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Sen. Markwayne Mullin will sit for his confirmation hearing today to become the next Secretary of Homeland Security, facing high expectations and critical questions from senators.The Republican was elected senator from Oklahoma in 2022 after serving 10 years in the House of Representatives. He earned a reputation as a fighter, particularly in TV interviews where he showed fierce loyalty to the president, calling him a “good friend.” Prior to his time in Congress, Mullin owned a number of businesses, including a plumbing service and restaurant, and worked as a cow-calf rancher. He competed as a mixed martial arts fighter and wrestled in college. He is a member of the Cherokee Nation.Mullin has not publicly spoken about his vision for the Department of Homeland Security, which comes at a critical time for the agency.During a surge of immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area, federal agents killed two U.S. citizens protesting the operation. The shootings sparked nationwide outrage as the administration’s widening definition of deportation targets has dragged down President Donald Trump’s approval rating on a subject where he previously enjoyed majority support. DHS is the sole government agency that’s not funded for the fiscal year 2026, which started in September. Money from a temporary budget for the third-largest cabinet department ran out in February, as the White House and Republicans wouldn’t agree to demands from Democrats for new limits on immigration enforcement.There is some movement on the negotiating front to end the partial shutdown.In a letter sent to two Republican senators on Tuesday, the White House outlined its current proposal for changes to immigration enforcement as DHS enters the second month of a shutdown.The letter, provided to Hearst Television’s Washington News Bureau by a White House official, states that the administration is willing to “codify improved operational guidelines to its immigration enforcement operations.”According to the letter, the Trump administration is willing to expand the use of body cameras, limit enforcement activity in sensitive areas like hospitals and schools, make sure immigration agents identify themselves verbally and physically, and comply with laws allowing congressional oversight of immigration detention facilities.Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
Sen. Markwayne Mullin will sit for his confirmation hearing today to become the next Secretary of Homeland Security, facing high expectations and critical questions from senators.
The Republican was elected senator from Oklahoma in 2022 after serving 10 years in the House of Representatives. He earned a reputation as a fighter, particularly in TV interviews where he showed fierce loyalty to the president, calling him a “good friend.”
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Prior to his time in Congress, Mullin owned a number of businesses, including a plumbing service and restaurant, and worked as a cow-calf rancher. He competed as a mixed martial arts fighter and wrestled in college. He is a member of the Cherokee Nation.
Mullin has not publicly spoken about his vision for the Department of Homeland Security, which comes at a critical time for the agency.
During a surge of immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area, federal agents killed two U.S. citizens protesting the operation. The shootings sparked nationwide outrage as the administration’s widening definition of deportation targets has dragged down President Donald Trump’s approval rating on a subject where he previously enjoyed majority support.
DHS is the sole government agency that’s not funded for the fiscal year 2026, which started in September. Money from a temporary budget for the third-largest cabinet department ran out in February, as the White House and Republicans wouldn’t agree to demands from Democrats for new limits on immigration enforcement.
There is some movement on the negotiating front to end the partial shutdown.
In a letter sent to two Republican senators on Tuesday, the White House outlined its current proposal for changes to immigration enforcement as DHS enters the second month of a shutdown.
The letter, provided to Hearst Television’s Washington News Bureau by a White House official, states that the administration is willing to “codify improved operational guidelines to its immigration enforcement operations.”
According to the letter, the Trump administration is willing to expand the use of body cameras, limit enforcement activity in sensitive areas like hospitals and schools, make sure immigration agents identify themselves verbally and physically, and comply with laws allowing congressional oversight of immigration detention facilities.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
