Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination as Homeland Security secretary remains on track for rapid-fire action this week, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Wednesday — despite his own sharp misgivings about Mullin’s fitness for office.
As chair of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Paul holds Mullin’s confirmation hopes in his hands. He questioned in stark terms whether his fellow Republican has the temperament to run DHS after Mullin expressed sympathy for a man who attacked and severely injured Paul in 2017, then cast further doubt on his nomination when he demanded answers Wednesday about a secretive overseas trip Mullin took as a House member a decade ago.
But after a combative public hearing and a separate classified meeting to discuss the travel concerns, Paul indicated he would proceed “as of now” with a committee vote on Mullin Thursday.
“We’ll let you know if it changes,” he said in a Fox News interview Wednesday.
While Paul confirmed to reporters after the hearing that he would oppose Mullin’s confirmation, he also made clear he would not use his considerable power to block his colleague from succeeding Kristi Noem atop the sprawling and controversy-prone Department of Homeland Security.
Other Republicans lined up Wednesday to praise Mullin as a trusted friend and colleague. Because the Homeland Security panel is closely split, Paul’s opposition could tank Mullin’s nomination if the vote falls on party lines, but at least one Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, appeared open to supporting him.
“At this point, I think he’ll get Democrat votes, and so I think he probably, if I had to guess, will probably still win without my vote,” Paul said in the Fox news interview.
If Mullin wins committee approval Thursday, his nomination is set to hit the Senate floor next week for confirmation ahead of a two-week recess, according to two people granted anonymity to describe internal plans.
Paul’s comments came after questions about Mullin’s shadowy travel history threatened to derail the planned committee vote.
Mullin was questioned extensively about the matter Wednesday by Paul and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security panel.
Testifying under oath Wednesday, Mullin said he participated in what he described as “official travel” and a “classified trip” as part of a “special program inside the House” that went from 2015 to 2016. He said he was not a member of the House Intelligence Committee at the time and refused to answer further questions outside of a classified setting.
The attention on the matter came after Peters raised questions about Mullin’s past claims suggesting he had traveled to war zones and had first-hand exposure to combat environments despite his lack of a military background.
After the hearing adjourned Wednesday afternoon, Mullin joined members of the committee in the Senate’s classified briefing facility.
“It makes people curious when you say, I’m doing secret missions for somebody, but I won’t tell you who,” Paul told reporters after the hearing.
Mullin said only four people were “read into” the program in question and declined to say publicly what agencies or committees were involved.
“It’s a little difficult for us to go ask about a program that has no name and we have nobody that we know to talk to about it,” Peters said before Mullin agreed to the classified meeting. “So I don’t know how we would begin doing this without your cooperation.”
The travel questions about the shadowy travel erupted after Mullin’s nomination suddenly turned rocky after Paul questioned his temperament and fitness for office based on his past comments and behavior. Mullin was quoted in a local news report calling Paul a “snake” and saying that he “understood” why Paul had been violently attacked by a neighbor.
Mullin stood by the comments Wednesday.
“I can’t imagine a person who won’t apologize, who basically says you deserve to be assaulted and have your ribs broken — I don’t know how anybody … would expect [I] could actually vote for that,” Paul said on Fox, adding, “He doesn’t say he wants to change. He doesn’t say it was in the heat of battle. This is who he is.”
While Fetterman has suggested he is inclined to support Mullin, he declined to confirm Wednesday he would vote for him. Fetterman was among the senators spotted entering the classified meeting following the hearing.