Things immediately got intense at Sen. Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing to become the next Homeland Security Secretary today, after Sen. Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Homeland Security committee, lit into Mullin over his remarks appearing to support the 2017 assault against Paul. (A quick refresher: Paul was attacked by his neighbor over a dispute about their yards. Paul suffered broken ribs.)
A sampling from Paul 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.”
“You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake.'”
Mullin, who refused to apologize for the February remarks at the center of this senator-on-senator beef, went on to express support for dueling between "consenting adults." That, to me, is both risible and deeply disturbing, considering this is the guy the president wants leading a department rife with ICE agents who continue to terrorize communities across the country. Say what you will about Paul. But the Kennedy Republican did a pretty solid job at using his conflict with Mullin to argue that this is not the temperament of a man you want leading the Department of Homeland Security.
Speaking of ICE, be sure to read my colleague Schuyler Mitchell's piece on how the Trump administration is scrambling to cover its tracks over its alleged "domestic terrorist" database.
—Inae Oh
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