Markwayne Mullin a Step Closer to DHS Confirmation After Hearing

With his Wednesday confirmation hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin got one step closer to leading the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Mullin, R-Okla., engaged in a difficult balancing act in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, attempting to cool tensions with fellow senators while refusing to yield ground to Democrats’ demands.

“I don’t get to choose the laws that I enforce. You guys pass the laws, I enforce the laws.” Mullin told Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who pressed him on whether he would “give the green light to lawless behavior.” 

Mullin had plenty of reason to avoid speaking on behalf of the administration.

Current Secretary Kristi Noem’s upcoming departure was announced shortly after she was subjected to tough questioning in a Senate committee hearing on whether President Donald Trump was aware of a multi-million-dollar ad campaign for DHS that prominently featured her.

Additionally, the White House is currently negotiating with Senate Democrats, who for 32 days have blocked a bill which would fully fund DHS. The agency is currently shut down.

The Oklahoma senator promised a new leadership style while yielding to the authority of the president and Congress.

“Eveybody has different leadership styles,” he said, adding:

I want to protect the homeland, I want to bring peace of mind, and I want to bring confidence back to the agency. I’m not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into, but I know how to get talent and I know how to bring those people together.

Mullin’s toughest interlocutor was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the committee. 

Paul grilled him on past statements about political violence, such as when he said he understood why Paul’s neighbor assaulted him in 2017, and remarks on the history of duels between lawmakers.

Paul additionally played video of an intense 2023 confrontation between Mullin and teamsters union leader Sean O’Brien, in which Mullin told O’Brien to “stand [his] butt up” so they could resolve a dispute.

“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul said. 

He added, “If you just disliked me so much that you approved of violence against me, people could just write it off … maybe they hate each other, but really, there’s a pattern of this.”

Mullin pushed back on Paul’s allegations while slamming him for his frequent votes against Republican-backed bills.

“I’ve worked with many people in this room. It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,” Mullin said to Paul. “And as far as … saying that I invoke violence … I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise. I don’t like that.”

Paul told reporters after the hearing he intended to vote against Mullin’s confirmation.

Mullin got gentler treatment from some Democrats than he did from Paul.

“My experience with you has been consistent kindness and professionalism,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who said he favored deporting criminals and maintaining a secure border.

Paul has scheduled a vote on advancing Mullin’s nomination out of the committee for Thursday. Noem is set to leave DHS at the end of March.

If Paul votes against advancing Mullin’s nomination, Mullin will need the vote of one Democrat to advance.

Pressed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on immigration law enforcement’s use of administrative warrants, rather than ones issued by a judge, Mullin also remained diplomatic but refused to make concessions on behalf of the administration he intends to join.

“I have made it very clear … that judicial warrants will be used to go into houses, into place of businesses, unless we’re pursuing someone that enters in that place,” Mullin said.

Mullin also defended the actions of law enforcement in the confrontation which resulted in the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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