Senate confirms Trump loyalist Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary

Oklahoma senator, confirmed in 54-45 vote, replaces Kristi Noem to lead president’s immigration crackdown
The Republican controlled chamber confirmed Mullin largely along party lines, with a vote of 54-45.

While Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman endorsed Mullin shortly after his nomination, support from New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich was a surprise.

After voting to advance his nomination over the weekend, Heinrich released a statement calling Mullin a “friend” who “is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views”.

“I look forward to having a secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller,” Heinrich said, referring to the White House official who is an architect of Trump’s immigration policies.

Mullin is set to play a key role in implementing those policies, which polls show are growing increasingly unpopular among the public ahead of the November midterms, in which Republicans will be defending their control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

A former House representative who was elected Oklahoma’s junior senator in 2022, Mullin now leads a 260,000-employee department whose sub-agencies include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol.

Among his first tasks is sure to be stepping up efforts to reopen its operations, parts of which were shuttered in mid-February , when Democrats rejected funding legislation for the department because it did not include new guardrails on immigration enforcement operations.

Democrats demanded the restrictions after immigration agents killed two US citizens during a weeks-long intensive enforcement operation in Minneapolis, and have listed among their demands a ban on officers wearing masks, a requirement that they display identification and adhere to rules on use of force, with all violations investigated.

The shutdown has not impacted ICE or other agencies involved in immigration enforcement, because Republicans authorized tens of billions in dollars of spending for their operations in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year.

“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 told senators.

While he expressed regret for saying Alex Pretti, the second US citizen killed in Minneapolis two months ago, was “a deranged individual that came in to cause maximum damage”, he either deflected questions from Democrats about specific immigration arrests or tactics, or signaled he would not alter course.

Among policies he refused to endorse was keeping immigration agents away from polling stations, where some Trump allies have said they should be deployed, prompting fears that they will scare off voters in the November elections.

“I don’t understand what the concern about enforcing immigration at polling places is anyways.

Because, honestly, if you’re not a citizen, you shouldn’t be voting anyways,” Mullin said.

Mullin’s departure from the Senate allows Oklahoma’s Republican governor Kevin Stitt to appoint a replacement, who under state law must be from the same party as the incumbent, and cannot stand in the next election for the seat.

The special election to replace Mullin will take place during the midterm elections in November.