Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the next homeland security secretary passed a key hurdle on Thursday despite a rocky confirmation hearing—thanks to a Democrat swapping sides.
Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to replace Kristi Noem, by eight to seven.
Republican chairman Rand Paul, who blasted Mullin in a nasty confirmation hearing on Wednesday, voted against the nomination.
But Democratic Senator John Fetterman bucked the rest of his party’s members on the committee and voted in support of Mullin’s confirmation.
Mullin’s nomination will now head to the full Senate for a vote, where he’s expected to be confirmed next week in the GOP-controlled chamber.
Fetterman released a statement explaining his vote on Thursday in which he said he had gone into the confirmation with an open mind.
“In January, I called on the president to fire Noem—and he did,“ Fetterman said. ”We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security.”
The Senate was not expecting fireworks with the nomination of the Oklahoma lawmaker, as Mullin is considered a friend by many of his colleagues and has been seen as someone who has tried to work across the aisle on contentious issues.
It comes at a time when the federal government remains in a partial shutdown as Democratic lawmakers spar with the Trump administration and Republicans over funding for the Department of Homeland Security since the killings of two U.S. citizens by ICE.
Despite Mullin likely taking the reins starting next month, there’s no end in sight to the impasse, as hundreds of thousands of federal employees go without paychecks and lines at airports build up amid TSA staffing issues.
Despite Mullin’s likely confirmation, Paul used it to seek his revenge, as the pair have a strained relationship.
The Kentucky Republican, who said in advance he would vote against the nominee, accused Mullin of having anger management issues and being a liar in a heated hearing on Wednesday.
Paul claimed Mullin applauded violence against him after the Kentucky senator was attacked in 2017. He also played a series of clips where the Oklahoma lawmaker, a former MMA fighter, promoted fighting and even challenged a Senate witness to a brawl.
The Kentucky senator questioned whether Mullin was the right man to lead a department while ICE was under fire for its excessive use of force, including the shooting deaths of two Americans.
Mullin claimed Paul was carrying out a character assassination and insisted he had not been supporting violence, though he did not apologize to Paul.
Despite Fetterman’s vote to move the nomination forward, other Democrats have criticized Mullin, a former plumber with no law enforcement experience, as being unqualified for the job.
He faced questions during the confirmation hearing about claims he made about a mysterious overseas trip, which he said was “classified.”
After Democratic senators were briefed in a classified setting about the travel, which took place when he was a House member, they came out with more questions.
Sen. James Lankford indicated that Mullin’s mysterious travel, which he had previously suggested was to a war zone despite never having served in the military, was not classified; rather, he was under a nondisclosure agreement, and it concerned overseas travel related to a whistleblower.
Democrats accused Mullin of not being forthcoming about the bizarre turn of events.
Ranking Member Gary Peters blasted Mullin on Thursday as not up to the challenge.
“Throughout the nomination process, he has failed to be forthright and transparent,” Peters said before the vote. “Senator Mullin also showed that he doesn’t have the experience or the temperament to lead this critical department. I’m very troubled by Senator Mullin’s willingness to condone political violence and the message that that sends across DHS.”
