Sen. Rand Paul unloaded on fellow Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin Wednesday, calling him “a man with anger issues” and saying his combativeness makes him a questionable choice to become secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Paul, who suffered a vicious attack by a neighbor in 2017 that left him with six broken ribs and years of complications, said he was “shocked” by Mr. Mullin’s comments earlier this year when he called Mr. Paul a “freaking snake” and said he “understands completely” why the senator was beaten.
“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against his political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled with limits to the proper use of force,” Mr. Paul said.
Mr. Paul also said Mr. Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, told a “lie” when he said he’d personally confronted Mr. Paul over the attack.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks with …
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“Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe,” Mr. Paul said. “Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted.”
Mr. Mullin bristled at being called a liar, saying he has confronted Mr. Paul. And he didn’t back down from his remarks.
“It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,” he told Mr. Paul.
“We just don’t get along,” he said. “However, sir, that doesn’t keep me, at all, from doing my job. … Let me earn the job.”
President Trump has tapped Mr. Mullin to replace Kristi Noem at the helm of DHS.
Mr. Mullin was appearing before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over his nomination.
Mr. Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter who famously challenged a witness to a fight during a congressional hearing, has been an outsized personality on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Paul’s criticism of Mr. Mulliwas was echoed Wednesday by Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the panel, who also questioned the nominee’s temperament.
