Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), President Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is currently testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee amid his confirmation hearing.
During the hearing, Mullin urged the Committee to fund DHS. The department is currently shut down as Democrats call for immigration enforcement reform.
“My friends, we have to set the partisan side down, and we have to realize that we're putting our homeland and the peace of mind at risk for the American people," Mullin urged. In his statement, he referenced the recent controversies related to DHS and its intense immigration crackdown operations, stating that his “goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day."
"My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them, and we're working with them," Mullin emphasized.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Okla.) and Mullin engaged in tense discussions over the nominee’s comments about Paul.
Sen. Paul opened the hearing confronting Mullin over a report earlier this year that stated that Mullin referred to Sen. Paul as a “freaking snake” and stating that he completely understood “why his neighbor did what he did,” referencing an incident in which Sen. Paul was attacked, suffering multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung.
During the hearing, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) asked Mullin about his position on Kristi Noem’s policy to personally review all DHS spending over $100,000.
Mullin confirmed that he would “absolutely” revoke the policy.
"That's called micromanaging," Mullin said. "And I don't know if Secretary [Noem] put that in or someone else did. I'm not a micromanager. We put people in. We empower them to make decisions."
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) asked Mullin about what changes in laws he would be willing to back in order to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"I think working with municipalities, I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line," Mullin shared, emphasizing his wish to "get back into just simply working with law enforcement."
