乍得：苏丹无人机袭击致17死，边境局势升级 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月19日 20:50

乍得政府星期四说，一架来自苏丹的无人机轰炸了乍得东部边境城镇蒂内，造成17人死亡，另有数人受伤。

综合法新社和新华社报道，这起发生于星期三（3月18日）晚的事件，是苏丹冲突外溢至乍得的最新一例。自2023年4月以来，苏丹快速支援部队（RSF）一直在与苏丹军方交战。

乍得政府星期四（19日）凌晨发布声明说，尽管已向苏丹冲突各方发出严厉警告，当地仍遭袭击。乍得已指示国防与安全部队加强戒备，在严格遵守国际法的前提下，乍得部队保留在苏丹领土上进行合法追击的权利。

乍得总统兼武装部队最高统帅代比星期三晚紧急下令部队进入“最高警戒状态”，对来自苏丹方向的任何袭击进行反击，并下令全面关闭乍得与苏丹之间长达1300公里的边境。

美国称迄今已打击伊朗境内7000个目标

发布时间：2026年3月19日21:09 / 来源：联合早报

美国战争部长赫格塞斯说，美国的目标仍然是摧毁伊朗的导弹发射装置、国防工业基础和海军，并绝不允许伊朗获得核武器。 （法新社）

美国战争部长赫格塞斯说，自美伊冲突爆发以来，美国在对伊朗战争中的目标从未改变。

路透社报道，美国战争部长赫格塞斯星期四（3月19日）说，自2月28日发动打击以来，美国在对伊朗战争中的目标从未改变。

五角大楼称，美国迄今已对伊朗境内的7000个目标实施打击，并击中了40多艘伊朗布雷艇和11艘潜艇。

赫格塞斯说：“我们的目标，直接来自我们‘美国优先’的总统，至今依然与第一天完全相同。我们的目标——始终如一、精准到位，按计划推进。”

他说，美国的目标仍然是摧毁伊朗的导弹发射装置、国防工业基础和海军，并绝不允许伊朗获得核武器。

此外，美国参谋长联席会议主席凯恩（Dan Caine）说，美军已对伊拉克境内与伊朗结盟的民兵组织发动打击。

凯恩上将星期四说：“阿帕奇AH-64作战直升机一直在对伊朗支持的民兵组织实施打击，以确保我们压制在伊拉克境内针对美军或美国利益的任何威胁。”

Paxton racks up Texas endorsements as bitter Cornyn runoff hits fever pitch

Paxton said that ‘Texans are ready for a change’ and vowed to ‘work tirelessly to help Texas and support President Trump’

By Peter Pinedo
Fox News
Published March 19, 2026 10:11am EDT

Video

Scott Presler discusses SAVE America Act, Ken Paxton’s proposal on bill’s passage

Early Vote Action founder Scott Presler discusses President Donald Trump’s call for the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, requiring a valid ID to vote.

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EXCLUSIVE: The Texas Senate primary runoff is reaching a fever pitch as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton receives a slate of new endorsements from major state lawmakers and candidates over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The bitter rivals have been lobbing increasingly personal attacks at each other after a bruising primary election in which neither candidate achieved the 50% threshold to receive the GOP nomination.

Now, Paxton has received 13 new state-level political endorsements, including prominent Texas Republican Sens. Bob Hall and Donna Campbell, and state Rep. Janis Holt. This brings his total to 250 Texas leaders, including Texas members of Congress Reps. Lance Gooden and Troy Nehls, who have endorsed Paxton.

[JAMES TALARICO’S PAST ANTI-MEAT STANCE GOES VIRAL, DRAWS REPUBLICAN FIRE FROM ACROSS TEXAS POLITICAL LANDSCAPE]

While an endorsement from President Donald Trump has remained notably absent for either candidate, the new endorsements represent a groundswell of renewed grassroots enthusiasm for Paxton as he and Cornyn close in on their May runoff election.

Whichever candidate emerges victorious will have to defend the critical GOP Senate seat against progressive Democratic candidate state Rep. James Talarico.

