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President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a confirmation hearing ready to go, and he will have to reckon with an intraparty feud in the process.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., will soon undergo the rigorous confirmation process in the Senate after being tapped by Trump to replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
He will first go through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee before heading to a full confirmation vote in the Senate.
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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the Homeland Security panel, wants to hold Mullin’s hearing next week. The White House formally sent over Mullin’s nomination to the Senate on Monday, according to the congressional record.
“We’re shooting for a week from Wednesday if all the paperwork comes in,” Paul said.
But Mullin and Paul have a personal rift that could spill out into the confirmation hearing.
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In February, Mullin slammed Paul during an event with voters for his perennial votes against Republican priorities, like spending bills or other elements of Trump’s agenda, such as the “big, beautiful bill” last year.
Oklahoma reporter David Arnett reported in a lengthy profile of Mullin that, during the event, the lawmaker was asked about an amendment to a spending package from Paul that he voted against.
Mullin warned that Paul was “trying to kill the farm bill because he’s trying to legalize hemp for drinks in Kentucky because of tobacco industry shifts,” and then went after Paul’s voting history before taking a jab at the 2017 incident in which the Kentucky Republican was attacked by his neighbor over a lawn dispute.
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“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,” Mullin said. “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.”
That slight at Paul may come to bear during his confirmation hearing, but Mullin is expected to easily move through that first hurdle, given that most Republicans on the panel will back him, and he has the support of Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.
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Paul shrugged off the incident on Monday when he told reporters, “I’m going to reserve judgment now, and we’ll probably find out a lot more.”
“I would suggest coming to the hearing, though,” Paul said. “I think it’ll be interesting.”