Overview
- The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8–7 to send Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to the floor after Democrat John Fetterman backed Republicans.
- Committee chair Rand Paul opposed Mullin, citing concerns about temperament, while Democrats including Gary Peters questioned his experience for the post.
- During his hearing, Mullin said he would pursue large-scale deportations within the law, would not target people legally in the country, and told agents to use judicial warrants before entering homes.
- Mullin signaled a shift in tone from Kristi Noem, saying he wants DHS operations out of the headlines and to work with sanctuary-city officials rather than deploy agents unilaterally.
- Lawmakers pressed him on past comments about fatal ICE incidents and on his investment activity as DHS grapples with a month-long funding lapse that left roughly 100,000 employees unpaid and disrupted airport security.