In response to the endorsements, Paxton told Fox News Digital he is “honored to be endorsed by leaders all across the state who are fighting for Texas and our future.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his rival, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are heading to a runoff in Texas, further extending their bruising primary battle until late May.(Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images | Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“The momentum behind our campaign continues to grow stronger every single day,” Paxton continued, adding that “Texans are ready for a change and are ready to be represented by an America First warrior who is going to work tirelessly to help Texas and support President Trump.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve done as Attorney General, and it’s what I’ll continue to do as our next United States Senator,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, Cornyn campaign senior advisor Matt Mackowiak told Fox News Digital that “Ken Paxton will be a down-ballot dead weight if he is the GOP nominee, while Sen. Cornyn will provide the strongest up-ballot support for all Republicans and give the GOP the best possible chance to win the five new congressional seats that are critical to Trump’s legislative agenda.”

Cornyn “has earned the endorsement of more than 500 current and former elected officials from every corner of the state who appreciate his integrity, work ethic, and effectiveness in fighting for Texas and enacting Trump’s agenda,” Mackowiak added.

While Paxton’s list of state-level endorsements continues to grow, Cornyn, a leading member of the Senate who has filled the seat since 2002, has been endorsed by the likes of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who called him a “very effective, conservative senator for the state of Texas and does a lot of good things for our country on so many issues.”

He has also received the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Border Patrol Council and a long list of local leaders, including the famed business leader and sports gambler Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.

[CORNYN BLASTS ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ DEMOCRAT FOR HOLDING TSA AGENTS ‘HOSTAGE’ DURING AIRPORT CLASH]

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico speaks at a campaign rally March 2, 2026, in Houston.(Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)

Both candidates continue to vie for the all-important endorsement from Trump.

While the president has yet to weigh in, he has repeatedly hinted at doing so. Trump has emphasized that he likes both candidates.

He recently suggested that a voting integrity bill being voraciously debated in the Senate will play a role in his endorsement decision.

“A lot has to do with the SAVE America Act,” Trump said, “A lot is going to determine — Republicans have to get that passed, because that will secure voting in this country.”

[DEMOCRAT DARLING TALARICO CALLED OUT FOR MAKING SIXTH-GRADE PUBLIC STUDENTS WRITE ‘OBAMA MEMOIRS’]

Both candidates continue to vie for the all-important endorsement from President Donald Trump.(Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press)

Cornyn has notably reversed his previous position on nixing the filibuster to get the SAVE America Act passed.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

Related Topics

• Texas
• Elections
• Senate
• Republicans
• Donald Trump

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Trump Homeland nominee Markwayne Mullin advances to vote before full Senate | Reuters

By Ted Hesson
March 19, 2026 1:44 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Homeland Security secretary, tesifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Senate committee advances nomination in 8-7 vote
• Top Republican opposed while one Democrat supported
• Mullin could head to full Senate vote as soon as next week

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday voted to advance the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin to become ​homeland security secretary, even as the committee’s Republican chairman criticized Mullin and voted against him.

The 8-7 vote sends President Donald Trump’s homeland pick ‌to the Republican-controlled full Senate for a vote, where Mullin will need a majority to be confirmed. The committee vote was mostly along party lines, with the exception of Republican Chairman Rand Paul, who voted against Mullin, and Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who voted in support.

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Trump fired embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this month after she was criticized by Republican ​lawmakers over her handling of Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and management of the 260,000-person department.

The Republican president then nominated Mullin, a businessman who spent a ​decade in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, to take over the role.

During a confirmation ⁠hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Paul criticized Mullin for making violent statements, including showing support for a man who attacked Paul ​in 2017. Paul voted against Mullin’s nomination, putting it in jeopardy on a committee where Republicans hold an 8-7 advantage over Democrats.

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Fetterman, a moderate from Pennsylvania who had ​previously said he would vote for Mullin, praised him during Wednesday’s hearing for his approach to border security and immigration enforcement. Fetterman’s backing proved crucial to advancing the nomination as other Democrats voted against it.

Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee’s top Democrat, criticized what he called Mullin’s willingness to condone political violence and the message that sends. Peters cited a 2023 ​incident where Mullin – then a freshman senator – challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight during a Senate hearing.

“There will be no shortage of political disagreements ​facing the next DHS secretary,” Peters said, echoing Paul’s criticism a day earlier. “The department and the American people deserve a leader who is steady and proven under pressure, not ‌just someone ⁠better than the very low bar set by his predecessor. I’ll be voting no.”

If confirmed, Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, would be the second Native American to serve as a Cabinet member. His nomination could head to the full Senate as soon as next week.

MULLIN SIGNALS SOME DIFFERENCES WITH NOEM

Trump surged federal agents into U.S. cities beginning in mid-2025 to make immigration arrests, with major operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, where masked officers employing militaristic tactics led to legal ​challenges and public criticism.

Support for Trump’s immigration approach ​decreased as agents clashed with city ⁠residents and fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Reuters/Ipsos polls show.

Mullin signaled at the hearing on Wednesday that he would approach some issues differently than Noem if confirmed as secretary.

The Trump administration issued an internal policy last year that ​told federal immigration officers they could enter private homes without a judicial warrant, a controversial policy that Democrats and ​civil rights groups oppose.

Mullin ⁠said that under his leadership, officials would need a judicial warrant to enter a home or business unless they were pursuing someone into the building.

He said he would revoke a Noem policy that required her to personally approve any DHS contracts over $100,000, which led to criticism that it had delayed disaster recovery grants.

“That’s called micromanaging,” Mullin ⁠said. “I don’t ​know if the secretary put that in or someone else did. I’m not a micromanager.”

Elissa Slotkin, ​a Democrat from Michigan, said significant and lasting reforms still needed to be made to put guardrails on Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“The trust is gone, and not just with Democrats,” she told Mullin on ​Wednesday. “That’s why we’re here. That’s why your predecessor was fired. And there needs to be fundamental reform.”

Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Nick Zieminski

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美国战争部长赫格塞斯说，美国的目标仍然是摧毁伊朗的导弹发射装置、国防工业基础和海军，并绝不允许伊朗获得核武器。 （法新社）

美国战争部长赫格塞斯说，自美伊冲突爆发以来，美国在对伊朗战争中的目标从未改变。

路透社报道，美国战争部长赫格塞斯星期四（3月19日）说，自2月28日发动打击以来，美国在对伊朗战争中的目标从未改变。

五角大楼称，美国迄今已对伊朗境内的7000个目标实施打击，并击中了40多艘伊朗布雷艇和11艘潜艇。

赫格塞斯说：“我们的目标，直接来自我们‘美国优先’的总统，至今依然与第一天完全相同。我们的目标——始终如一、精准到位，按计划推进。”

他说，美国的目标仍然是摧毁伊朗的导弹发射装置、国防工业基础和海军，并绝不允许伊朗获得核武器。

延伸阅读

美情报总监拒确认伊朗构成迫在眉睫威胁

以总理出示“暗杀名单” 伊朗促国际社会不应双标

此外，美国参谋长联席会议主席凯恩（Dan Caine）说，美军已对伊拉克境内与伊朗结盟的民兵组织发动打击。

凯恩上将星期四说：“阿帕奇AH-64作战直升机一直在对伊朗支持的民兵组织实施打击，以确保我们压制在伊拉克境内针对美军或美国利益的任何威胁。”

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美国美伊冲突伊朗中东局势

上一篇 乍得指苏丹无人机袭击致17人死 边境紧急关闭 下一篇 美国科罗拉多11岁男孩被控谋杀5岁弟弟

Over a third of TSA officers call out at 3 major U.S. airports in single day as ‌funding standoff continues

March 19, 2026 / 9:37 AM EDT / CBS News

More than 40% of TSA officers called out of work on Tuesday at an airport in Houston – one of three major airports in the U.S. where over a third of workers called out that day.

