Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 54-45 to become the ninth Homeland Security secretary, ending a race to succeed troubled outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem.
Additionally, it concludes Mullin’s 13-year career in Congress, which started in the House. In 2021, he was elected to the Senate, where he served as a de facto liaison between the two chambers, fostering mutual trust during last year’s push to pass the “big, beautiful bill.” He was eager to cast his last vote for himself when he arrived at the polls with his family by his side.
President Donald Trump picked Mullin to head the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month, and the confirmation vote was mostly along party lines. To secure his nomination, Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, and John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined almost every Republican.
Heinrich said he bucked his party because he has seen that Mullin — who co-chairs the Senate Legislative Branch spending committee with him — “is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views.”
“And I look forward to having a secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller,” Heinrich said.
The only Republican to vote against Mullin was Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who cited their strained relationship and Mullin’s prior remarks that his assault in 2017 was “justified.”
Mullin’s confirmation also marked the end of a hectic month that saw the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and Noem’s reassignment following two explosive hearings on Capitol Hill.
However, Mullin’s rise to power and Noem’s removal have not significantly changed Senate Democrats’ stance. Along with multiple GOP attempts to temporarily extend funding to DHS, they have so far blocked funding to ICE five times and continue to demand broad reforms to the agency.
Over the weekend, there seemed to be more obstacles in the way of ending the shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., described the first meetings between the two parties during the shutdown as “productive.”
However, Trump threw a wrench into negotiations Sunday night, writing on Truth Social: “I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.’”
“In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary,” Trump said.
This follows Thune’s suggestion to the president that Republicans should separate funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection from a larger DHS package and instead use budget reconciliation to support those agencies.
Given that there were a lot of absentee votes this past weekend, it might be difficult to convince the upper house to cancel recess. Thune responded, “We’ll see,” when asked if he would call off the next two-week vacation.
Prior to Mullin’s confirmation vote, Trump met with a group of Senate Republicans. Following the meeting, Sen. Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, told reporters that it went “really well.”
She responded, “We do,” when asked if Republicans had a plan to stop the closure.
However, Senate Democrats continue to oppose the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in unison.
“We’re ready to meet with the White House today to keep talking,” Schumer said. “In fact, we were going to meet this morning with Tom Homan. But apparently the White House pulled that meeting because of Donald Trump’s temper tantrum. They’re all scrambling around there in the White House. They don’t know what to do.”
