The U.S. senator from Oklahoma indicated that he would try to partner with local officials and law enforcement to carry out immigration enforcement.
During his confirmation hearing to become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) called on Congress to fund the department and indicated that he would pursue alternative approaches to handling immigration enforcement and disaster relief.
The March 18 hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was held as Congress and the White House debated the agency’s funding, with Democrats criticizing its handling of deportations.
If confirmed, Mullin will replace DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on March 31.
President Donald Trump praised Noem, but reassigned her to be special envoy for the Shield of the Americas after protests surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), committee chairman, who has long clashed with Mullin, said a vote to advance his nomination will be held on March 19.
Here are some key takeaways from the hearing.
Restore Funding
Mullin told the Senate that full departmental funding is critical to DHS’s mission.
“We have to get DHS funded,” he said. “We have to set the partisan side down, and we have to realize that we’re putting our homeland and the peace of mind at risk for the American people. “
Mullin suggested that Congress was “playing with fire” by withholding money during a conflict with Iran and apparent lone-wolf terrorist attacks that have occurred across the country in recent weeks.
“I look at this as political theater,” Mullin later added.
He called it “unconscionable” to let DHS workers go without a paycheck.
Judicial Warrants
Mullin indicated during the hearing that he would take a different approach to immigration enforcement surrounding the use of administrative warrants.
Democrats have demanded the use of judicial warrants for ICE to enter homes or businesses as a condition of funding DHS.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked whether Mullin believes that federal immigration officers should be required to seek judicial warrants before entering private property.
“We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant unless we’re pursuing an individual that runs into a place of business or a house,” Mullin said.
For months, Trump officials have defended using administrative warrants for arresting illegal immigrants in homes.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) signaled openness to change on administrative warrants when asked outside the hearing.
“We’ve got to … make sure we treat people with respect,” Scott told The Epoch Times.
Partnering With ICE
Mullin said his management style was to find talented people to work in the agency and “empower them.”
“I want to bring peace of mind,” he said. “I want to bring confidence back to the agency.”
Mullin said he wanted to change how ICE carries out enforcement, forging partnerships with local governments and law enforcement.
“I would like to go in there and talk to the mayors,“ he said. ”I’d like to go in there and talk to the sheriffs, talk to the chiefs, say, ‘What are your concerns?’”
Mullin said enforcing the law should not be controversial, and he believes local jurisdictions want to do their jobs.
“The president has made it very clear he wants to protect the streets,“ he said. ”He wants to restore law and order to every city.”
Mullin pledged to work with communities on opening new ICE detention facilities, which has become a point of contention with some Democrats who criticized DHS site selection for its lack of communication with community leaders.
Restructure FEMA
After Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) questioned him about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mullin said it should be restructured, not eliminated.
Kim noted bipartisan support for FEMA reform but expressed concerns about understaffing following 2,400 cuts to the agency under Noem.
“We’ll be adequately staffed to respond to our nation’s disasters, but it’s going to take some time to get there because, like I said, people are quitting today because they’re not getting paid for the third time in a year,” he said, highlighting the current lack of funding to FEMA.
Mullin agreed to nominate a FEMA administrator with emergency management experience and streamline FEMA’s processes.
Personality Clash
Although there appeared to be bipartisan support for Mullin, the hearing was not without tension.
Things grew heated when Paul accused his fellow Republican of having “anger issues” and questioned whether Mullin had the temperament to lead the department.
Paul said Mullin failed to condemn a political violence incident in 2017 that left Paul with broken ribs after his neighbor tackled him on his lawn in his Bowling Green, Kentucky, neighborhood. He also played a video showing Mullin at a 2023 hearing, at which he was ready to get into a physical altercation with Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien, urging him to stand up and fight him.
Mullin previously told the media that Paul was a “freaking snake” and that it was understandable why the Kentucky senator had been assaulted, according to Paul.
“Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe,” Paul said.
Paul questioned whether someone with Mullin’s temperament was fit to “lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.”
Mullin addressed their strained relationship before giving his opening statement, saying that the two just do not get along.
Mullin said he does not condone violence and that no one deserves to be hit by surprise, referring to the attack on Paul. But he refused to apologize for past statements and jabbed Paul for failing to support Republican legislation.
“Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,” Mullin said. He accused Paul of spending “millions of dollars” in campaign funds against him.
However, Mullin said he could set aside any hard feelings and work to be a DHS secretary who serves everyone equally.
“I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of Homeland [Security], I’ll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma,” he said.
Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
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