Mixed Martial Mullin

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday the 19th of March. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. 

Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up, making DHS Boring Again.

President Donald Trump’s new choice to lead Homeland Security appeared before a Senate  Committee yesterday. Markwayne Mullin, currently the junior Senator from Oklahoma, took questions from colleagues, and he did not have an easy time of it. 

Mullin fielded questions about how he was going to run the agency differently from his embattled predecessor, Kristi Noem. At times, the questioning was personal, and not just by Democrats. 

BROWN: WORLD reporter Josh Schumacher was in the room, and he has the story from Washington. 

JOSH SCHUMACHER: During his opening statement, Senator Markwayne Mullin told his colleagues he hoped to make noticeable changes at DHS if he was approved to lead the agency.

MULLIN: My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day.

But he was quick to clarify that deporting dangerous illegal immigrants would still be a priority.

MULLIN: My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them, and we're working with them.

Mullin—a father of six who married his high school sweetheart—took an unconventional route to the Senate: He was a plumber and then had a brief stint as a professional MMA fighter. He’s also the only Senator without a bachelor’s degree.

He said that he wanted DHS to be laser-focused on its mission and stay out of the headlines. 

But some of the committee members questioned whether Mullin is the right man to take that kind of approach. 

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul centered much of his critique of Mullin on how he had previously discussed an attack against Paul—an attack which had left him with six broken ribs and lung damage.

PAUL: My first question is, do you think that justifying that kind of violence sets a good example for the men and women of ICE and border patrol?

Paul’s questions about Mullins’ comments on the attack led to what was probably the most tense exchange of the entire hearing.

PAUL: And you offer no apology today, and no regrets…

MULLIN: I'm not apologizing for pointing out your character.

PAUL: Good, good. So you're jolly well fine, and you want the American public and the people up here—that may or may not vote for you—to know that you supported the felonious violent attack on me from behind.

MULLIN: I did not say I supported it. I said I understood it.

An interaction between Ranking Member Gary Peters and Mullin had a much more conciliatory tone. 

Peters questioned Mullin about remarks he’d made calling Alex Pretti “deranged.” Pretti was the Minneapolis protester shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents in January. Mullin said he regretted using the term.

MULLIN: Those words probably should have been retracted… I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That's my fault. That won't happen as secretary.

But later, during a conversation with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Mullin refused to walk back similar comments he’d made about Renee Good. He argued that situation was different…as it involved an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent under threat from a motor vehicle.

Democrats on the committee focused many of their questions on how Mullin would approach immigration enforcement.

Here’s New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan:

HASSAN: What Secretary Noem did was give the green light to lawless behavior. Are you going to give the green light to lawless behavior?

MULLIN: I will operate within the parameters and the policies and the laws that you guys set for me… but be very clear, I don't get to choose the laws that I enforce. You guys pass the laws, I enforce those laws.

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin dug deeper into the methods that Mullin might use to achieve that. 

Mullin explained that he imagined a very different role for ICE under his leadership.

MULLIN: I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line. If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we're going to them and we're picking up these criminals from their jail, I don't think there needs to be a law to change that. I think I can work within what is there, but there's, there's an approach that can happen, but we got to have partners.

The Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to vote on confirming Mullin’s nomination today, with a full Senate vote to follow as early as next week. Trump wants Mullin to take over DHS at the end of the month.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher in Washington.

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