Sen. Markwayne Mullin has never been known for being subtle. The Oklahoma senator characterizes himself as “blunt” and someone who, if he has something to say, will “say it directly to your face.”
That character trait was on full display Wednesday during his high-profile confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, a position that has become politically potent in recent months under the Trump administration.
Mullin’s nomination comes at a rocky time for the department, which has been shut down for over a month due to Democratic protests over how federal immigration officers operate — particularly after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis earlier this year. His consideration also comes after current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was abruptly removed from the department’s top position, and Mullin was tapped as her replacement in the same surprise announcement.
The Oklahoma senator faced tough questions from Democrats who pressed Mullin on whether he would run the department differently from Noem, while Republicans praised his work in Congress and instead focused their attacks on Democrats for the current shutdown.
Despite the political divide, Mullin is on track to be approved by the Senate when it comes up for a vote. A slim majority of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has said they’ll advance him, and Mullin will only need a simple majority of the full Senate to be confirmed.
However, a clear path is not guaranteed — especially among questions about secretive travel the senator took while in the House roughly a decade ago.
Even if he is confirmed, Mullin could still face challenges if he is elevated to the position, especially as he’ll have to work with some skeptics in Congress — including a top Republican who will directly work with the secretary on homeland security issues.
Here are the top takeaways from Mullin’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Mullin clashes with top Senate Republican on homeland security
Despite Mullin’s confirmation likely having a path forward, the Oklahoma Republican must face skepticism from an unlikely source: the Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky wasted no time to lay into Mullin at the top of the hearing, noting he was unsure of Mullin’s candidacy because of previous comments he had made against Paul.
Paul was specifically referring to comments in which Mullin called the Kentucky Republican a “freaking snake” for his opposition to a funding bill in February, and for suggesting he understood why Paul’s neighbor attacked him in 2017 — an attack that left him with broken ribs and other injuries.
“Tell it to my face, tell the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung,” Paul said in his opening statement.
Mullin responded by saying he is “very blunt and direct to the point,” acknowledging that he and Paul just simply “don’t get along.” But, Mullin pushed back against characterizations that he is a liar because he criticizes people to their faces.
“The truth is, I have a job, and I don’t like to fail at all,” Mullin said. “So I can set it aside if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect.”
Paul criticized Mullin for what he considered to be a refusal to apologize, questioning why the Senate should approve “a man with anger issues.”
“Do you think that justifying that kind of violence sets a good example for the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol?” Paul said.
Mullin ‘regrets’ comments he made disparaging protesters shot by immigration officers
Mullin said he regrets his previous comments calling Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old who was shot by immigration officers in Minneapolis in January, a “deranged” person — but stopped short of apologizing for his remarks.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” Mullin said.
Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, pressed him further: “Is that the same as an apology?”
“I haven’t seen the investigation,” Mullin replied. “We’ll let the investigation go through, and if I’m proven wrong, then I will, absolutely.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned Mullin on comments he made about Renee Good, who was also fatally shot by federal immigration officers about two weeks before Pretti. After that shooting, Mullin had told CNN he found the officer’s response “justified.”
“It’s very clear that an officer had to make a split decision,” Mullin said. “In that case, a car was running towards him and did strike him. At that point, that car becomes a lethal weapon, and an officer that was — there was another officer obviously giving her verbal commands.”
“You’re saying you do not regret that statement?” Blumenthal cut in.
“I’m saying that the investigation is going on,” Mullin repeated.
Blumenthal pushed back to say an investigation has not been opened into Good’s death, pressing Mullin on whether he would open an inquiry as DHS secretary — which the Oklahoma senator said he would look into whether an investigation has been initiated.
Republicans praise Mullin’s character, criticize Democrats for shutting down DHS
As questions pingponged between senators in different parties, Republicans overwhelmingly used their time for questions to praise Mullin’s character and criticize Democrats for politicizing DHS in the ongoing shutdown.
“I’m going to ruin everything for the audience: You will be confirmed, you have the job,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. “And you’re going to make this country safer and better, and for that, I thank you.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., used his seven minutes of questions to ask Mullin about personal stories of his relationship with President Donald Trump, who the Oklahoma senator said was “a friend.”
Mullin got visibly emotional when telling a story about his son who suffered a “serious brain injury” in 2020, recalling that Trump called the family “every day for two weeks” to check on his progress and even paid a personal visit to his son during treatment.
“From my standpoint, when you’re trying to select somebody to run an operation, you want somebody with integrity, somebody with that passion toward the mission keeping this nation safe, and having this love for this country,” Johnson said. “It’s also, I think, incredibly important that when you serve your administration, you have a good relationship with the president.”
Democrats want Mullin to change direction of DHS
For Democrats, their line of questioning focused mostly on the premise of: Will you be different from your predecessor?
Under Noem, Democrats argue, public trust in the department has decreased and collaboration with Congress has been strained. Throughout their questioning, the minority party pressed Mullin on some of Noem’s most controversial policies — particularly on carrying out arrests.
Mullin broke from Noem to say that the department, under his direction, would only enter places of residences or workplaces for an arrest if they had a judicial warrant or if the subject being pursued “ran into that home.”
“A judicial warrant will be used to go into houses, in a place of businesses, unless we’re pursuing someone that enters in that place,” Mullin said. “I have not minced words with that, and I haven’t changed my opinion about that.”
Democrats also pressed Mullin on a policy implemented by Noem that any grant over $100,000 needed her personal approval, which the minority party argued slowed the funding of certain projects for FEMA and other agencies. Mullin said he would not adhere to that policy, calling it a form of “micromanaging.”
“I’m not a micromanager,” Mullin said. “We will have a very clear line of communication with every one of our agencies … and we’ll discuss but we’re also going to be very responsible for the taxpayer dollars.”