Rand Paul Calls Out Mullin’s ‘Anger Issues’ in Hostile Start to DHS Nominee’s Confirmation Process

Senator Rand Paul questioned how Senator Markwayne Mullin, whom he called a “man with anger issues,” would be able to successfully lead the Department of Homeland Security during a confirmation hearing for the DHS secretary hopeful on Wednesday. Paul then later confirmed he would vote against Mullin’s confirmation.

Paul opened the hearing by pointing to Mullin’s past involvement in a would-be “brawl” in the Senate committee, as well as Mullin’s suggestion that Paul may have deserved to be assaulted by his neighbor in 2017. That attack left Paul with six broken ribs and a damaged lung.

“You were confronted by constituents who were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs,” Paul told Mullin on Wednesday. “Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you ‘completely understood’ why I had 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 said. “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 went on to accuse Mullin of lying when he claimed to have told Paul to his face that he deserved the assault.

“That’s a lie,” Paul said. “You’ve got a chance today: you either can continue to lie or you can correct the record. You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified. So today, you’ll have your chance.”

As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and one of eight Republicans on the panel, Paul has considerable influence over Mullin’s confirmation process. Paul’s “no” vote could theoretically delay Mullin making it out of committee to a full Senate vote.

“A guy who brawls, a guy who can’t say he’s against violence against me… I don’t know how he could, from my point of view, be a leader of ICE or border patrol. I’ll be a no,” Paul said after the hearing.

Mullin does, however, appear to have the support of one of the panel’s seven Democrats, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, whose backing could make up for Paul’s opposition.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said following the hearing that he remains confident Mullin will be confirmed despite Paul’s opposition.

“Those two obviously have some history, and it’s, you know, personal stuff,” Thune told reporters. “They’ve got to work through it. I mean, in the end, this is about the job, and it’s about making sure that we got the right person there. I think Markwayne is the right person for the job.”

During the hearing on Wednesday, Paul also presented a video compilation of clips of Mullin praising violence. In 2023, Mullin challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to a fight during a Senate hearing.

Mullin’s comments about Paul came last month, at the McGrath Breakfast Group in Tulsa as he took questions from voters. 

“The question is why did I vote to give illegals more money? I didn’t. The president made it very clear he wanted appropriation bills passed. If any amendment passes, it kills the whole bill. Rand Paul’s amendment sounds good, right? The problem is Rand knew that if that bill passed, it would kill the other eleven appropriation bills, which would throw us into the shutdown,” Mullin replied.

He said he had to vote against it “because if it would have passed, not only would it have killed the bill, but it would also have killed the farm bill which is tied to social programs.” He accused Paul of trying to “kill the farm bill because he’s trying to legalize hemp for drinks in Kentucky because of tobacco industry shifts.”

“I respect Bernie Sanders because he’s an open socialist, and you know that he’s a communist so you know what you’re getting,” he went on to say. “Rand Paul’s a freaking snake. And I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did. And I told him that to his face. It stirred people up like Cheryl (Mullin’s wife), who don’t know the backstory. And then that night Rand sends out a fundraising letter on it. It’s a gimmick.”

Paul’s 2017 attack, which was reportedly over Paul raking leaves near the dividing line between the two properties, resulted in the attacker being sentenced to 30 days in jail. Paul’s assailant was also ordered to pay him more than $500,000 in damages as the result of a civil lawsuit.

Paul has been vocally against Mullin’s confirmation as DHS secretary, and behind closed doors, he blocked Senator Katie Britt (R., Al.) from introducing Mullin at his confirmation hearing, NR confirmed.

Mullin, for his part, defended himself in comments at the hearing on Wednesday, maintaining he had, in fact, told Paul to his face that he deserved the attack.

“Sir, I think everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt, direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” he said, adding that during his time in the U.S. House, “We actually did have this conversation, because remarks that I made – you were in a room, I simply addressed that I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I could understand why the neighbor did what he did.”

“As far as my terms and snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,” he said.

“For you to say I’m a liar, sir, that’s not accurate,” he added. 

While he acknowledged he and Paul “don’t get along,” Mullin suggested that does not, and would not, keep him from performing his job. 

“I can have difference of opinions with everybody in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland I’ll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma. It’s bigger than the partisan bickering that we have,” he said.

Mullin was tapped by President Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security after the president fired the outgoing DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, after a tumultuous period for the agency that included two highly-scrutinized agent-involved shootings in Minnesota.

Paul has scheduled a committee vote on Mullin’s nomination for Thursday.