US Senator Markway Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on March 18, 2026.
Ivan Vucchi | reuters
The Senate is expected to vote Monday night on the nomination of Senator Markway Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
The Oklahoma Republican was chosen earlier this month by President Donald Trump to replace Kristi Noem, who has faced a flurry of scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike for her leadership of the department and her use of taxpayer dollars.
“My goal in six months is for us to not be the main story every day. My goal is to make people understand that we are there, we are protecting them and we are working with them,” Mullin said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week.
Mullin cleared a procedural hurdle on Sunday with the support of two Democrats – Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico – and is expected to be approved by his Senate colleagues.
If approved, Mullin would take over a DHS that has been stalled because Democrats are blocking support for the funding package due to concerns about immigration enforcement policies. Meanwhile, Trump is trying to create a jam Unrelated voter-ID bill And has called on Republicans to block the DHS funding deal with Democrats until the Save America Act is passed.
Funding for the agency ended in February, the month after federal immigration agents in Minneapolis killed two US citizens during an enforcement surge.
Mullin is generally well-regarded by his Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and at his confirmation hearing he indicated he was willing to change the direction of the agency.
He told the panel that he would require immigration agents to obtain a judicial warrant to enter private property and said he would like to see ICE become “more of a frontline vehicle than a transportation vehicle” in immigration enforcement.
“This is going to surprise some people, but I consider Markwayne Mullin a friend. We have a very honest and constructive working relationship,” Heinrich said in a statement Sunday after supporting Mullin in the procedural vote.
“I’ve also seen firsthand that Markene is not someone who can be bullied into changing her views, and I expect a secretary who doesn’t take her orders from Stephen Miller,” Heinrich said, referring to the White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser.
Despite the cross-party camaraderie, several Democrats on the Senate panel pressed Mullin about his close ties to Trump, his hardline stance on immigration and his travel abroad while a member of the House, which they described as “classified.”
Mullin clashed with the committee’s chairman, Senator Rand Paul, whom the Trump nominee recently called a “crazy snake.” Before earning the DHS nomination, Mullin also reportedly said he could “understand” why Paul’s neighbor attacked the Kentucky Republican in 2017.
Mullin did not apologize when confronted by Paul in the hearing room.
Paul said, “I just wonder whether someone who applauds violence against his political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept the limits of appropriate use of force.”