Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., will become the new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, taking control of the agency more than five weeks into a shutdown stemming from Democratic demands to reform federal immigration policies.
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Mullin to the position, setting the stage for the first-term senator to take over the department this week. Mullin’s confirmation comes just weeks after President Donald Trump abruptly removed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from the top administration position.
Both Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis voted to confirm Mullin.
Mullin’s confirmation comes at a contentious 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.
Federal funding lapsed on Feb. 14, and the agency has been operating without a new budget since then, causing major delays for travelers and other national security concerns as tens of thousands of employees go without paychecks.
Mullin’s first objective as DHS secretary will likely be to join negotiations with Senate Democrats, who are demanding major reforms. Talks began to heat up last week but appeared to taper off over the weekend.
The White House has since indicated it would not continue talks until Mullin was placed in his new position.
Beyond DHS talks, the Oklahoma Republican has other skeptics in Congress he’ll need to contend with — including Sen. Rand Paul, the top Republican who will directly work with the secretary on homeland security issues. A handful of Democrats have also said they didn’t support his nomination.
Only two Democratic senators voted in favor of Mullin: Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Paul was the lone Republican to object.
Paul questioned whether Mullin is fit for the position, pointing to past comments in which Mullin called the Kentucky Republican a “freaking snake” for his opposition to a funding bill in February. Mullin also previously said he understood why a neighbor attacked Paul in 2017 — an attack that left him with broken ribs and other injuries.
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.
There were also outstanding questions about foreign travel Mullin took while he was a member of the House in 2015, details of which the now-senator said were “classified” and he could not share. But after meeting with senators on the committee, it didn’t emerge as a detriment to his nomination.