On the 19th (Thursday), the Senate Homeland Security Committee narrowly passed the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin (Republican-Oklahoma) for Secretary of Homeland Security by a vote of 8 to 7.

During the vote, Senator Rand Paul (Republican-Kentucky) cast a dissenting vote, and Senator John Fetterman (Democrat-Pennsylvania) voted in favor. The remaining committee members voted along party lines.

The confirmation hearing held on Wednesday saw several tense moments, primarily revealing past personal animosity between Senators Paul and Mullin.

Senator Gary Peters (Democrat-Michigan), the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stirred controversy by pressing Mullin on a classified trip.

Mullin stated that as a member of the House, he was "asked to go to a specific region for training with a small contingent of troops in 2015." However, Peters and Senator Paul pointed out that they had checked with intelligence agencies and found no record of Mullin's name with the "State Department, Department of Defense, or any other intelligence agency," describing the situation as "confusing."

Mullin subsequently agreed to meet with the committee in a closed session to provide further details, effectively resolving the matter for the time being.

Mullin's nomination for the cabinet position now moves to a vote on the Senate floor. With Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate, the confirmation will require a simple majority to pass.

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Reporter of NNP (Special Contribution from NNP) info@newsandpost.com