Markwayne Mullin wipes away tears while defending DHS nomination as Senator Rand Paul rips into him for ‘anger issues’

SENATOR Markwayne Mullin choked up during emotional opening remarks at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump hand selected the Oklahoma senator as the new Department of Homeland Security secretary after firing Kristi Noem from the position two weeks ago.

Mullin appeared on the other side of his fellow senators to answer questions about his fitness to serve in the crucial federal department.

Senators are expected to vote on Mullin’s confirmation on Thursday.

The meeting with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee started off fiery as Chairman Rand Paul opened the hearing talking about how Mullin once called him, “a snake.”

Paul, a senator from Kentucky, went on to call Mullin a “man with anger issues,” who “has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee.”

“Explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and border patrol agents,” Paul said.

“You were confronted by constituents that were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs,” Paul said.

“Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was ‘a freaking snake,’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted.”

Paul said he was “shocked” that Mullin would “justify and celebrate” the attack that caused him “so much pain.”

A neighbor of Paul’s assaulted the senator outside of his home in November 2017, which left him with a damaged lung and six cracked ribs. Paul said he later had a portion of his lung removed and suffered an infection after complications from the surgery.

“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,” he said.

Mullin addressed the remarks during his opening statement, noting that he had conversations with Paul about his bluntness in the past.

“Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point,” Mullin said.

“I simply addressed that I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having, I could understand why your neighbor did what he did,” Mullin responded.

“As far as my terms of snake in the grass, 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.”

Mullin said he was not perfect and never claimed to be, asking Paul if they could set the issue aside.

“Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you, I won’t back down from a challenge and I’ll also admit when I’m wrong,” he said.

During his opening statement, Mullin began tearing up when talking about his wife, Christie, who he’s known since third grade.

“I respect every one of you guys, regardless of if I have an opinion of you or not. You were elected by your state and I respect that,” he told senators. “I may disagree with you, but I respect it because we all make decisions based on two things, the way we’re raised, which never changes, and our life experiences, which constantly change.”

“For me, to be able to have the love of my life behind me, somebody I literally fell in love with in third grade,” he said, pausing to hold back tears. “I knew I was gonna marry her in eighth grade, she didn’t know that yet. We had to work through that process.”

“When I was 19, she agreed to marry me. I didn’t have anything. I was on a wrestling scholarship, living in a dorm,” he said as his voice cracked. “She was cheering at Northeastern State University.”

“But the truth is, we didn’t know what we didn’t know, but we did know we loved each other. And I haven’t been perfect, I apologize to her quite often and send her flowers all the time.

“But I still am humbled by the fact that we’ve got to enjoy this walk together. We’ve had God on our side, and her right beside me.”

Mullin went on to say he is not scared of a challenge but is scared of failure.

“And so I will work hard each day. I’ll work hard to make the 280,000 employees at DHS with the 22 agencies that’s underneath me proud. I’ll show them somebody that no one will outwork,” he said.

“I’ll work beside them every single day, to not just secure our homeland, to bring peace of mind and confidence to the agency.”

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them and we’re working with them,” Mullin continued.

“My goal for those that don’t support me, [is that they] regret not supporting me. But we have to get DHS funded.”

Mullin was also seen holding a stress ball during his confirmation hearing.

Mullin pressed on his ‘classified’ travel in 2016

Mullin was also pressed by Paul and Michigan Senator Gary Peters about classified travel the nominee had taken in the past.

Peters noted Mullin suggested he did sensitive work abroad, but has shared little details about the work.

Mullin said there was a “misunderstanding” and that the travel was an “official trip” taken in 2015 and 2016 during his time as a member of the House.

Mullin added that the information is “classified.”

“In 2015, I was asked to train with a very small contingency and go to a certain area, which was scheduled for 2016,” Mullin said. “I have spoken in general about my experiences, but I’ve never spoken specifically on details, on dates or on the mission.”

“Some of it may be public. But it would be very small. Most of it, because of my recollection, which we’re going back 10 years — I think there’s only four people read in on it,” he added.

Mullin declined to say where the trip was or who the four people were that read in on the information.

Peters accused Mullin of not being “forthcoming with me or this committee” and offered alongside Paul to discuss Mullin’s travel with him in a security facility for discussing classified information.

Peters also revealed he asked the FBI explicitly if Mullin had taken part in “any kind of classified work.” The Michigan senator said the FBI told him, “Nothing showed up.”

Mullin said he had “no issues” with talking through the details in a secure facility if authorized to do so, adding he had “nothing to hide.”

The senators ultimately agreed to have a meeting to discuss the issue on Wednesday afternoon.