The workers aren’t getting paid, leading to a spike in call-out rates, as a partial government shutdown over a funding dispute continues.

At William P. Hobby Airport in Texas, 40.8% of TSA workers called out on Tuesday. At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, nearly 36% of TSA officers called out, while more than 34% called out at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to TSA data.

“The morale is getting worse by the day because no one knows when this is gonna end,” said Cameron Cochems, a union steward and lead TSA officer in Boise, Idaho.

Cochems said people are “waiting in line because the government can’t do their job, and it’s ruining people’s lives.”

Screening lines at airports are long because of the shortages of TSA employees. They missed their first full paycheck last Friday, and since then, the agency has seen a higher-than-average number of unscheduled absences.

An underlying stalemate in Washington isn’t budging, leaving TSA and the Department of Homeland Security without funding.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Trump’s pick to lead the Homeland Security department, said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday, “we have to get DHS funded. We have to. My friends, we have to set the partisan side down.”

In Philadelphia, flyers found three of six TSA checkpoints closed on Wednesday. In Atlanta, one traveler, Reggy Monsanto, said he got to the airport with five hours to spare.

“It’s a 45 minute flight,” he said. “We got up at 6, to get on a flight at 2.”

Acting deputy TSA administrator Adam Stahl told CBS News that if the call-out rate climbs, “there could be scenarios where we may have to shut down airports.”

“This is a serious situation,” he said.

Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/over-a-third-of-tsa-officers-called-out-at-3-major-airports-tuesday-amid-partial-shutdown/

美国11岁男童涉嫌谋杀5岁弟弟，被控一级谋杀罪 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月19日 21:32

美国科罗拉多州一名11岁男孩，因涉嫌杀害自己5岁弟弟而被控谋杀。 （档案示意图）

美国媒体报道，美国科罗拉多州一名11岁男孩因涉嫌杀害5岁弟弟而被控谋杀。

法新社引述美国媒体报道，3月11日，这名5岁男童的尸体在科罗拉多州丹佛郊区的一处住宅内被发现。

阿拉帕霍县警长办公室上周透露，嫌犯是受害者的哥哥，死亡原因仍在调查中。

警长办公室说：“由于受害者和嫌疑人均为未成年人，我们将限制公布的信息资料。”

地方检察官办公室星期二（17日）说，这名11岁男孩已正式被控一级谋杀罪。检方还补充说，在科罗拉多州，青少年案件记录不向公众公开。

警长布朗在早前的声明中说：“我们向这两名年幼男孩的家人，以及社区中所有为此感到悲痛的人致以深切慰问。”

布朗说：“涉及儿童被杀的案件，是我们警员和调查人员所面对的最艰难案件之一……我们知道，这样的悲剧不仅会影响到当事家庭，也会影响整个社区的同学、老师和邻居。”

美国科罗拉多11岁男孩被控谋杀5岁弟弟

2026-03-19T13:32:02.000Z / 联合早报

美国科罗拉多州一名11岁男孩，因涉嫌杀害自己5岁弟弟而被控谋杀。 （档案示意图）

美国媒体报道，美国科罗拉多州一名11岁男孩因涉嫌杀害5岁弟弟而被控谋杀。

法新社引述美国媒体报道，3月11日，这名5岁男童的尸体在科罗拉多州丹佛郊区的一处住宅内被发现。

阿拉帕霍县警长办公室上周透露，嫌犯是受害者的哥哥，死亡原因仍在调查中。

警长办公室说：“由于受害者和嫌疑人均为未成年人，我们将限制公布的信息资料。”

地方检察官办公室星期二（17日）说，这名11岁男孩已正式被控一级谋杀罪。检方还补充说，在科罗拉多州，青少年案件记录不向公众公开。

警长布朗在早前的声明中说：“我们向这两名年幼男孩的家人，以及社区中所有为此感到悲痛的人致以深切慰问。”

布朗说：“涉及儿童被杀的案件，是我们警员和调查人员所面对的最艰难案件之一……我们知道，这样的悲剧不仅会影响到当事家庭，也会影响整个社区的同学、老师和邻居。”

ICE custody deaths are at a 2-decade high. An Afghan refugee who helped U.S. forces is one of the latest to die.

