Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as New DHS Head

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) has been confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Key Details: On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Mullin's nomination to take over DHS from Secretary Kristi Noem, who was removed from office by President Trump after months of bipartisan criticism. Mullin differed from Noem in his confirmation hearing and committed to preventing agents from being present at sensitive locations such as polling sites. He also committed to enforcing the law that requires federal law enforcement agents to obtain warrants before entering homes. The vote for confirm Mullin was 54-45 with two Democrats, Senators Martin Henrich (D-NM) and John Fetterman (D-PA), joining Republicans in support of Mullin. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican "no" vote.

Key Quote: "I've depended on Markwayne as a colleague and friend during his 3 years here in the United States Senate. And I'm profoundly sorry to lose him, but the Senate's loss is the Department of Homeland Security's gain," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the floor ahead of Mullin's confirmation. "I want to thank Markwayne for his service here in the Senate and wish him the very best as he continues to serve our country at DHS. And I hope whoever gets assigned to his security detail is ready to keep up."

For Context: Mullin's confirmation comes amid a partial government shutdown at DHS, and the funding impasse has caused long lines at airports nationwide as ICE agents are deployed to the airports.

How the Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) reported that DHS was in "turmoil," while BBC (Center) called DHS "embattled." The Daily Caller (Right) reported on Senate Democrats continuing the partial shutdown of DHS and that there has been little movement in negotiations to reform the department's law enforcement policies.

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