by Misty Severi
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul said Monday that he is aiming to hold Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation hearing for Homeland Security secretary next week.
President Donald Trump nominated Mullin to the post last week after firing former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and said he wants Mullin in the post by the end of the month.
After receiving the nomination, Mullin said he was “grateful” to Trump for nominating him to “lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
“As a kid from Westville, it has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve the people of Oklahoma for the past thirteen years in both the House and Senate. I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the Senate and carrying out President Trump’s mission alongside the department’s many capable agencies and the thousands of patriots who keep us safe every day,” Mullin noted.
“President Trump ran on restoring law and order, and he quickly delivered the most secure U.S. border in American history. I look forward to supporting [Trump’s] mission to safeguard the American people and defend the homeland,” he added.
Paul declined to indicate whether he supported Mullin’s nomination but told reporters that the committee is hoping to hold the confirmation hearing “a week from Wednesday if all the paperwork comes in,” according to Politico.
Noem will now serve as Trump’s Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, which the president described as a new “security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
