Rand Paul On Confirming Markwayne Mullin, Who Insulted Him

Capitol Hill reporter Pablo Manríquez caught up with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday and asked the Kentucky Republican about Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) potential confirmation as Secretary of Homeland Security – noting Mullin’s past jabs at Paul.

Manríquez asked Paul, “Sorry if this is redundant, but are you confident about Senator Mullin’s nomination as DHS Secretary?”

Paul, who chairs the Homeland Security committee that will manage Mullin’s nomination, replied, “We plan on the hearing next Wednesday and the vote on Thursday, if all the paperwork is completed.”

“And he had once had some kind of personal words with you about when you were assaulted,” Manríquez followed up.

“Come to the hearing, and we’ll see how the hearing goes,” Paul replied as Manríquez clarified, “Okay, sounds good. Wednesday, you said?”

“Next Wednesday, if the paperwork is completed,” Paul replied.

“Okay. What paperwork? I’m sorry — forgive my ignorance,” Manríquez asked.

“They have to do an FBI background check, and they have to do some kind of Office of Ethics — so two things that are required for everybody,” Paul answered as the exchange ended.

Manríquez was referring to comments Mullin made over Valentine’s Day at an event in Oklahoma, slamming Paul for how he maneuvers to try to cut federal funding.

“I respect Bernie Sanders because he’s an open socialist, and you know that he’s a communist so you know what you’re getting. Rand Paul’s a freaking snake. And I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did. And I told him that to his face. It stirred people up like Cheryl (Mullin’s wife), who don’t know the backstory. And then that night Rand sends out a fundraising letter on it. It’s a gimmick,” Mullin told the crowd at the event.

Paul and his neighbor got into a scuffle in November 2017, which resulted in Paul suffering rib fractures and recurring pneumonia following the incident. Paul’s attacker was eventually sentenced to 30 days in jail and forced to pay Paul $582,834.82 in damages, following a civil suit. The fight was reportedly over Paul raking leaves near the dividing line between the two properties.

Listen to the exchange above.

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