GOP senator blows gaping hole into Markwayne Mullin's curious 'classified' story

Sen. Markwayne Mullin was under fire on Wednesday following questions over his travel for a "classified" reason when more information surfaced about what really occurred.

Mullin, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, refused to explain the "classified work" that he had claimed to have done outside the United States and did not provide lawmakers with any further details.

But several people were quick to point out online what Mullin really had done, including fellow Republican Sen. James Lankford from Mullin's home state of Oklahoma, after the nominee had claimed the House had classified the trip, which it does not have the power to do.

Lankford pointed out that Mullin might have actually signed a non-disclosure agreement.

"Sen. LANKFORD says the trip is being overblown," Punchbowl News reporter Laura Weiss wrote on X. "'This is a mountain out of a molehill issue.' LANKFORD says MULLIN is under a non-disclosure agreement related to the trip - rather than that it’s classified, which is how MULLIN described it. He adds it related to a whistleblower."

Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, pointed out the exchange and what it revealed.

"Mullin claimed that the House sent him on a classified trip that only four people knew about," Cheney wrote on X. "When Paul and Peters pressed him on which agency classified it, it led to this exchange:

MULLIN: It wasn’t an agency. It was done here, well, in the House at the time.
PETERS: The House classified it?
MULLIN: I’m assuming.
Except the House doesn't have that power. All classification authority flows from the president/executive."