Donald Trump has nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), replacing Kristi Noem after a turbulent week on Capitol Hill. Noem faced intense Republican criticism over a $220m advertising contract featuring her image, which the White House denied Trump approved.
Mullin, 48, a first-term senator and former mixed martial arts fighter, is a staunch Trump ally known for his hardline immigration stance. He co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act, which mandates detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft or burglary, and has consistently defended ICE officers as 'red-blooded American patriots'. He has also called for deporting American-born babies of undocumented parents, saying 'they should go where their parents are'.
A member of the Cherokee nation, Mullin is the only sitting senator without a bachelor's degree, having studied construction technology. He built a family plumbing business into a multi-million-dollar company before entering politics. Trump praised him as a 'Maga warrior' and announced he would become secretary on March 31, 2026, though Senate confirmation may be challenging within that timeline.
Mullin has faced controversy for past remarks, including a suggestion that politicians should be able to 'handle differences' by shooting journalists, which he later claimed was a joke. He has also been a vocal critic of sanctuary cities and has framed mass deportation as a legal obligation.
