Senate to consider Markwayne Mullin’s nomination amid DHS shutdown | Trump administration
On Wednesday, a Senate committee will consider Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which Democrats have forced to partially shut down until their demands for guardrails on immigration enforcement are met.
Donald Trump nominated Mullin, a first-term Republican senator from Oklahoma, to be DHS secretary earlier this month after the President fired Secretary Kristi Noem amid public outcry over the administration’s aggressive approach to its mass deportation agenda; this resulted in the killing of two US citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis.
Mullin’s nomination clashes with a disagreement in Congress over the department’s funding; Democrats have refused to vote unless the Trump administration and its Republican allies agree to a set of new guidelines on officers from agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, both of which are overseen by DHS. Their demands include banning police officers from wearing masks and randomly stopping people suspected of being in the country illegally, as well as establishing a use-of-force policy.
Those issues will come up Wednesday morning when Mullin’s confirmation hearing begins before the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee.
“I am grateful to President Trump for nominating me to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” Mullin said on social media earlier this month.
“I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the Senate and carrying out President Trump’s mission alongside the department’s many talented agencies and the thousands of patriots who keep us safe every day.”
All signs point to a swift confirmation for Mullin, who was elected to the Senate in 2022 after serving five terms in the House. Republicans praised his nomination, and their control of the Senate gives them the numbers to carry out his appointment even if Democrats oppose him.
John Barrasso, the Senate’s second-ranking Republican, called Mullin “a great senator” and said: “He will be an outstanding senator.” [homeland security] He will work closely with the Secretary and President Trump to make America safer. As whip I will work to confirm him quickly.
While Democrats have remained relatively quiet on Mullin, party leaders instead say their demands for reforms to immigration operations will not change no matter who runs DHS.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said after Mullin’s nomination was announced: “This is a policy issue, not a personnel issue. The rot is deep. No one can fix this until the president transforms the entire agency, stops the violence, and reins in ICE.”
Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman, who sits on the homeland security committee, is the only Democrat in the chamber so far to support Mullin. “I’m not sure how many of our fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague [senator Mullin] as the next DHS Secretary, but I am NO,” he wrote to X.
The homeland security committee has scheduled a vote on his nomination for Thursday, after which he could be considered by the full Senate.
Republicans will likely use the hearing to focus on the impact of the DHS shutdown, which has led to employees of the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) being furloughed or forced to continue working without pay. In recent weeks, abnormally long queues have been reported at TSA checkpoints at many airports, and airline executives have publicly appealed for the closure to end.
But the two parties are at odds over how to do this. Democrats have proposed standalone bills to fund DHS agencies not involved in immigration enforcement operations while negotiations over their demands continue, but Republicans have blocked them, arguing that reopening the entire department is necessary.
The closure did not lead to a halt in arrests and deportations because they were paid for by the Big Beautiful Bill that Republicans passed last year.
