By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the Republican chairman of a Senate panel weighing the nomination of President Donald Trump's pick for homeland security, sharply criticized the nominee on Wednesday over inflammatory remarks a month ago saying he understood why a neighbor attacked Paul in 2017.
The nominee, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, called Paul "a freaking snake" a month ago over political differences related to an agricultural bill. Weeks later, Trump nominated Mullin to replace embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The tense remarks at the start of the hearing suggested Mullin might face bumps on his path to confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate. Democrats have blocked federal funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since mid-February, saying they will not approve the money unless the Trump administration makes lasting changes to scale back aggressive immigration enforcement.
Paul opened the hearing by stressing the importance of tamping down violent political rhetoric, recounting a 2017 shooting that targeted him and other Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice.
"I think it's imperative now more than ever that the leaders in our country disavow violence and lead by example," Paul said.
Paul then referenced Mullin's comments in February saying he understood why Paul's neighbor in Kentucky attacked him later in 2017. Paul said he was badly injured in the attack, which broke his ribs and damaged a lung, leading to a lengthy recovery.
"I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did," Mullin said at a February 14 event in Tulsa, according to journalist David Arnett's Substack.
The Republican chairman referenced an incident in 2023 where Mullin - then a freshman senator - challenged Teamsters President Sean O'Brien to a fight and demanded Mullin explain how he is fit to lead the 260,000-person department.
Mullin did not apologize but asked that Paul give him a chance to prove himself.
"I can set it aside," Mullin said to Paul. "If you're willing to set it aside, let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won't fail you."
IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN SPOTLIGHT
Trump, a Republican, surged federal agents into U.S. cities beginning in mid-2025 to make immigration arrests, with major operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, where masked officers employing militaristic tactics led to legal challenges and public criticism.
After federal immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - the Trump administration shifted its tone and said it would take a more targeted approach.
Amid mounting criticism from Republicans over the immigration crackdown and Noem's handling of DHS, Trump fired her earlier this month and announced he would nominate Mullin, a businessman who spent a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives before his election to the Senate for a term beginning in 2023.
Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee's top Democrat, criticized Noem at the hearing for saying the U.S. citizens killed in Minneapolis had committed acts of domestic terrorism rather than calling for an investigation, and warned Mullin that a DHS secretary needed to have the right temperament.
"It's not the role of the secretary to be a cable news commentator in the wake of a crisis," Peters said.
At the time of Pretti's shooting, Mullin similarly portrayed him as a threat despite video evidence that undercut that claim. He said Pretti was "a deranged individual" who had a loaded pistol and intended "to cause max damage," during an interview with Fox News on January 24, the day Pretti was killed.
At the hearing, Mullin said he regretted those statements but declined to apologize when pressed by Peters.
James Lankford, Oklahoma's other Republican senator, praised Mullin as a hands-on leader equipped to tackle DHS' wide-ranging mission, from border security to disaster response.
"I appreciate your willingness to be able to step up in a season where DHS needs a leader," Lankford said.
BUSINESS BACKGROUND, STOCK TRADES
The quickly assembled confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee offers Mullin a chance to show how he would approach the job and to address lawmakers' concerns over Noem's management of the department.
Mullin's nomination must be approved by the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage over Democrats. First, he must be approved by the homeland committee, which has eight Republicans and seven Democrats. The committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination on Thursday.
One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has said he will back Mullin's nomination, saying he deserves a chance.
Mullin, who once ran a family plumbing business, is one of the wealthiest members of the Senate. A 2024 financial disclosure form showed he had between $29 million and $97 million in assets. In recent years, he has traded millions of dollars in stocks, according to websites tracking trading among lawmakers.
A spokesperson for Mullin said he uses an independent firm to manage his stock portfolio in compliance with federal law.
As a member of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin was only the fourth Native American to become a senator at the time of his election win.
The hearing continued on Wednesday, with Mullin facing questions from both sides of the aisle.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Nick Zieminski)
