Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona pressed Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin — President Donald Trump’s latest pick to run the Department of Homeland Security — on whether he’d end the agency’s recently opened investigation into Arizona’s 2020 presidential election.
During a Senate confirmation hearing, Gallego said the inquiry is a waste of resources.
"There certainly isn’t any reason why we should be using these highly trained professionals that should be going after some horrible people to be investigating conspiracy theories that have been litigated multiple, multiple times," Gallego said.
Mullin did not commit to ending the investigation, and instead described it as an opportunity to fix "anything that went wrong in 2020."
Democrats say the investigation is part of Trump’s attempts to sow doubt ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Sen. Rand Paul and nominee clash
The chairman opened the hearing with a provocative dare: Say it to my face.
Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican from Kentucky, has made clear he has little regard for Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, fellow Republican Mullin. He says he'll vote against him.
Their differences go way back.
Mullin has called him a “freaking snake,” siding with Paul’s neighbor who left the senator with multiple broken ribs after a surprise attack, the neighbor having pummeled the senator as he was doing yardwork outside his home.
Paul calls Mullin a liar with anger management problems who lacks the temperament to lead the troubled Homeland Security Department that is at the forefront of Trump's mass deportation agenda.
"Tell it to the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted,” Paul said on Wednesday as he gaveled the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to order.
“Explain to the American people why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents."
Mullin was grilled for three hours about his personal character and public expertise for the Homeland job. He is not a policy wonk, steeped in the intricacies of immigration enforcement, FEMA or other Homeland Security operations. Nor is he a known management expert, having taken over the family plumbing business before joining Congress.
What Mullin brings to the job is a relationship with Trump — he called the president a “friend” — and a reputation as an affable convener of people across the political divide, steadily bouncing his stress ball as he walks through the halls of Congress.
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Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to abandon its investigation into the state’s 2020 presidential election.
