Mullin confirmed as DHS chief as lawmakers near solution on shutdown standoff

It also caps off a 13-year career in Congress that began in the House and saw Mullin score a seat in the Senate in 2021 where he became the de facto bridge between both chambers, helping to build trust between the House and Senate during last year's push to pass the "big, beautiful bill." Ahead of the vote he arrived flanked by his family, and was excited to cast his final vote on himself.

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."
MULLIN'S CONFIRMATION SURVIVES KEY TEST VOTE AS DHS REMAINS SHUT DOWN
"And I look forward to having a secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller," Heinrich said.

Sen.

Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote against Mullin, citing their chilly relationship and Mullin’s past comments that his 2017 assault was "justified."
Mullin’s confirmation also saw the close of a whirlwind month in which Noem was reassigned after an explosive pair of hearings on Capitol Hill, as well as the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW
Still, Noem’s ousting and Mullin’s ascension have done little to shift Senate Democrats from their position.

They continue to demand sweeping reforms to ICE and have so far blocked funding to the agency five times, along with several GOP attempts to temporarily extend funding to DHS.

The path to ending the shutdown appeared to become more complicated over the weekend.

Both sides began meeting for the first time during the shutdown, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., characterizing the talks as "productive."
GOP SENATOR’S GAMBIT EXPOSES FALSE DEM CLAIMS ABOUT SUPPORTING VOTER ID
"In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!!

Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C.

for Easter, if necessary," Trump said.

That comes after Thune suggested to the president that Republicans could carve out ICE and Customs and Border Protection funding from a broader DHS package and instead fund those agencies through budget reconciliation.

Canceling recess may be a hard sell in the upper chamber, given that votes this past weekend were plagued by absences.

When asked if he would cancel the upcoming two-week break, Thune said, "We'll see."
A cohort of Senate Republicans met with Trump ahead of Mullin's confirmation vote.

Sen.

Katie Britt, R-Ala., told reporters after that the meeting went "really well."
When asked if Republicans had a solution to end the closure, she said, "We do."
"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."