Senate ready to confirm Mullin to Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepens

The Senate is poised to confirm Markwayne Mullin as secretary of Homeland Security, President Trump’s nominee to take over the troubled department after he fired Kristi Noem amid a public backlash against the administration’s massive immigration and 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 out of the headlines. But he clashed with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullin’s character and temperament during last week’s combative confirmation hearing.

Senators advanced Mullin’s nomination Sunday in a rare weekend session on a largely partisan vote, and confirmation is expected Monday evening.

He would take over the Department of Homeland Security at a difficult time. Routine funding for the department has been disrupted, leading to long waits at U.S. airports during the busy spring break season as Democrats demand changes to immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during this year’s protests in Minneapolis.

Trump announced over the weekend that he was ordering immigration officials to assist Transportation Security Administration agents, which lawmakers and others fear could escalate tensions at crowded airports.

MMA fighter takes on Homeland Security

Although the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress and has experience running a growing family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he is not seen as a key force on immigration issues.

A former mixed martial arts fighter and college wrestler who led early morning workouts in the members-only House gymnasium, he became close to members of both parties and is often seen as a dealmaker in partisan Washington.

It was his loyalty to Trump that got him this job, and he is unlikely to stray from the president’s approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE agents before being tapped for the DHS job.

“I may have different opinions with everyone in this room, but as Secretary of the Interior, I will protect everyone,” Mullin said during his confirmation hearing.

Immigration enforcement at heart of funding impasse

Mullin’s first challenge will be restoring routine funding to the department that has been blocked since mid-February when Democrats demanded that immigration agents face tougher restrictions. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear masks; refrain from any control operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive places; wear body cameras; and getting a judge’s approval on warrants before entering people’s homes or private spaces.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to present himself as a steady hand at a pivotal moment for the agency — an image that was disputed by the committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal enforcer of Trump’s agenda.

Paul voted against Mullin in committee and did not vote Sunday as Mullin’s nomination advanced 54-37, with Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joining most Republicans.

Mullin comes to office at a time when public support for the president’s immigration agenda is declining after a year of high-profile operations in several U.S. cities. Under Noem’s leadership, agents have been accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and circumventing legal procedures to quickly deport immigrants.

He walked back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, saying he was wrong to smear protester Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed by an ICE officer and said that as secretary he would refrain from passing judgment until an investigation was conducted.

He highlighted other ways he could influence immigration policy. For example, he said agents would be required to use a warrant signed by a judge — not the administrative warrants currently used by ICE agents — to enter a home except in rare circumstances.

He acknowledged some communities’ concerns about the massive construction of ICE detention centers in their neighborhoods and said cutting federal funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that don’t work with ICE would be a last resort.

But ultimately, it’s the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to how Trump’s vision for immigration control is implemented, and Mullin should follow suit. Trump faces a powerful lobby within the Republican Party pushing him to keep his promise to deport 1 million people a year.

FEMA and Federal Disaster Assistance are Evolving

Mullin will also have his work cut out for him to chart a new course within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has come under intense scrutiny as it provides disaster aid to parts of the country hit hard by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

A growing number of critics, even among fellow Republicans, said Noem’s policy of personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed disaster response and that the department still lacked a full-time administrator.

Mullin outlined a new 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.