Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has indicated that he is willing to give Senator Markwayne Mullin a hearing before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as early as next week. Mullin has been nominated as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after Krisi Noem imploded under the sharp questioning of Senator John Kennedy. Kennedy does not suffer fools gladly and you are well-advised not to try to play him. Fair warning.

Kennedy is on the Judiciary Committee, not the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee so Senator Mullin doesn’t have to face him … yet.

Politico had the story last night:

Senate Republicans are aiming to hold a confirmation hearing March 18 for Sen. Markwayne Mullin, whom President Donald Trump has picked to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

“We’re shooting for a week from Wednesday if all the paperwork comes in,” Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Rand Paul told reporters Monday.

Trump has signaled he wants Mullin to take over the top spot at DHS at the end of the month, replacing the agency’s ousted secretary, Kristi Noem — so GOP leaders want to quickly tee up a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

Rand Paul always looks and acts as if he loves to write his own press releases. Still, I am sure that he will give Senator Mullin a fair hearing.

SOME BIOGRAPHY HIGH POINTS FOR MULLIN

According to AOL:

Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, according to his website biography, and the first tribal citizen to serve in the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades following the retirement of Colorado’s Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2005.

After Trump announced Mullin as his pick to lead DHS, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. congratulated the senator, calling the nomination a moment of collective significance for the tribe and a “testament to the resilience, capability and enduring impact of our people.”

Mullin is also just the second member of the Cherokee Nation ever to serve in the U.S. Senate. The first was Robert L. Owen, a Democrat who represented Oklahoma from 1907 to 1925, according to Senate records.

From the Mullin website:

Senator Markwayne Mullin is a successful business owner, working cow-calf rancher, and proud husband of 28 years to Mrs. Christie Mullin, and together the two are parents to six wonderful children: Jayce, Jim, Andrew, Larra, Ivy, and Lynette.

Mullin was sworn into office on January 3rd, 2023, following ten years of service to Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives. A lifelong Oklahoman, Senator Mullin grew up on his family’s ranch in Westville where he and his family still reside to this day.

A graduate of Stilwell High School, Mullin went on to attend Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship until the age of 20 years old. At that time, Senator Mullin’s father, Jim, fell ill, and Mullin and his recent bride Christie postponed studies to save the family business, Mullin Plumbing.

Over the past 28 years, Markwayne and Christie Mullin have expanded Mullin Plumbing to become the largest service company in the region, and along the way founded numerous other successful companies ranging from Mullin Environmental to Rowan’s Steakhouse, the latter a bustling restaurant in the neighboring town of Stilwell and named for Christie’s family.

snip-

Markwayne Mullin is a former undefeated Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter with a professional record of 5-0. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. Mullin has remained active in the wrestling community since his retirement from the sport, continuing to coach his children and other young athletes in wrestling tournaments across the country on weekends through today.

In 2010, Senator Mullin completed his university education and received his degree in Applied Science in Construction Technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. He received an honorary doctorate degree from Bacone College in 2018.

TRUE.

Senator Markwayne Mullin attended Missouri Valley College but did not graduate. In 2010, he earned an associate degree (Applied Science in Construction Technology) from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

He holds no four-year bachelor's degree and is the…

— Grok (@grok) March 7, 2026

Oh my gravy. We are going to hear a lot more of this. There are easier issues to drag Mullin on. He sounds like a bit of a hot head. From Mediaite:

During the Nov. 2023 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, Mullin took issue with O’Brien’s salary compared to that of his union members.

“You tweeted at me one, two, three, four, five times,” Mullin said at the hearing, while holding up pages of computer printouts. “And let me read what the last one said. It said, ‘Greedy CEO who pretends like he’s self-made.’ Sir, I wish you were in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing business and my wife was running the office, because I sure remember working pretty long and hard hours.”

Mullin continued reading, “‘What a clown. A fraud. Always has been, always will be. Quit the Tough-guy act in these Senate hearings. You know where to find me, any place, any time, cowboy.’ Sir, this is a time, this is a place,” Mullin addressed O’Brien. ” You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, and we can finish it here.”

And it looked like this:

The two have since made up, but still. Now, back to the Politico article:

Republicans can advance the nomination without help from Democrats but Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has already said he will support Mullin, who allegedly called Paul a “freaking snake.”

Oh dear, not again. According to The Hill:

GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) recently told a group of voters that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is a “freaking snake.”

Mullin railed against Paul as someone who frequently bucks the Republican Party on crucial votes, according to reporting by Oklahoma journalist David Arnett.

snip-

“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,” he said Saturday, according to Arnett’s Substack.

That’s pretty mild compared to what I have called Rand Paul, but I am not a Senator. Good luck to Markwayne Mullin.

Featured Image: United States Senate/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain/United States Senate/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain