共和党参议员马克韦恩·马林的确认听证会开始于共和党参议员兰德·保罗之间的个人对抗，因为马林试图从四面楚歌的领导人克里斯蒂·诺姆手中接管国土安全部。
参议院国土安全委员会主席保罗与马林就据报道，俄克拉荷马州参议员今年早些时候关于保罗的投票记录和被邻居殴打2017年在肯塔基州。
“你告诉媒体，我是一条‘可怕的蛇’，你完全理解我为什么会受到攻击，”保罗说。
保罗还指出了穆林以前的公开对抗和气质，补充说穆林有“低冲动控制力”
“告诉世界为什么你认为我应该被从背后袭击，被打断六根肋骨，肺部受损。当面告诉我为什么你认为我罪有应得。当你这么做的时候，向美国公众解释为什么他们应该相信一个有愤怒问题的人，”保罗说。
保罗问，“我只是想知道如果一个为反对政治对手的暴力行为喝彩的人是正确的领导者一个机构努力接受合理使用武力的限制。"
在做开场陈述之前，马林进行了反击。
"我说我能理解，因为你的行为，我能理解为什么你的邻居...“做了他该做的，”马林说。至于我的术语“草丛中的蛇”，先生，我在这个房间里努力解决问题。我和这个房间里的许多人一起工作过。看起来你和共和党人斗争的时间比和我们合作的时间还多。"
本月早些时候，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普被选中接管该机构从诺姆，要求保罗让他赢得他的尊重，并说他将是所有美国人的秘书。
保罗后来在2023年11月的卫生，教育，劳动和养老金委员会听证会上扮演了紧张的时刻，当时马林从座位上站起来似乎准备进行身体对抗卡车司机工会主席肖恩·奥布莱恩以及穆林对此事件的反应。
"“我明白了——这是对你的诽谤，”马林对保罗说这个游戏就是这么玩的。我明白。你把这当成你自己的事情，这很好。"
马林指出，坐在他正后方的奥布莱恩是作为“密友”出席周三的听证会的。
“尽你所能通知;注意我身后是我的好朋友肖恩奥布莱恩。我们俩都谈过话，握过手，都认为我们本可以做些事情“不一样，”马林说。肖恩成了一个亲密的朋友。我们一直在聊天。我上过他的播客。这是你处理分歧的方式。不像这样，主席。"
保罗周三告诉美国广播公司新闻国会山记者杰伊·奥布莱恩，他计划举行一次委员会投票，以推动马林在周四获得委员会的确认——在此期间，保罗说他将投反对票。这意味着马林仍然需要至少一张民主党选票才能前进——民主党参议员约翰·费特曼说他对那张选票持开放态度。
费特曼先前说他倾向于支持穆林，周三的听证会并没有改变这一点，他告诉记者。
马林坚持发表漂亮的评论
参议院国土安全委员会的立法者整天都在盘问没有执法经验的马林，因为他寻求领导的部门由于资金僵局而仍然关闭，没有明确结束关闭的迹象。
马林的听证会作为DHS的一部分——从联邦紧急事务管理局到运输安全管理局被关闭关于移民和海关执法的资金斗争。
民主党人表示，只有在今年早些时候联邦执法机构在明尼阿波利斯枪杀Renee Good和Alex Pretti后对该机构进行改革，他们才会为该部门提供资金。
该委员会的资深成员加里·彼得斯(Gary Peters)就穆林在明尼阿波利斯护士普莱蒂(Pretti)遇害后的评论向他施压，普莱蒂在1月份的抗议活动中被联邦特工枪杀。
普雷蒂死后，穆林附和道诺姆和白宫副主任斯蒂芬·米勒的初步声明称Pretti是“一个进来造成最大损害的精神错乱的人。”
诺姆后来收回了她的评论，声称她当时没有掌握所有的事实。
“我想这是我在我们谈话时私下说的。那些话或许应该收回。“我不应该那样说，”马林对彼得斯说，并补充说他“在没有事实的情况下立即做出了回应。”
“那是我的错。作为秘书，这是不可能的，”马林说。
当彼得斯问马林是否会为自己的言论向普莱蒂的家人道歉时，马林强调，对枪击事件的调查正在进行中。
“我们会让调查进行到底，如果我被证明是错的，那么我会，绝对会，”他说。
穆林问到关于旅行后“闻到”战争的评论
彼得斯问马林，他不是一个老兵，关于他的本月早些时候对福克斯新闻频道的评论他暗示他知道战争的“味道”是什么。马林向彼得斯承认，除了传教工作和度假，他从未出过国。
彼得斯问及美国联邦调查局关于马林的报告中列出的格鲁吉亚和阿塞拜疆之行，但被提名人说这些2021年的旅行是保密的。
“那你去了哪里气味战争?”彼得斯问。
“先生，我刚才说过这是机密，”马林回答道。
马林谈选举，联邦应急管理局
民主党参议员埃利萨·斯洛特金(Elissa Slotkin)向马林询问了特朗普有争议的建议，即共和党将选举“国有化”并问马林是否支持在投票站部署武装人员。
“我的官员在那里的唯一原因是，如果他们在那里有具体的威胁，而不是恐吓，”马林说。
当谈到联邦紧急事务管理局时，马林似乎反对他的前任的信息，并表示该机构“需要重组而不是取消。”
在参议院国土安全委员会周四投票后，如果他的提名得到确认，那么它将前往参议院，他最早可能在下周得到确认。
几乎可以肯定的是，马林将被参议院确认为DHS的秘书。
'Low impulse control': GOP Sen. Paul confronts Trump’s DHS pick Markwayne Mullin at confirmation hearing over 'violence'
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing began with a personal confrontation between fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul as Mullin seeks to take over the Department of Homeland Security from its embattled leader, Kristi Noem.
