Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) leveled a blistering attack at Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, with many who saw the confrontation saying it was a “mic drop” for Paul and doesn’t bode well for Mullin’s chances of being confirmed.
NBC News reports that Paul immediately went after his fellow GOP senator.
“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, used his opening statement to confront Mullin for reportedly calling him a ‘freaking snake’ and saying he ‘completely’ understands why a neighbor assaulted Paul in 2017.”
The Kentucky Republican also recalled the physical pain he experienced when his neighbor assaulted him.
“You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified, so today you’ll have your chance,” Paul declared. “Today, I’ll give you that chance to clear the record. Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken, and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it.”
After Paul made his comments, MS NOW’s Jonathan Lemire and Ali Vitali said they were stunned by his remarks.
“Sen. Rand Paul just concluded an extraordinary opening statement, really attacking Mullin and his credentials and credibility in this job,” Lemire said, turning to Vitali, who was reporting live from the Capitol. “You’re there outside the hearing room, you’re listening in. Just walk us through what just happened. Extraordinary statement, Republican on Republican colleagues in the Senate.”
“Rand Paul, frankly, just finished a mic drop of an opening statement here,” Vitali noted. “I asked him several times yesterday what he wanted to hear from Mullin, given the fact that these two have a somewhat open feud as colleagues here in Congress, [and] Paul continuously just told me, watch the hearing, and now we have a very clear sense of why. It was an absolutely ice-cold opening. At one point, as he started to address Mullin, saying that at a time of political violence in this country, Mullin is someone who has only fomented those tensions.”
“I would now imagine, as we go forward into several rounds of questions from both sides of the aisle, Democrats certainly have a lot of questions of substance to air,” Vitali added. “Most of them don’t think that a change in personnel is enough to get them behind supporting this confirmation.”
“Again, we’re going to have to see where Sen. Rand Paul brings his question,” she said. “But I think you’re right, this was just absolutely stunning. You saw several of the faces behind Sen. Mullin, their eyebrows all the way up to their hairlines, their mouths agape, and frankly, for many of us in the hallway, that was our reaction, as well.”
Markwayne Mullin is a hateful, foolish man who has no place leading Homeland Security. Instead, he needs to be kicked to the curb by the voters and forced back into the plumbing business. After all, isn’t that where crap winds up going?
