Rand Paul Draws Line for Mullin’s DHS Hearing: ‘This Is America’

Markwayne Mullin is expected to face tough public questioning next week from fellow Republican Rand Paul, whose Senate committee has tremendous influence over Mullin’s path to confirmation as President Donald Trump’s next Homeland Security secretary.

The two GOP senators have had an often adversarial relationship, with Mullin, one of Trump’s fiercest defenders on Capitol Hill, referring to Trump critic Paul as a “freaking snake” just last month. The hearing on Mullin’s nomination to head the shuttered department, tentatively planned for next week, will only spotlight their fissures.