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The U.S. Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday (March 23), approving the Oklahoma Republican by a vote of 54-45. Mullin was nominated by President Donald Trump earlier this month to replace Kristi Noem, who faced sharp criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over her leadership of the department and her use of taxpayer funds.
Mullin's path to confirmation came after he cleared a key procedural vote on Sunday with the support of two Democrats, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
Mullin takes over DHS at a turbulent time. The agency is operating under a partial shutdown, leaving employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other DHS agencies without pay. TSA officers have been calling out at record rates, reaching 11.76% on Sunday, causing long lines at airports across the country during the busy spring travel season. President Trump announced over the weekend that he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports starting Monday to help fill the gap.
The partial shutdown stems from a funding standoff that began in February, the same month federal immigration agents in Minneapolis killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during an enforcement surge. Democrats have withheld support for a DHS funding package over concerns about immigration enforcement policies. President Trump has told Republicans to hold off on a funding deal with Democrats until the SAVE America Act, a bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections, is passed.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin signaled a willingness to shift the agency's direction. He said he would require immigration agents to obtain judicial warrants before entering private property and expressed a desire for ICE to become more of a "transport" agency rather than a front-line enforcement body.
"I'll work beside them every single day to not just secure a homeland, to bring peace of mind and confidence to the agency," Mullin said at the hearing. "My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them, and we're working with them."
Mullin also addressed controversy surrounding his earlier comments about Pretti, one of the Minneapolis shooting victims, whom he had initially called "a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage," echoing statements from Noem and Miller. He later acknowledged the remarks were a mistake.
"Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that," Mullin told Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. "That's my fault. That won't happen as secretary."
Not all senators were enthusiastic. Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, clashed with Mullin during the hearing over comments Mullin reportedly made suggesting he could "understand" why Paul's neighbor assaulted the Kentucky Republican in 2017. Mullin did not apologize.
"I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force," Paul said.
With his confirmation now secured, Mullin faces the immediate challenges of ending the DHS partial shutdown, managing the ongoing immigration enforcement debate, and restoring stability to an agency that has been at the center of national controversy for months.