The Oklahoma senator will replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on March 31, the president said.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has been tapped to head up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after President Donald Trump on Thursday fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem from the post.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Mullin will replace Noem on March 31, Trump said.
The president said Noem served well and had “numerous and spectacular results,” namely with respect to the U.S.–Mexico border’s security. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, will be leaving for the newly created post of special envoy for the shield of the Americas, he wrote.
Here’s what to know about the Oklahoma Republican slated to lead one of the U.S. government’s most controversial government departments.
‘I Wasn’t Expecting the Call Today’
Mullin has said that he was just as surprised by the news as the rest of the nation.
“I wasn’t expecting the call today,” he told an ABC News reporter during a live interview, adding that he is “ready to get started” and his “focus is to keep the homeland secure.”
On Truth Social, Trump said Mullin “will work tirelessly” to secure the U.S.–Mexico border and stop “migrant crime, murderers, and other criminals from illegally entering” the United States.
Mullin responded in kind, telling ABC that he was “great friends” with Trump and is “super excited about the opportunity” to head up the agency.
Personal Life
Mullin, 48, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
One-eighth Cherokee Indian, Mullin is a documented member of the Cherokee Nation and the only Native American in the U.S. Senate. The lawmaker traces his Cherokee ancestry back to North Carolina and Georgia, where his ancestors resided before being relocated to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears.
He also serves on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Mullin married his wife, Christie, in 1997. Today, the couple has six children, three of whom are adopted.
Mullin had long worked as a businessman before his ascent to Congress in 2012. At that time, he owned four companies: Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, Mullin Services, and Mullin Plumbing. The lawmaker has stated that he has sold off his plumbing-related enterprises in 2021. He is also a working rancher.
Political Career
Mullin entered Congress in 2012, being elected first to the House of Representatives.
He ascended to the Senate in 2023, being elected in 2022 following the retirement of Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
In 2021, while still in the House, Mullin joined Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) in barricading the House chamber during the Jan. 6 certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. He saw the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt, and has said that the officer had no choice but to shoot.
In 2022, Mullin introduced legislation in that chamber to remove Trump’s impeachments from the Congressional Record. The Democratic House majority at the time left the push dead on arrival in the chamber.
In 2025, he joined his colleagues in voting to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the vehicle for Trump’s second-term policy agenda.
By Joseph Lord
