The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to proceed with the confirmation of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as the next Homeland Security Secretary by a vote of 8 to 7, as two senators crossed party lines in their votes.
Committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voted no, bucking the confirmation of Mullin after sparring with the nominee on Wednesday over past comments he made regarding an assault on Paul. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted yes to advance Mullin’s nomination as the only Democrat to do so.
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The eight senators who voted yes were: Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ashley Moody (R-FL), and John Fetterman (D-PA).
The seven senators who voted no were: Paul, Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI), Sens. Margaret Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).