Markwayne Mullin’s Confirmation Hearing Gets Off to Explosive Start as Rand Paul Calls Him a Liar

The confirmation hearing for DHS Secretary nominee Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma got off to a dramatic start Wednesday when fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky called him a liar during a very personal opening statement.

Paul, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, didn’t begin by addressing matters of national security or DHS policies, but rather political violence and character accusations.

The libertarian Republican listed various lawmakers who had been either shot or attacked during their time in office, including himself, describing in detail injuries he sustained when he was attacked by a neighbor in 2017.

The attacker, Rene Boucher, ended up serving nine months in federal prison and six months of home confinement for assaulting Paul. He also paid financial damages.

After Paul painstakingly described the complications he suffered from those injuries, he said Mullin referred to him as a “freaking snake,” following a disagreement over legislation, adding that he understood why Paul was attacked.

“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 stated. “You might argue you were mad and upset about being confronted by your constituents.”

“But Senator Mullin, your constituents are justifiably upset with you,” he continued. “Most of America knows that the Somali welfare fraud in Minnesota stole over $9 billion. But instead of defending your vote — you voted to continue these refugee welfare programs — you chose to lash out at me.”

Paul added, “You went on to brag that you’d already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that’s a lie. You got a chance today. You can either 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,” he declared. “So today you’ll have your chance.”

Paul then said Mullin should explain how a man with “anger issues” is qualified to lead the DHS and the various agencies it oversees.

After Mullin was sworn in, he replied to Paul’s statement with vigor.

The Oklahoma Republican, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the post after he fired Kristi Noem, said, “I think before I can start my opening statement, I have to address the remarks the chairman made calling me a liar.”

“I think everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” he continued. “If you recall, back in my House days, we actually did have this conversation because of remarks that I made. You were in a room. I simply addressed that I said I could understand — because of the behavior you were having — that I could understand why your neighbor did what he did.”

As for calling Paul a “snake in the grass,” Mullin said Paul tends to fight Republicans more than he works with them.

“And as far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don’t,” he remarked. “But if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I’ll come straight to you. I’ll say it publicly, and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back.”

“So for you to say I’m a liar, sir, that’s not accurate,” Mullin concluded. “And I got proof to say that, because you have spent millions of dollars in my campaigns against me, because we just don’t get along. However, sir, that doesn’t keep me — at all — from doing my job. I can have a difference of opinions with everybody in this room. But as Secretary of Homeland, I will be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.”

Mullin said the job of DHS secretary is “bigger than the partisan bickering that we have,” and that he’s willing to “set it aside” if Paul is willing to make peace and let him “earn” it.

“Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge. And I also admit when I’m wrong. I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes, just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them, and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you.”

Despite the fireworks, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he believes this is a personal matter the two senators must work out, but added that Mullin remains the right man for the job, according to Politico.

“Those two obviously have some history, and it’s, you know, personal stuff,” Thune explained. “They’ve got to work through it. 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.”

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