Rand Paul accuses DHS nominee & Cherokee Nation member Markwayne Mullin of lying
Host:
The nomination of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation/R-OK) to become the next Homeland Security Secretary hit a rough patch Wednesday.
Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lost the faith of President Donald Trump, but the pick to replace her, Sen. Mullin, lost the faith of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), for mocking him for being attacked by his neighbor nine years ago, as Matt Laslo reports from Washington.
Senatorial soundbyte:
Rand Paul
“You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. 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.”
Narration:
Matt Laslo
Mullin’s a former MMA fighter and wasn’t backing down.
“I think before I can start my opening statement, I have to address the remarks of the chairman made calling me a ‘liar,’” Mullin said during the tense confirmation hearing. “Sir, I think there’s — everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face.”
While the heated exchange made national headlines, most Republican senators, like U.S. Sen. Ted. Cruz (R-TX), shrugged it off.
“The two of them don’t like each other,” Cruz told National Native News . “There’s no ambiguity on that.”
“I’m not going to get involved in that,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told us.
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) cited his mother’s wisdom to National Native News.
“Reminded of what my mom would say, ‘if you don’t have something good to say about somebody, don’t say it,’” Marshall told National Native News at the Capitol. “And, you know, those rules we learned in kindergarten still apply up here as well.”
Even Mullin’s home state colleague, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), was taken aback by the barbs.
“In my time in Congress, rarely have I seen such an intense exchange between two members of the same party, especially in the [U.S.] Senate,” Lucas told National Native News. “Clearly, both of them are very strong-willed, very confident in their point of view and perspective and their memory. It was just fascinating.”
While most Republican senators are refusing to weigh in, Sen. Lucas says he is not discounting Chairman Paul or Mullin’s accounts.
“I know from having served with Markwayne in the House, I suspect the case in the [U.S.] Senate is the same — members have an insight into the nature of each other that no one on the outside can have,” Lucas continued. “I never impugn the opinions of my colleagues, so maybe there was a little bit of truth in what they both had to say.”
LISTEN: Full feature that aired on dozens of NPR member stations from Alaska to Arizona can be found at www.nativenews.net.
