Washington DC - President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security survived a knife-edge Senate committee vote on his confirmation Thursday.

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 to approve Senator Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the powerful agency responsible for carrying out Trump's mass detention and deportation agenda.

Republican leaders are eyeing a full Senate vote as early as next week, where he is expected to get an easier ride than he did in the committee.

The panel's Republican chairman Rand Paul had opposed the nomination, citing what he described as Mullin's "anger issues" and past inflammatory remarks. That left Mullin needing a Democrat to break ranks, and Pennsylvania's right-wing Senator John Fetterman obliged.

The hearing on Wednesday – the only formal hurdle before a floor vote – quickly turned tense, with Paul confronting Mullin over past comments and questioning his temperament.

Mullin previously called Paul a "freaking snake" for breaking with Republicans on key votes, while Paul has accused the nominee of effectively excusing a 2017 assault in which the chairman was severely injured by a neighbor.

Democrats pressed Mullin over his record and the administration's immigration policies, expressing skepticism about his promises to chart a less violent course than outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, who was ousted after federal agents killed two Americans during a virtual occupation of Minnesota.

Mullin sought to reassure lawmakers by pledging a lower-profile approach to running the department, saying his goal was to avoid dominating headlines.

"My goal at six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day," he told senators. "My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them."

He also signaled openness to requiring judicial warrants for immigration enforcement operations, a potential shift from current policy and a key demand from Democrats in ongoing funding negotiations.

But those assurances did little to ease opposition.

Several Democrats said they would need to see concrete legislative changes before taking Mullin at his word, particularly as the department remains partially shut down amid a standoff over immigration enforcement.