New Trump pick's fiery insult at fellow Republican could blow up his DHS confirmation
Sen. Markwayne Mullin's (R-OK) mouth may have created an issue for him.
President Donald Trump's MAGA pick to replace ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faces a potential confirmation nightmare after calling Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) "a freaking snake" and seemingly endorsing violence against him, noted Slate's senior politics writer Jim Newell on Thursday.
Mullin recently unloaded on Paul at an in-state event, saying, "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," before pivoting to Paul with venom.
"Rand Paul’s a freaking snake," Mullin declared. He then added, "I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did," referencing Paul's 2017 attack by a neighbor that left him seriously injured.
The DHS secretary is confirmed by the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which is chaired by Paul.
Trump administration officials were banking on Mullin coasting through confirmation on "senatorial courtesy," counting on his colleagues' goodwill to smooth the process. Mullin, a former MMA fighter with a track record of confrontational theatrics, including challenging Teamsters boss Sean O'Brien to a fight during a 2023 hearing and breaking hand sanitizer stations to fight off Jan. 6 rioters, seemed poised for an easy ride.
But Newell said that calculus got considerably more complicated, as Paul now holds the gavel over his confirmation hearing.
"This may be one confrontation Mullin comes to regret," he warned.