Senate to take final vote Monday on Mullin’s DHS secretary appointment

The Senate is expected to vote Monday night on Senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security.

The Oklahoma Republican was chosen by President Donald Trump earlier this month to replace Kristi Noem, who has come under intense scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans for her leadership at the department and her use of taxpayer money.

“My goal in six months is for us to not be the lead story every day. My goal is for people to understand that we’re there, we’re protecting them, we’re working with them,” Mullin said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week. he said.

Mullin cleared a procedural hurdle on Sunday with the support of two Democrats – Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico – and is expected to be confirmed by his Senate colleagues.

If confirmed, Mullin would inherit a DHS that has been shuttered as Democrats continue to lack support for a funding package over concerns about immigration enforcement policies. Meanwhile, Trump is trying to overcome a hurdle. irrelevant voter ID bill and told Republicans to delay the DHS funding deal with Democrats until the SAVE America Act is passed.

The agency’s funding ended in February, a month after federal immigration agents in Minneapolis killed two U.S. citizens during a wave of enforcement.

Mullin is generally respected by his Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and he signaled at his confirmation hearing that he was open to changing the direction of the agency.

He told the panel that he would require immigration agents to obtain judicial authorization to enter private property and said he would like to see ICE become “more of a front-line transportation tool” in immigration enforcement.

“This will surprise some people, but I consider Markwayne Mullin a friend. We have a very honest and constructive working relationship,” Heinrich said in a statement after supporting Mullin in a procedural vote Sunday.

“I’ve seen firsthand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a secretary who doesn’t take his orders from Stephen Miller,” Heinrich said, referring to the White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser who Democrats say called the shots during Noem’s tenure.

Despite the cross-party friendship, many Democrats on the Senate panel pressed Mullin on his close ties to Trump, his tough stance on immigration and a trip abroad that he said was “secret” while he was a member of the House of Representatives.

Mullin criticized committee Chairman Sen. whom candidate Trump recently called a “terrible snake.” Rand argued with Paul. Before winning the DHS nomination, Mullin also reportedly said she could “understand” why Paul’s neighbor attacked the Kentucky Republican in 2017.

Mullin did not apologize when he confronted Paul in the hearing room.

“I wonder whether someone who applauds violence against his political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that struggles to recognize the limits of the appropriate use of force,” Paul said.