Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is on his way to a Senate confirmation vote as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, after clearing a committee vote Thursday thanks to a Democratic colleague.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted 8-7 to send Mullin’s nomination to the Senate for a final vote following a fiery confirmation hearing Wednesday that put the longstanding feud between committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mullin on public display.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has frequently bucked his party on key votes, ultimately sent Mullin’s referral across the finish line with his tie-breaking vote in favor.
Paul joined most Democrats in voting against Mullin’s confirmation, which he vowed to do after Mullin repeatedly refused to apologize for calling him a “freaking snake” and saying he understood why Paul was assaulted by his neighbor in 2017.
“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 told Mullin during the hearing Wednesday, pointing to a video of the Oklahoma senator challenging Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien to a fight during a 2023 committee hearing.
Senators also expressed concern over comments Mullin has made in the past about the “smell of war”— the Oklahoma Republican has never served in the military. Pressed by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., about when he would have encountered war, Mullin cited an international trip he took in 2016 but refused to elaborate publicly because it was “classified.”
Paul co-signed skepticism from his Democratic committee colleagues over Mullin’s explanation. After the hearing concluded, Mullin provided details of his foreign travel to his fellow senators in a secure room used for detailing highly classified information, which might not have been necessary.
Sen. James Lankford, Mullin’s fellow Oklahoma Republican, said after hearing from him in the secure room that he thinks the decade-old trip wasn’t classified, but might have been subject to a nondisclosure agreement. Mullin will likely clear the 50-vote threshold he needs in the Senate to be confirmed, but his tenure at the Homeland Security Department, which has been shutdown since appropriations lapsed on Feb. 13, promises to be an uphill battle. Trump tapped Mullin, a Republican hard-liner, to succeed former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a turbulent time for the agency. It’s become the focal point of the fight between Democrats and the White House for reforms to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Meanwhile, TSA agents have missed their first full week of pay as the weekslong shutdown drags on and airport lines reach hourslong wait times. There does not appear to be a DHS reform deal between Democrats and the White House in sight.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Jack Fitzpatrick covers Congress for MS NOW. He previously reported for Bloomberg Government, Morning Consult and National Journal. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from Arizona State University. Recommended
