Overview
- The Senate approved Mullin on Monday in a 54-45 vote, with Democrats John Fetterman and Martin Heinrich voting yes and Republican Rand Paul voting no.
- He takes over as the department has been partially shut since February 14, which has left many workers unpaid and led to TSA staffing gaps and long airport lines.
- At his confirmation hearing, Mullin said agents would need a judge-signed warrant to enter homes or businesses except in rare pursuits, a change Democrats have pressed in funding talks.
- Negotiations to restore funding have inched forward, but President Trump’s push to tie any deal to his SAVE America voter ID bill has complicated the talks.
- Mullin replaces Kristi Noem, whose tenure drew investigations into large ad contracts and whose enforcement strategy in Minneapolis preceded the deaths of two U.S. citizens that spurred reform demands.