‘Anger Issues’: Trump’s DHS Secretary Nominee Throws Down With Fellow GOP Senator Over Past Comments About Political Violence

After months of scowling at each other from a distance, the rivalry between Senators Rand Paul and Markwayne Mullin took center stage Wednesday during the latter’s first formal appearance before Congress as the president’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security.At the top of Dr. Paul’s mind, judging from his line of questioning, was Mr. Mullin’s earlier trash-talk about understanding why a neighbor of the libertarian back home in Kentucky might want to — and did — throttle Dr. Paul while he was doing yard work in 2017. Dr. Paul, the chairman of the committee considering the nomination, said Mr. Mullin’s comments amount to an endorsement of political violence. Mr. Mullin not only refused to apologize — he doubled down. Mr. Mullin and Dr. Paul’s distaste for each other is well-known. Dr. Paul is a true Tea Party libertarian, while Mr. Mullin is a more pugilistic, pro-Trump conservative. Last month, Mr. Mullin called Dr. Paul a “freaking snake” for his opposition to a government funding bill supported by President Trump, which is when the Oklahoma senator said that he could understand why his colleague was assaulted by his neighbor. Dr. Paul pressed Mr. Mullin about the comments on Wednesday, arguing that it was just one example of Mr. Mullin’s “anger issues.” “Tell it to my face. Tell the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted from behind,” Dr. Paul said at the outset of the hearing. “While you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues.”Dr. Paul spent a year recovering from the attack and even had part of his lung removed. “I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault,” Dr. Paul said with a straight face. “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.”“You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified,” Dr. Paul said. Mr. Mullin was clearly unhappy with Dr. Paul’s decision to go after him for his past comments, and stood by his remarks. “I said I could understand, because of the behavior you were having, that I can understand why your neighbor did what he did,” Mr. Mullin said. “As far as my terms ‘snake in the grass,’ sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.”Later, as Dr. Paul was questioning him, Mr. Mullin explicitly ruled out an apology. “It wasn’t heated and I’m not apologizing for pointing out your character,” Mr. Mulling said. “So you’re jolly-well fine, and you want the people up here and the American public that may or may not vote for you to know that you supported the felonious, violent attack on me from behind,” Dr. Paul said, clearly frustrated with the DHS nominee. “I did not say I supported it. I said I understood it,” Mr. Mullin said flatly, leading Dr. Paul to let out a laugh. During his questioning period, Dr. Paul referenced Mr. Mullin’s past comments about dueling or caning being a justifiable way to handle political differences, considering its precedent in American history. Dr. Paul seemed stunned that Mr. Mullin would make such an argument. “It’s been illegal for 170 years,” Dr. Paul said. “There’s no precedent for legal dueling.” He referenced the caning of Senator Charles Sumner by a congressman on the floor of the Senate before the Civil War, which left Sumner with serious wounds for the remainder of his life. “That’s what you’re insinuating in the precedent of the Senate and that’s what you live by. That’s a very, very dangerous sentiment,” Dr. Paul told his colleague. Mr. Mullin is a former mixed martial arts fighter who has represented Oklahoma in Congress for more than a decade. After being elected to the Senate in 2022, he has styled himself as a kind of verbal and political brawler with his Democratic colleagues, going after them in committee hearings and once even threatening to fight the head of the Teamsters Union, Sean O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien has since made up with the senator, going so far as to appear at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. When Dr. Paul asked him if fighting — as he threatened to do with Mr. O’Brien — was a good example to set for DHS agents, Mr. Mullin did not say no. “As you can notice over my shoulder here is my good friend Sean O’Brien,” Mr. Mullin said. “Sean is someone that has become a close friend. We talk all the time … We’ve talked through this. That’s how you handle your differences. Not like this, chairman.”

‘Anger Issues’: Trump’s DHS Secretary Nominee Throws Down With Fellow GOP Senator Over Past Comments About Political Violence

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