Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead Homeland Security as TSA
standoff deepens
[March 24, 2026]
By REBECCA SANTANA
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland
security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trump's
nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi
Noem during a public backlash over the administration's immigration
enforcement and mass deportation operations.
Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close
friendship with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand,
saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the
front page of the news. He takes over at a difficult time as Trump has
ordered ICE agents to bolster airport security during a budget standoff
in Congress. And he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland
Security Committee, who questioned Mullin's character and temperament
during last week's combative confirmation hearing.
Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45.
Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since
Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation
Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay.
Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in
immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S.
citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the
latest proposal, and talks have stalled.
MMA fighter takes on Homeland Security
While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in
Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding
family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key
force in immigration issues.
A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led
early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became
close with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in
partisan Washington.
It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and he’s not
expected to sway from the president’s approach. Mullin was a strong
supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE officers before being
tapped for the DHS job.
“I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as
secretary of homeland I’ll be protecting everybody,” Mullin said during
his confirmation hearing.
Immigration enforcement at center of funding stalemate
Mullin’s first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the
department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand
tighter restraints. They want immigration officers to identify
themselves and not wear masks; refrain from enforcement operations
around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; wear
body cameras; and obtain a judge's approval on warrants before entering
people's homes or private spaces.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself
as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency — an image that was
challenged by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a
heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal
executor of Trump’s agenda.
Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote, and again Monday.
Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of
New Mexico joined the other Republicans in voting to confirm the
nominee.
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump's pick for
Homeland Security secretary, testifies during Senate Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Wednesday, March
18, 2026 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce
Ceneta)
“Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead," said Sen. John Barrasso of
Wyoming, the No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will “serve
with seriousness and character. He will be a leader who makes our
country safer.”
Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the
president’s immigration agenda has fallen after a year of
high-profile operations in multiple American cities. Under Noem’s
leadership, officers were accused of using force to arrest
immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due
process to rapidly deport immigrants.
Mullin did walk back some of his comments during his confirmation
hearing, saying he was wrong to malign protester Alex Pretti after
he was shot and killed by an ICE officer. He said that as secretary
he would refrain from making judgments before an investigation is
carried out.
He shed light on other ways he might influence policy when it comes
to immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to
use a warrant signed by a judge — not the administrative warrants
now used by ICE officers — to enter a house except in rare
circumstances.
He acknowledged the concerns some communities have over building
massive ICE detention facilities in their neighborhoods and said
cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that
don’t work with ICE would be a last resort.
But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it
comes to how Trump’s vision for immigration enforcement is carried
out, and Mullin is expected to follow its lead. Trump faces a strong
lobby within the GOP pushing him to make good on his promise to
deport 1 million people a year.
FEMA and federal disaster aid in flux
Mullin will also have his hands full charting a new course at the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has come under scrutiny
as it delivers disaster aid to parts of the country hard-hit by
hurricanes and other natural disasters.
A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, said Noem’s
policy of personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed
disaster response, and the department still doesn’t have a full-time
administrator.
Mullin presented a fresh approach on federal emergency management
during his Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of
eliminating FEMA and saying he would revoke Noem’s contract approval
rule.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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