The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary on Monday, installing a Trump loyalist to head the agency responsible for carrying out immigration enforcement at a time when it is reeling from dimming public opinion.
Mr. Mullin, 48, was confirmed in a 54-to-45 vote. Nearly all Republicans and two Democrats voted in support of his nomination.
Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, broke from his party and opposed Mr. Mullin after clashing with him at his confirmation hearing last week. Mr. Mullin secured support from Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, both Democrats.
Mr. Mullin, a Cherokee Nation member who was sworn in as Oklahoma’s junior senator in 2023, will take charge of the Homeland Security Department at a pivotal time. Recent polling has shown that Republicans’ advantage on immigration is shrinking and that most Americans believe that immigration agents have gone too far, especially after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. Mr. Mullin will have to balance the task of mending the agency’s image while also delivering on President Trump’s signature campaign promise of mass deportations.
He will also take the reins at a time when thousands of department employees are working without pay amid a partial government shutdown that has led to scenes of chaos at airports across the country. On Monday, Mr. Trump deployed more than 100 immigration agents to airports in an effort to ease long security lines as the ranks of Transportation Security Administration officers have thinned.
The funding lapse is the result of a bitter partisan dispute over immigration enforcement. Lawmakers have failed to reach a deal to fully fund the Homeland Security Department — something Democrats have refused to do without imposing new restrictions on immigration agents. Republicans have cast the demands as excessive, saying they would impede law enforcement.
The shutdown has had few consequences for immigration enforcement, however, because Republicans in Congress approved more than $170 billion for Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda last year. As homeland security secretary, Mr. Mullin will oversee the distribution of that huge infusion of funds.
The White House is hoping that he will bring order to a department that had been at the center of a string of controversies under his ousted predecessor, Kristi Noem.
At his confirmation hearing, Mr. Mullin made clear that he was committed to fulfilling the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. But he also tried to strike a more cooperative tone, saying that immigration officers would generally no longer enter homes without a judicial warrant under his leadership. And he said the department would foster closer relationships with jails, suggesting a move away from sweeping operations in Democratic-led cities and states.
Some former department officials and immigrant advocacy groups have questioned whether Mr. Mullin’s softer tone will hold once he is sworn in.
“We’ll see whether that translates to immigration enforcement efforts focused on public safety and restoring order, not terrorizing communities,” said Royce Murray, an assistant secretary at the Homeland Security Department during the Biden administration. “He’ll be at the mercy of the White House, who cheered on violent, camera-ready mass deportation efforts this past year.”
Some hard-line immigration groups said the change in leadership was a chance to renew Americans’ view of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
“Clearly, some of the public opinion dropped after Minnesota, so there’s some work to do there,” said Jeremy Beck, co-president of NumbersUSA, a group that favors curbs on immigration. “At the same time, there’s still very strong public support for enforcing immigration laws at the border and in the interior.”
Mr. Beck said he also hoped that the department would be more aggressive about work-site enforcement under Mr. Mullin. “You can’t address illegal immigration without addressing illegal hiring,” Mr. Beck said.
That could pose a challenge for Mr. Mullin, given that Mr. Trump has at times walked back immigration policies that have conflicted with his economic agenda.
A close ally of Mr. Trump and a staunch defender of his policies, Mr. Mullin was sworn in as a senator after a decade of serving in the House. He had a brief stint as a mixed martial arts fighter and took over his family’s business, Mullin Plumbing, at the age of 20.
Michael Gold contributed reporting.
Madeleine Ngo covers immigration and economic policy for The Times.
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