Senate panel advances Mullin nomination to lead DHS after testy hearing

Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee despite reservations from Democrats as well as the committee’s Republican chair.

The roughly 3-minute meeting was a whirlwind process after a testy hearing just one day prior in which Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) repeatedly pressed Mullin on past comments referring to the chair as a snake and questioned whether the Oklahoma Republican had the correct temperament to lead the sprawling department.

Paul made clear Wednesday he planned to vote no on Mullin, a declaration that would have otherwise sunk his nomination had the Oklahoma senator not received the backing of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), allowing him to move forward on a 8-7 vote.

Only ranking member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) spoke during Thursday’s meeting, saying Wednesday’s hearing made clear Mullin did not have the temperament to lead a turnaround of an agency criticized for aggressive immigration enforcement.

He argued Mullin had displayed a history of aggression, from threatening to fight Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien at a past hearing, to remarking that he understood why Paul’s neighbor violently attacked him.

“At his confirmation hearing yesterday, we saw that, unfortunately, Senator Mullin is not up to that challenge. When I heard President Trump would be nominating Senator Mullin, I kept an open mind. However, throughout the nomination process, he has failed to be forthright and transparent. Senator Mullin also showed that he doesn’t have the experience or the temperament to lead this critical department,” Peters said.

“I’m very troubled by Senator Mullin’s willingness to condone political violence and the message that that sends across DHS, and we’re not talking about an isolated lapse in judgment after Senator Mullin attempted to physically fight a witness at a Senate hearing in 2023.”

Peters said the Senate Ethics Committee at the time concluded Mullin “advocated physical violence as a means to resolve political disagreement.”

“There will be no shortage of political disagreements facing the next DHS Secretary 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.”

The lack of candor referenced by Peters was a nod to Mullin’s unwillingness to offer details about a past trip abroad, a line of questioning that came about as Peters pressed Mullin to explain past comments that implied the nominee had been in active combat.

“Where did you ‘smell war,’ sir?” Peters asked during the hearing.

Mullin repeatedly described the trip, taken while he was a lawmaker, as being classified.

But Peters said when he checked with national security agencies, none of them had a record of classified travel where Mullin was mentioned.

“I don’t know how that reconciles,” Peters said.

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