From PBS NewsHour.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., opened Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation hearing Wednesday by confronting him over comments that seemed to support a violent attack on Paul at his home.
Mullin, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and Paul, a fellow Republican and chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, clashed several times over how Mullin reacted to the 2017 assault on Paul by his neighbor, which left him with several broken ribs.
When asked about a policy disagreement, Mullin “told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted," Paul said. "I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain.”
Mullin described himself as “very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face.”
"I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room," Mullin said of the “snake” remark. It “seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us," he told Paul.
The Oklahoma Republican added that he "can understand why your neighbor … did what he did.”
"What do you think most people would interpret ‘completely understand’ to be: support for or a condemnation of the violence?" Paul replied.
Later in the hearing, Paul connected his concerns about Mullin’s “lack of contrition, no apology and no regrets” over those personal remarks to whether the lawmaker endorses violence to settle political differences. Paul said he wondered whether someone who “applauds violence” against political opponents is fit to lead an agency that has “struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.”
Trump tapped Mullin to take over the embattled agency from Kristi Noem, who was fired earlier this month after her leadership came under bipartisan scrutiny during tense congressional hearings.
A former mixed martial arts fighter who once challenged the Teamsters president to a fight during a Senate hearing, Mullin has pledged to stay “focused on protecting the homeland" if he is confirmed.
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