Will Homeland Security change under Markwayne Mullin? Meet the man Trump wants in charge
CBC
U.S. 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 settled, it was unclear how much things in the Department of Homeland Security will change under Mullin's leadership, given his own fierce defence of Trump and his immigration policies.
A former mixed-martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler, Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was first elected to U.S. Congress in 2012. He was elected as junior senator from Oklahoma in 2023.
He earned a reputation as a fighter in the Senate and grew friendlier with Trump after they attended an NCAA wrestling event together in Tulsa, Okla., in 2023.
"Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security," Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
Mullin, a vocal MAGA supporter, told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that he would get the DHS "focused on protecting the homeland."
"No matter if you support me, you don't support me, I'm going to be laser-focused on getting that done," he said.
Mullin has long been critical of sanctuary cities that don't co-operate with federal efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants.
He co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act, which requires any illegal immigrant accused of theft, assaulting a law enforcement officer and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury to be detained in federal custody until they are deported.
And he has called for the completion of the wall on the southern border of the United States with Mexico.
Following the deaths in Minneapolis of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents, Mullin defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, saying "I stand with DHS."
Mullin's fiery exchanges in the Senate included a 2023 hearing with the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, when Mullin told the union leader to "stand your butt up," before standing from his seat and appearing to take his ring off.
"If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults," Mullin told Sean O'Brien, the union's president, with whom Mullin had previously engaged in a back-and-forth exchange on social media. "We can finish it here."
Months after his confrontation with O'Brien, the two reconciled, and Mullin called the union leader a "new friend."