Paul, the Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman, sparred with Mullin over comments theOklahoma senator reportedly made earlier this yearregarding Paul's voting record andassault by a neighborin Kentucky in 2017.
"You told the media that I was a 'freaking snake' and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted," Paul said.
Paul also pointed to Mullin's previous public confrontations and temperament, adding that Mullin had "low impulse control."
"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. And while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues," Paul said.
Paul questioned, "I just wonderif someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to leadan agencythat has struggled to accept limits of the proper use of force."
Before making his opening statement, Mullin fired back.
"I said I could understand, because of the behavior, you were having, that I could understand why your neighbor ... did what he did," Mullin said. "As far as my term of 'snake in the grass,' sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I've worked with many people in this room. It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us."
Mullin, who President Donald Trump earlier this monthtapped to take over the agencyfrom Noem, asked Paul to let him earn his respect and said he would be secretary for all Americans.
Paul later played the tense moment at a November 2023 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing when Mullin stood up from his seat andappeared to prepare to physically fightTeamsters Union President Sean O'Brien as well as a montage of Mullin's responses to the incident.
"I get it -- it's about character assassination for you," Mullin said to Paul. "That's the way this game is played. I understand it. And you are making this about you, which is fine."
Mullin noted that O'Brien, sitting directly behind him, came to the hearing on Wednesday as a "close friend."
"As you cannoticeover my shoulder is my good friend, SeanO'Brien. Both of us have had conversations and shaken hands and agreed we could have done thingsdifferent," Mullin said. "Sean has become a close friend. We talk all the time. I have been on his podcast. It is how you handle your differences. Not like this,chairman."
Paul told ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien on Wednesday that he's planning to hold a committee vote to advance Mullin's confirmation out of the committee on Thursday -- during which, Paul said he will vote no. That means Mullin still needs at least one Democratic vote to advance -- and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said he's open to being that vote.
Fetterman previously said he was inclined to support Mullin, and Wednesday's hearing didn't change that, he told reporters.
Mullin pressed on Pretti comments
Lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security Committee grilled Mullin, who has no law enforcement experience, throughout the day as the department he's seeking to lead remains shut down due to a funding stalemate, with no clear end to that shutdown in sight.
Mullin's hearing came as parts of DHS -- from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to theTransportation Security Administration -- are shut down amid afunding fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Democrats have said they will fund the department only if changes are made to the agency in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Sen. Gary Peters, the ranking member of the committee, pressed Mullin over his comments following the killing of Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse who was shot by federal agents during a protest in January.
After Pretti's death, Mullin echoedinitial statements from Noem and White House deputy chief Stephen Miller, calling Pretti "a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage."
Noem later walked back her comments, claiming she did not have all of the facts at the time.
"I think I said this privately when we had a conversation. Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that," Mullin said to Peters, adding he was "responding immediately without the facts."
"That's my fault. That won't happen as secretary," Mullin said.
When Peters asked Mullin if he would apologize to Pretti's family for his comments, Mullin stressed that the investigation into the shooting was ongoing.
"We'll let the investigation go through, and if I'm proven wrong, then I will, absolutely," he said.
Mullin asked about travel after 'smell' of war comments
Peters asked Mullin, who is not a veteran, about hiscomments to Fox News earlier this monthwhere he suggested he knows what war "smells" like. Mullin admitted to Peters that he had never been out of the country for anything other than mission work and vacations.
Peters asked about the travel to Georgia and Azerbaijan that was listed in the FBI report on Mullin, but the nominee said those 2021 trips were classified.
"So where did yousmellwar?" Peters asked.
"Sir, I just said that this was classified," Mullin responded.
Mullin on elections, FEMA
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin asked Mullin about Trump's controversial suggestion thatRepublicans "nationalize" electionsand asked Mullin if he supported putting armed agents at polling stations.
"The only reason why my officers would be there, if there was a specific threat for them to be there, not for intimidation," Mullin said.
Mullin appeared to counter the messaging of his predecessor when it came to Federal Emergency Management Agency and said the agency "needs to be restructured not eliminated."
After the Senate Homeland Security Committee vote on Thursday, if his nomination is confirmed, it would then head to the Senate floor where he could be confirmed as soon as next week.
It is all but certain that Mullin will be confirmed as DHS secretary on the Senate floor.