2026-03-19T08:28:00-0400 / CBS News

Dallas — On March 13, Afghan immigrant Naseer Paktiawal received a call from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which had just arrested his brother in North Texas. The first thing his brother told him was that he wasn’t feeling well.

“I told [the agent] my brother needs help. He’s not feeling good. He’s feeling pain in his body,” he told CBS News in Richardson, Texas. “He told me, don’t worry about it. We have a nurse. We will take care of him. And he hung up the phone on me.”

Less than 24 hours later, he was told his brother, 41-year-old Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, had died.

Paktiawal, who was evacuated from Afghanistan during the U.S. military withdrawal from the country in the summer of 2021, was the 12th person to die this year while in ICE custody. Two days later, a 19-year-old Mexican man died by presumed suicide. The 13 deaths are more than triple the number that had died by this point last year. In 2025, 31 ICE detainees died, a two-decade high, according to a CBS News analysis of ICE records.

The rising death toll comes as ICE’s detention population hit record highs amid President Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. As of early February, ICE was holding more than 68,000 people in detention centers across the U.S., agency figures show.

But even after accounting for the number of people in detention each year, 2025 still had the highest death rate — 5.6 people per 10,000 detainees — since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a CBS News analysis found.

Paktiawal had no pre-existing medical conditions, according to his family and ICE, and his sudden death is still under investigation. His family said he fought alongside the U.S. military in Afghanistan for roughly a decade.

“He was a hero,” Imrain Paktiawal, 12, one of his sons, told CBS News. “And he will be always a hero.”

Paktiawal is the first Afghan national to die in ICE custody since 2008. ICE stated Paktiawal was arrested in a targeted enforcement operation after local arrests on charges of fraud and theft. Those cases had not been adjudicated at the time of his death, according to local officials.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Paktiawal entered the U.S. legally through the parole immigration policy, which allows officials to quickly admit immigrants on humanitarian grounds. But DHS said that status, which is temporary in nature, expired last August.

ICE detains people the government is seeking to deport, such as those accused of being in the U.S. illegally and other noncitizens determined to be deportable, including because of criminal offenses.

ICE detention facilities have long been criticized for providing inadequate medical care. In recent months, congressional Democrats have alleged human rights abuses, including medical neglect, in ICE detention, and demanded more oversight from the Department of Homeland Security. Multiple groups have filed lawsuits alleging inhumane conditions in ICE detention.

ICE has repeatedly denied reports of substandard conditions at its detention sites.

Some detainees who died last year complained to family members before their deaths that they were unable to obtain proper care.

Isidro Perez, who was 75 and had heart disease when he was arrested in Key Largo, Florida, last June, told his former partner he was having chest pains and wasn’t getting his medication while in detention. ICE’s report on Perez alleged a physician ordered his medication while in detention. Perez died on June 26, three weeks after he was detained.

Maksym Chernyak, a Ukrainian national who died in February 2025 of a stroke, told his wife and cellmate that he was refused immediate medical care and medication despite showing symptoms including heart palpitations and blood in his stool, according to Human Rights Watch.

ICE’s own death reports also show instances of delayed care. Brayan Rayo-Garzon, a 27 year old from Colombia who died by suicide in April 2025, had a mental health appointment that was rescheduled twice. Before he had the appointment, he was found unresponsive in his cell. Leo Cruz Silva was 34 when he died by suicide last October, two days after ICE medical staff documented he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Rayo-Garzon and Cruz Silva are among seven detainees who died of apparent suicides since the start of 2025. Another detainee’s death was ruled a homicide: ICE agents held 55-year old Campos Lunas down until he stopped breathing. An ICE report on his death stated guards were intervening to prevent him from harming himself.

ICE has long denied allegations that it provides inadequate medical care. With each death the agency announces, it states that “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.”

“This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives,” ICE wrote in multiple press releases.

