'Mic drop': Republican's 'ice-cold' attack on DHS nominee leaves senators' 'mouths agape'

MS NOW's Jonathan Lemire and Ali Vitali were astonished by the "extraordinary" opening statement by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

The Kentucky Republican came out firing Wednesday morning at the start of confirmation hearings for his fellow GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who last month called him "a freaking snake" and said he understood why Paul's neighbor violently assaulted him.

Paul was left with broken ribs and needed part of a lung removed after the attack in 2017.

"Sen. Rand Paul just concluded an extraordinary opening statement, really attacking Mullin and his credentials and credibility in this job," Lemire said, and then turned to Vitali 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."

Vitali was stunned by how thoroughly Paul attacked his GOP colleague's qualifications to take over for ousted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Rand Paul, frankly, just finished a mic drop of an opening statement here," Vitali said. "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."

"Paul pointed to the fact that Mullin attacked him and said that he agreed with a neighbor who several years ago attacked Paul, injuring him, breaking several ribs, giving him lifelong injuries," Vitali added. "Mullin at that time said he agreed with the neighbor and that he said he told Rand Paul to his face he understood why the neighbor did it. Paul at one point said, 'I'll give you the opportunity now to say it to my face.' At another point, he directly took on Mullin's comments from just in the last few months, where he talked about a policy disagreement that manifested in Mullin going back home to a gathering of constituents in Oklahoma and calling Rand Paul 'a freaking snake.'"

The Kentucky senator repeated those comments to Mullin's face, and Vitali noted that he looked away from Paul at one point and Paul noticed.

"Rand Paul said, 'I'm going to address several instances to you if you have the time,' sort of calling him to attention as his eyes strayed from the chairman of the committee that is in control of keeping control of the confirmation battle that is underway here," she said. "I think the fact that Paul, at several points, pointed to Markwayne Mullin as someone with anger issues, that's a phrase that Paul used also saying at one point that he, and these are Paul's words, 'I just wonder if someone who applauds political violence is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled with guardrails and instances of controversy and tragedy.'"

Vitali said she was interested to see whether Paul or any other senators would specifically ask Mullin about Noem's tenure at DHS, where she was in charged during the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

"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," she said. "Most of them don't think that a change in personnel is enough to get them behind supporting this confirmation."

"The one Democrat that I'm watching closely today is Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania," Vitali added. "When I spoke to him yesterday, he told me that he thinks that Mullin is a, in his words, 'good dude,' and that he thinks that having someone who understands Congress and can be in a dialog with lawmakers is enough for him to potentially support this confirmation. That means that it could be bipartisan in its affirmation, but then also could potentially be bipartisan in people who are voting against him."

Vitali said other senators seemed to be as shocked by Paul's opening statement as reporters.

"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."

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