Live updates: Markwayne Mullin faces Senate in confirmation hearing for DHS secretary

Mullin said he regretted his statement on the officer-involved shooting that killed U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis two months ago.

At the time, the senator called Pretti a “deranged individual that came in to cause max damage.” He says now he should have been wiser with his words.

“Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn’t have said that,” he told the Senate. “I was responding immediately, without the facts. That’s my fault.”

When further pressed, Mullin reiterated that he regretted that statement but did not directly apologize to Pretti’s family for his rhetoric.

During his confirmation hearing, Mullin said his goal for the Department of Homeland Security is to stay out of news headlines.

His answer was a reference to the constant controversies surrounding Noem’s tenure as DHS chief.

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” the Trump nominee said. “My goal is for people to understand we’re out there. We’re protecting them, and we’re working with them. My goal is to make every one of you guys proud. My goal for those that don’t support me regret not supporting me, but we have to get DHS funded.”

He added that he has “had to really pray about my attitude” during the hearing, as he said he expected political attacks on him. He faced accusations from Paul about being glad that his Senate peer was attacked in 2017.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) demanded that Trump’s nominee to be the next Department of Homeland Security chief apologize for his reaction to an attack on him years ago.

Paul began the hearing by describing a 2017 incident in which a “Trump-hating felon attacked me from behind in my yard.” Mullin said last month he “understands completely” why Paul’s neighbor attacked him at the time.

“Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind,” Paul said, adding that he had six broken ribs and a damaged lung following the attack.

“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it,” he added. “And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”

The National Border Patrol Council endorsed Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

“The National Border Patrol Council fully supports and endorses Senator @MarkwayneMullin to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” the labor union said in a statement. “We look forward to working with him to continue protecting our great nation under the tremendously successful leadership of @POTUS Donald J. Trump and his Administration.”

Mullin would replace Noem.

Democrats on the House Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Oversight and Government Reform, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees have launched an investigation into Noem’s right-hand man, Corey Lewandowski.

They accused him of serving as a “shadow chief-of-staff” and said he had “outsized influence” over the department, according to Scott McFarlane. Lewandowski’s title was special government employee.

They have requested that Noem preserve all records of his work with the department before her departure.

Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) said he will not wait long to announce a replacement for Mullin after a meeting at the White House arranged despite his recent dust-up with Trump.

Stitt met with Trump to discuss Mullin’s pending resignation from the Senate, an opening that Stitt will fill as governor of Oklahoma. Mullin, tapped to be Trump’s next homeland security secretary, is set to be confirmed by the end of the month.

Click here to read more.

Noem is on her way out as homeland security secretary. It is long overdue, and it should mean that the Department of Homeland Security will be more effective and more serious under the new leadership of Mullin.

Noem was always a poor pick for a position that was going to be crucial to Trump’s agenda. Democrats were always going to make the DHS their top target as Trump pursued widespread deportations. That meant his homeland security secretary would need to be able to weather storms.

Click here to read more.

Mullin will spend the next several months attempting to prove that he can send the Department of Homeland Security in a new direction after Trump fired Noem after a year atop the embattled agency.

Trump’s decision to nominate Mullin checks several boxes for Republicans weary of the drama surrounding Noem, who drew calls for her resignation and an impeachment push by congressional Democrats over her handling of immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

Click here to read more.

Mullin is familiar with public conflicts in Congress, as he faces another one over his confirmation as the next homeland security secretary.

Trump tapped Mullin, a former professional wrestler who trained as an MMA fighter, to become the next homeland security secretary on Thursday, replacing Noem on March 31. Mullin has roughly three years of service in the Senate and 10 years in the House of Representatives.

Click here to read more.

Republican lawmakers are celebrating Trump‘s choice to tap Mullin as Noem’s replacement while thanking Noem for her leadership.

Trump announced Noem’s firing on Truth Social, designating her as the new “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new Western Hemisphere security initiative. He announced “MAGA Warrior” Mullin as Noem’s replacement, saying he “truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda.”

Click here to read more.

If Mullin is confirmed as Trump’s next head of the Department of Homeland Security, Oklahoma law would trigger a special election that will likely occur during the 2026 midterm elections to fill the remainder of his Senate term.

Mullin, a Republican who was elected to the Senate in 2022 after serving in the House, is midway through a term that runs until January 2029.

When he resigns to join the Cabinet and is confirmed, the vacancy would be handled under Oklahoma’s procedures for filling U.S. Senate seats.

Click here to read more.