But Naseer Paktiawal believes his brother would still be alive today had he not been arrested.

“I want the answer for his children, for my family, for this community,” he said. “What happened to my brother?”

Mullin survives bruising hearing with Dem help, inches one step closer to becoming next DHS chief

By Alex Miller | Fox News
Published March 19, 2026 9:50am EDT

A Senate Democrat proved the decisive vote to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to the next round of his confirmation journey after an explosive hearing.

That’s because Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, vowed not to support Mullin, whom he contended was “unfit” for the role.

Mullin countered that if he had a problem with somebody, he would say it to their face. More so, he hoped to prove to Paul and Senate Democrats on the panel that he was the right pick for the job.

‘TELL ME TO MY FACE’: TOP MOMENTS IN MULLIN’S HEATED CONFIRMATION HEARING TO BE TRUMP’S NEXT DHS CHIEF

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., gestures during a hearing.(Olivier Contreras/Getty Images)

“I’m going to earn the job, I won’t fail you,” Mullin said. “I won’t back down from a challenge. And I’ll also admit when I’m wrong. I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you.”

And, like several times on the Senate floor, Paul and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., switched positions on their votes. Fetterman was the only Democrat on the panel to back Mullin, and without his vote, Republicans’ plans to sprint through the confirmation process would have been dealt a stiff blow.

Fetterman acknowledged that he could be the difference-maker after the hearing.

SCHUMER WEAPONIZES MULLIN NOMINATION TO DEMAND DHS OVERHAUL, SAYS ‘ROT’ GOES BEYOND NOEM

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., departs following a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7, 2026.(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I came here and committed to come here with an open mind, and I’m going to continue to do that,” Fetterman said. “It’s not going to be about gotcha moments for me. My experience with you has been consistent and professional.”

Mullin’s confirmation to become the next Department of Homeland Security secretary will now head to the Senate floor in the coming days and will require just a simple majority vote for him to be given the green light for the position.

But several Senate Democrats may not support him because of the ongoing fight over the DHS shutdown. Democrats have demanded stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) throughout the shutdown battle.

“I will not be supporting Sen. Mullin’s nomination should it come before the Senate,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “The problems at DHS, especially at ICE and CBP, run far deeper than just who is in charge.”

Still, Mullin survived a sometimes jovial, sometimes grueling back-and-forth during the hearing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., believed that once out of committee, Mullin would have broad support across the Senate.

“Obviously, [Wednesday’s] hearing sounds like it got a little spicy at times,” Thune said. “But at the end of the day, it comes back to the job, and it comes back to the right person for the job. And I think that Markwayne is the right person.”

MULLIN FACES DEMOCRAT GRILLING IN FIRST HURDLE TO LEAD DHS AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., grilled Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., during his confirmation hearing to become the next DHS chief.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

[Thursday’s vote] nearly didn’t happen, however, after Paul and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top-ranking Democrat on the panel, clashed over travel the lawmaker took years ago.

The duo wanted to meet and hear about the travel, which Mullin said happened while he was still in the House but couldn’t be detailed publicly, in a classified setting. Ultimately, Paul didn’t even go to the classified meeting.

A spokesperson for Paul told Fox News Digital that the lawmaker already knew how he was going to vote but wanted to facilitate the classified meeting to “make sure everyone else got the information they needed.”

And while the personal rancor between Paul and Mullin was explosive, it was not enough to sink his chances of becoming the next DHS chief.

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Paul said he would not support Mullin ahead of the confirmation vote, in part because he wouldn’t apologize for saying that the assault on Paul by a neighbor in 2017 was “justified.” He argued that Mullin’s inability to apologize, along with his previous outburst during a hearing with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, showed he lacked the mindset needed to lead DHS.

“We’re in the midst, I think, of a crisis where there needs to be more direction from the top,” Paul said. “And a guy who brawls, a guy who can’t even say he’s sorry about wishing violence on me and really applauding the attack that happened on me — can’t come to say that. I don’t know how he could, from my point of view, be a [leader of ICE or Border Patrol.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

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