The Senate Homeland Security Committee advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security on Thursday in an 8-7 vote, with a Democrat providing the decisive margin after a Republican nearly killed it.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the committee’s chairman, voted against advancing Mullin’s nomination to the full Senate. That set up Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to cross party lines and cast the vote that kept the nomination alive.
The final tally: 8 in favor, 7 opposed.
“When offered multiple public opportunities to clarify the intent of your conduct, you declined to uphold the Senate standard, and advocated physical violence as a means to resolve political disagreement,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the top Democrat on the panel, reading from a Senate Ethics Committee finding against Mullin before voting no.
Peters cited a 2023 hearing in which Mullin, then still a senator from Oklahoma, challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a physical fight. The Ethics Committee later found that Mullin had failed to meet Senate standards of conduct in that exchange.
Peters also argued that Mullin “has failed to be forthright and transparent” and lacks “the experience or the temperament” to run the agency responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, and domestic counterterrorism.
Mullin’s nomination was already under scrutiny heading into Thursday’s vote. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican who frequently breaks with his party on spending and foreign policy, has been openly critical of Mullin. His vote against reporting the nomination to the full Senate marked a rare instance of a committee chairman acting against his own party’s pick.
Fetterman did not deliver remarks ahead of the vote. His decision to support Mullin came without public explanation, though the Pennsylvania Democrat has increasingly bucked his party on issues related to national security and Israel policy since taking office in 2023.
Explaining his vote on social media, Fetterman wrote, “In January, I called on the president to fire Noem—and he did. I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind. We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security.”
The nomination now moves to the full Senate, where Republicans hold a majority. A floor vote has not yet been scheduled.
