Markwayne Mullin may have been brought in to straighten out the Department of Homeland Security following former Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure, but a new report shows that Mullin may be more of the same, according to one legal expert.
The Independent reported in late May that Mullin regularly uses a controversial $70 million Gulfstream jet to fly home to Oklahoma on Thursdays and doesn’t return to work until Monday afternoon, meaning he works at most three days a week in Washington, D.C. The aircraft includes a queen bed, a bar, and showers, according to the report. It was one of nine jets the Trump administration approved to purchase with funds meant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it added.
Legal expert Shant Karnikian discussed the report during a new episode of the podcast, “Civil Action,” on Sunday.
“We’ll see how long this lasts,” Karnikian said of Mullin’s tenure in the Trump administration. “This is apparently the swamp draining that Donald Trump had in mind.”
Mullin was brought in to replace Noem after the former secretary publicly undercut President Donald Trump about funding for advertising campaigns featuring Noem. While Mullin told Senators during his confirmation hearing that he would help get Homeland Security back on track, some of his actions seem to suggest otherwise.
For instance, Mullin has called for ICE to return to its old training methods that were curtailed following months of violent clashes between federal agents and protesters. Mullin has also been combative with lawmakers who have questioned his leadership at the department.
Karnikian estimated that Mullin’s use of a government jet to travel home is “50-times” more expensive than if he flew commercial with the same schedule.
“The outrageous part of this is not, ‘ Oh, it’s so much money, and this is so extravagant, blah blah blah.’ That is a problem with most of the country struggling to fly around like that and avail yourself of those amenities,” he said.
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