Senators also still plan to hold Mullin’s confirmation vote on Wednesday so long as the classified chat “goes as planned and is forthcoming,” Paul told NBC News.

Mullin breaks down plans for his leadership style

“Everyone has different leadership styles,” Mullin said when asked about how he would differ from Noem as a leader.

“My management style is empowering people,” he explained. “I want to protect the homeland. I want to bring peace of mind, I want to bring confidence back to the agency.”

“I’m not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into. But I know how to get talent.”

Mullin said he would operate within the “parameters and the policies and the laws you guys set for me,” and “Of course, the Constitution of the United States.”

“I don’t get to choose the laws that I enforce. You guys pass those laws.”

Mullin wipes away tears while talking about son’s injury

Mullin got emotional again during the hearing when talking about his son.

“Dang it. I hate getting emotional, see, if I talk about my kids I get emotional. Other than that, you can’t make me cry,” the senator said.

Mullin told the story about how the president visited his son after he was injured, saying he was going to “try to get through it without crying” before taking a sip of water.

Mullin’s son, an athlete, suffered a serious brain injury in 2020. Mullin said they almost lost his son, and when he woke up he was “a different kid.”

Trump immediately called Mullin after he found out, and even offered to give the family his personal plane when they needed to go to a neurological rehabilitation center. Mullin said Trump checked in several times and took the time to visit him at the center.

Mullin told senators the president checked in “just because he cared.”

“So when you wanna say why he’s a friend, yeah, we were acquaintances before that. We’ve been friends ever since,” Mullin said.

Mullin faced tough questions about DHS, which is in the midst of a lapse in funding due to the government shutdown. The shutdown has impacted several DHS branches, including the Transportation Security Administration.

The shutdown has left TSA workers going without pay for the third time in nearly six months and travelers enduring airport chaos.

The issues have gotten so intense that lines are stretching out the door of airports, as over 300 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began on February 14.

A top TSA official warned Tuesday that some airports could be forced to close entirely if funds continue to be withheld.

Mullin faces questions about partial shutdown

Mullin was met with several questions about whether or not he thinks it’s a bad time for DHS to go without funding. He said it is the “worst time” considering the US dealt with a record-long 43-day government shutdown months earlier.

Senator Joni Ernst asked Mullin if he thinks it’s time to put aside “partisan games” to fund DHS as a whole, “so that the department can be fully functioning to protect Americans, especially as we are approaching this fall, the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest attacks that we have ever seen on our homeland.”

Before her question, Ernst said if the government shutdown “has nothing to do with ICE, why are we not funding these agencies that protect Americans especially as we’re coming up on the 25th anniversary of September 11th?”

“It’s a significant anniversary. I hope never to repeat it. But the fact of the matter is that there is a greater possibility of September 11th happening all over again because we are not properly funding the men and women that protect our homeland,” Ernst said.

“I look at this as the political theater that we’re playing games with and we’re risking people’s lives. And we’re disturbing people’s lives,” Mullin responded. “We have 280,000 employees in DHS that [are] still on the job, still working, still keeping us safe without pay. I don’t know how in good conscience you can sit there and think that’s okay.”

The Senate confirmation process began at 9:30am on Wednesday and serves as a measure of checks and balances, checking the president’s power and ensuring Mullin is qualified for the high-ranking position.

Mullin has appeared to be open to changes at DHS, telling reporters, “There’s an opportunity to build off successes, and there’s also opportunities to build off things that didn’t go as planned.”

“There’s a lot of work we can do to get the Department of Homeland Security working for the American people.”

DHS has come under fire from both sides, with many pushing for changes in immigration enforcement after two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in January by federal ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis also raised concerns about DHS, telling Politico, “In general, you couldn’t get a return phone call from the Department of Homeland Security on anything. And that’s never been the case with any other agency.”

“So that was a surprising faux pas.”

Mullin has made comments in the past supporting the Trump administration’s immigration moves and echoed comments from Noem criticizing the actions of Pretti and Good, The Hill reported.

In the past, Mullin called Pretti a “deranged individual” and defended the federal officer who killed Good, saying he had to “engage” and “didn’t have an option.”

Noem was fired as head of DHS on March 5 soon after she was questioned about her role in an ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport – an ad that cost $220 million.

Noem told Republican Senator John Kennedy that Trump was aware of the ad, but the president denied having any knowledge of it.

“I never knew anything about it,” Trump told Reuters.

The former South Dakota governor is set to take on a new role in the Trump administration as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, the administration’s new security initiative.

“In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security,” she wrote on X after her appointment.

Noem announced she would be working alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”