Markwayne Mullin has been confirmed as the new homeland security secretary, taking the helm of a department facing intense scrutiny over its immigration enforcement policies and mass deportation operations. President Donald Trump’s nominee was approved late Monday, following the firing of Kristi Noem amidst public backlash.
The Republican senator from Oklahoma, a close associate of Trump, has sought to project an image of stability, aiming to “get the department off the front page of the news.” He assumes leadership during a tumultuous period, with President Trump having directed ICE agents to enhance airport security amid a congressional budget impasse.
Mullin also faced a combative confirmation hearing last week, where he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee over his character and temperament.
Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote of 54-45.
Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.
While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.
A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became close with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan Washington.
It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and he’s not expected to sway from the president’s approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE officers before being tapped for the DHS job.
“I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland I’ll be protecting everybody,” Mullin said during his confirmation hearing.
Mullin’s first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand tighter restraints. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear masks; refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; wear body cameras; and obtain a judge’s approval on warrants before entering people’s homes or private spaces.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency — an image that was challenged by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal executor of Trump’s agenda.
Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined most other Republicans in advancing the nominee in a Sunday vote.
“Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will “serve with seriousness and character. He will be a leader who makes our country safer.”
Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the president’s immigration agenda has fallen after a year of high-profile operations in multiple American cities. Under Noem’s leadership, officers were accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.
