Senate confirms Mullin as DHS chief

The US Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of Homeland Security in a 54-45 vote.

All Republicans except Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voted to confirm their colleague.

Agencia EFE

Democratic Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico broke with their party to support Mullin.

This confirmation marked President Donald Trump's first Cabinet reshuffle of his second term.

The vote came amid a partial government shutdown affecting DHS operations since February 14.

The confirmation followed a rapid process after Trump nominated Mullin on March 5, with hearings conducted before both House and Senate committees.

Markwayne Mullin brings a unique background to the DHS leadership role, characterized by his athletic career and political journey.

The 48-year-old Republican served as a US representative in the House for ten years before winning a special election in 2022 to become Oklahoma's junior senator.

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Prior to his political career, Mullin was a professional mixed martial arts fighter and owns a major plumbing company.

This gives him a distinctive entrepreneurial profile among cabinet members.

His combative personality has been evident on Capitol Hill, where he is known for his presence in the congressional gym and for cultivating relationships across party lines.

One notable controversy involved Mullin calling Kentucky Senator Rand Paul a 'snake' and his willingness to physically confront witnesses during a 2023 Senate hearing, which Senator Bernie Sanders had to de-escalate.

Mullin's appointment comes amid significant challenges at DHS, particularly following the controversial tenure of his predecessor Kristi Noem, whom Trump removed earlier this month.

Noem's departure was fueled by bipartisan criticism over her handling of a Minneapolis incident in January where federal immigration agents shot dead two US citizens during an enforcement operation.

Further controversy arose when Noem revealed that Trump had personally approved a $220 million advertising campaign around self-deportations that critics decried as a publicity stunt.

The department has been operating under a partial shutdown since February 14 after Democrats rejected funding legislation that lacked new guardrails on immigration enforcement operations.

The shutdown has particularly impacted the Transportation Security Administration, with over 300 employees quitting and causing extended travel delays at airports nationwide.

Despite these challenges, ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies continue operations due to separate funding authorized in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In his confirmation hearing and subsequent statements, Mullin outlined a different approach to leading DHS compared to his predecessor, signaling a desire for lower public profile and more measured enforcement practices.

He promised to eliminate Noem's policy that required the secretary to personally review Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts worth more than $100,000, which he called 'micromanagement.'

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Mullin also pledged that ICE agents would only be allowed to enter homes with an administrative warrant in extremely exigent circumstances, representing a potential shift from current policy.

His stated goal was that 'in six months is that we're not the lead story every single day,' indicating an attempt to reduce the department's controversial public visibility.

However, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin expressed skepticism, stating 'While the problems at DHS are larger than any one person, I remain concerned that Senator Mullin will not rein in ICE abuses.'

Mullin will now oversee a 260,000-employee department whose sub-agencies include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol during a politically challenging period.