Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, was a key vote in advancing Mullin’s nomination.
Markwayne Mullin clarifies ICE position during DHS confirmation hearing
Markwayne Mullin answered questions during a DHS confirmation hearing about how the agency would handle the deployment of ICE to cities.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s choice to replace Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security is on track for Senate confirmation after Democrats helped clear a key caucus of key procedural hurdles.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee removed Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination from the committee on March 19, with a full Senate vote likely next week. The Oklahoma Republican only needs a simple majority vote to win the job, and with Republicans in control of the Senate, he almost certainly will.
The green light came after an 11-hour wave of questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about Mullin’s mysterious overseas trips while he was a member of Congress. He has released few details about his role, but has commented on his past experience in combat zones, even though he has never served in the military or intelligence services.
“Why it was classified and who made it classified remains a mystery,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, told reporters after meeting privately with Mullin on the issue after his March 18 confirmation hearing. “In my personal opinion, there is no good reason why what he told us should be classified.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) ultimately backed Mullin, saying he saw “nothing shocking” in the same meeting. The trip dealt with “whistleblowing issues,” and Mullin “just happened to be overseas,” said Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican and a close friend of Mullin.
On March 18, Marin faced intense questioning from some within the party. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the chairman of the Senate committee that advanced his nomination, criticized him for making sympathetic comments about the Senate committee chairman, who suffered severe injuries several years ago that left him with broken ribs and part of his lung removed. The two have famously fallen out, and in a rare sign of clear partisan disagreement in Senate Republicans, Paul has not supported his nomination.
Mr. Marin appears to have taken a slightly more conciliatory approach to leading DHS than his predecessor, saying he would not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter homes without a judicial warrant and pledging to increase communication between the embattled agency and Congress. DHS has been partially closed for more than a month, citing Democratic concerns over immigration enforcement, long security lines at airports and concerns about mitigating the growing threat of terrorism amid the Iran war.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
