and the spraying of tear gas while making arrests in cities such as Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Mullin had also defended federal officers who shot and killed Renée Good, a mother of three, and ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, though at the hearing Wednesday he retracted comments he made blaming Pretti and Good for their deaths.

Fetterman, during his remarks at the hearing, said he empathized with Paul over the violence the GOP senator faced. But he noted that Mullin and O’Brien had patched up their own differences.

“It’s about letting go and moving on,” Fetterman said.