Senate committee advances Markwayne Mullin's nomination for DHS secretary
CBSN
Washington — The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security, setting up a vote before the full chamber as early as next week. Alan He contributed to this report.
Washington — The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security, setting up a vote before the full chamber as early as next week.
In an 8 to 7 vote, the committee advanced Mullin's nomination. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the committee's chairman, was the sole Republican to vote against advancing the nomination. But support from Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania allowed the nomination to move forward.
The vote came after Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, appeared before the committee for a confirmation hearing a day earlier. The hearing immediately grew heated when Paul called out Mullin for allegedly calling him a "freaking snake," along with saying he understood why a neighbor attacked Paul in 2017. The Kentucky Republican questioned whether "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."
Mullin responded, telling Paul "we just don't get along," while accusing him of fighting with Republicans more frequently than working with them. But Mullin said differences of opinion won't keep him from doing his job if confirmed as DHS secretary.
Leaving the hearing Wednesday, it remained unclear whether the committee vote would move forward amid confusion over an overseas work trip that Mullin said was classified. Paul suggested that he could delay the vote if the issue over the classified trip wasn't resolved, but Mullin agreed to speak with senators in a secure location about the work he said he did while he was a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. After the meeting, GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said the matter involved a "non disclosure dealing with a whistle blower." He added that it was"mountain, molehill stuff."
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