Mullin survives key test vote and moves closer to leading DHS

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., survived a key test vote Sunday in his bid to become the next Homeland Security chief.

Mullin, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the next Department of Homeland Security secretary, still has one more vote left and likely won’t be confirmed until Monday evening.

If she survives Monday’s final confirmation vote, she will replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, whom Trump fired following explosive hearings on the Hill and the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during immigration operations in Minnesota.

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Sunday’s test vote, which was largely along party lines except for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was the key vote to remove his colleague from the committee, followed an explosive confirmation hearing earlier in the week.

Mullin was grilled by both Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whom Mullin once called a “snake” and claimed his 2017 attack was “justified.” During the hearing, Mullin did not back down from his previous remarks.

“I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect,” Mullin said. “I make mistakes like everyone else. But if you own your mistakes, you can learn from them and move forward. And I will honor that commitment to you.”

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Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

If successful on Monday, Mullin would take the reins of a now-shuttered agency. Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY), have blocked DHS funding five times in their quest for tough reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mullin appeared friendly about making changes to the agency during his hearing.

Congressional Democrats demanded, among other things, that ICE agents obtain judicial warrants rather than administrative warrants to enter a home or business in the field. And when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked whether he would require judicial warrants for ICE agents to search homes and businesses, Mullin appeared to agree to the request.

“Judicial warrants will be used to enter homes and businesses unless we are pursuing anyone who enters them,” Mullin said. “I didn’t mix words with that and I didn’t change my mind about it.”

Meanwhile, the shutdown impasse was resolved earlier this week when Senate Democrats made a counteroffer to the White House on DHS’s demands after more than two weeks of radio silence.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

That spurred back-to-back meetings on the Hill where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., along with border czar Tom Homan, sat in with a caucus of Senate Democrats. The third meeting was planned to be held on Saturday but was canceled at the last minute.

The shutdown is now on track to be the longest in history unless both parties can reach an agreement to fund the agency. Mullin’s nomination to DHS has also not impressed Senate Democrats so far, despite demands for Noem’s removal.

It is not yet known whether both sides will meet again at the weekend.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) accused Senate Democrats of believing the shutdown was “politically good for them.”

“Having tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people out of work, having important functions of our government not being performed on a daily basis and functions that are important to our homeland security and national security is not a good thing politically for anyone,” Thune said.