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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.
Supporter of ICE, border wall
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.”
Hot temper in the Senate
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.”
At a U.S. Senate committee hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) challenged Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to a fight over a series of inflammatory posts O’Brien made about him on X, formerly known as Twitter. The heated exchange lasted about six minutes as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Senate panel that was holding the hearing, tried to cut them off and pleaded for calm.
Social media spars
The interaction underscored how Mullin is one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders in Congress and often spars with people on social media.
At the state of the union address last month, Mullin took a swipe at a sign held by Democratic Rep. Al Green that read “Black people aren’t apes,” a reference to a racist video Trump posted that depicted former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle.
But he’s also known to walk the halls in a cowboy hat and boots, sometimes bouncing a rubber ball as he chats with reporters.
Mullin initially vowed to serve only three terms in Congress — a promise he later broke when he announced plans to run again, saying that he “didn’t understand politics” when he made the initial pledge.
Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field agent Darius Reeves told CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit that he no longer recognizes the agency he spent 20 years working for.
Mullin has also faced criticism for receiving at least $1.8 million US from a federal rescue program designed to keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed that four separate businesses owned by Mullin received a total of between $800,000 and $1.9 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. A Mullin spokesperson said at the time that the congressman was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and referred questions to their chief financial officers.
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