Sen. Rand Paul’s ‘duel challenge’ resurfaces after he trashed Markwayne Mullin for celebrating violence

MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Dueling with two consenting adults is still there

RAND PAUL: It's been illegal for 170 years! There's no precedent for legal dueling pic.twitter.com/eqFp5zPdOX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2026

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) once challenged journalists to a “duel” amid reports that he had plagiarized speeches from Wikipedia and portions of his book “Government Bullies” from a conservative publication.

“I take it as an insult, and I will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting. I have never intentionally done so,” Paul said on ABC News’ “This Week” in a 2013 interview.

Sen. Rand Paul mocked Sen. Markwayne Mullin over “dueling” during Wednesday’s hearing. Getty Images

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) appears on a television as he questions Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) (R) during his confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

“Like I say, if dueling were legal in Kentucky — if they keep it up — it’ll be a duel challenge,” he added.

Paul mocked Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill for wanting to return to the norm of “two consenting adults” being able to resolve their difference by “dueling.”

“It’s been illegal for 170 years. There’s no precedent for legal dueling,” the Kentucky Republican responded.

One of the reporters who published Paul’s potential plagiarism in a November 2013 article quipped Wednesday, “I was once challenged by Sen. Paul 13 years ago to a duel.”