Will Homeland Security Change Under Markwayne Mullin? Meet the man Trump wants to run
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US President Donald Trump’s firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday overshadowed the announcement of his plans to nominate Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her successor.
But as the dust settles, it remains unclear how much things will change at the Department of Homeland Security under Mullin’s leadership, given his staunch defense of Trump and his immigration policies.
A former mixed-martial arts fighter and mixed wrestler, Mullin, a resident of the Cherokee Nation, was first elected to the US Congress in 2012. He was elected Oklahoma’s junior senator in 2023.
He gained a reputation for fighting in the Senate and became very friendly with Trump after attending an NCAA wrestling event in Tulsa, Okla., in 2023.
“Markwayne will make an amazing Secretary of Homeland Security,” Trump said on his Public Truth account.
Mullin, an outspoken MAGA supporter, told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that he would get DHS “focused on protecting the country.”
“Whether you support me or not, I will focus more on making that happen,” he said.
Supporter of ICE, border wall
Mullin has long criticized sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal efforts to detain undocumented immigrants.
He co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act, which would require any suspected illegal immigrant theft, assault on a law enforcement officer and any crime causing death or serious bodily injury to be held in federal custody until expunged.
He also called for the completion of the wall on the southern border of the United States and Mexico.
After the death of two US citizens in Minneapolis at the hands of a federal agent, Mullin defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying “I stand with DHS.”
ICE agents are not Disney villains. They are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. These immigration and law enforcement officers are red-blooded Americans who do the hard work of keeping our nation safe. ICE raids increased by 1,300%. I am with @DHSgov.
Hot temper in the Senate
Mullin’s heated debates in the Senate included a 2023 hearing with the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, in which Mullin told the union leader to “stand tall,” before standing up from his seat and appearing to remove his ring.
“If you want to run your mouth, we can be two adults who agree,” said Mullin to Sean O’Brien, the president of the union, with whom Mullin had engaged in discussions on social media. “We can finish here.”
In the months after his confrontation with O’Brien, the two reconciled, and Mullin called the union leader “a new friend.”
At a meeting of the US Senate committee, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) challenged Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to a fight over a series of inflammatory posts O’Brien made about him on X, formerly known as Twitter. The heated argument lasted about six minutes as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate panel holding the hearing, tried to interrupt them and urged them to calm down.
Social media spars
The interaction emphasized that Mullin is one of Trump’s fiercest defenders in Congress and frequently engages with people on social media.
In a state of the union address last month, Mullin swiped a sign held by Democratic Rep. Al Green that read “Black people are not monkeys,” referring to a racist video Trump posted depicting former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys in the jungle.
But he is also known to walk the halls wearing a hat and cowboy boots, sometimes hitting a rubber ball as he talks to reporters.
Mullin initially vowed to serve only three terms in Congress — a promise he later broke when he announced plans to run for re-election, saying he “didn’t understand politics” when he took the first oath.
Former US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Darius Reeves told CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit that he no longer sees the agency he spent 20 years working for.
Mullin also faced criticism for receiving at least $1.8 million in federal bailouts designed to keep small businesses operating during the COVID-19 crisis.
Information from the US Treasury Department showed that four different businesses owned by Mullin received between $800,000 and $1.9 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. Mullin’s spokesman said at the time the congressman was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and referred questions to their chief financial officers.
