Senate GOP cheers Trump's decision to dump Noem
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on March 5. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Republican senators celebrated President Trump's decision to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
Why it matters: Congressional Republicans — along with the White House — are eager to turn the page on a department that's dragging down the party's image on immigration, the very issue it rode to victory in 2024.
- Trump wasn't a "happy cowboy" about Noem and her $200 million media campaign, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. Many Senate Republicans were just as angry as the president and were already preparing Thursday afternoon for a fast confirmation process for Mullin.
- Mullin is "pretty well vetted around here, so hopefully we can get the process going because I think that's a position that's going to need to be filled quickly," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said.
State of play: Democrats, while declaring good riddance to Noem, insisted that a change at the top would not unlock funding for DHS, which has been shut down since Feb. 14.
- "No one person can straighten this up until the president changes the whole agency," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "This is not an issue of personnel. This is an issue of policy."
- "I'm not going to vote for $1 more for that agency as long as they are body-slamming American citizens, barging into American homes without warrants or murdering Americans," Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said.
Still, Booker acknowledged that Mullin's confirmation is likely a foregone conclusion.
- "If it's a 50-vote threshold, I would imagine he will be confirmed," Booker told Axios. Cabinet nominations require only a simple majority.
The intrigue: There's a serious beef between Mullen and Sen. Ran Paul (R-Ky.), the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, which will handle Mullin's nomination.
- "Rand Paul's a freaking snake," Mullin told a group at home in Tulsa last month. "And I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did," he said, apparently referring to a 2017 assault on Paul that left him with five fractured ribs.
- "And I told him that to his face," Mullin said.
Zoom in: Trump's Truth Social announcement that he was replacing Noem was read aloud by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), who was hosting a lunch for colleagues off the Senate floor.
- "Jim Banks was flagging me down. He's like, 'Look at your phone. Look at your phone,'" Schmitt said. "So I saw it and just announced it to the group."
- "Markwayne will do a great job. He's strong on the border, and that's what we need," Schmitt added.
Zoom out: Trump had been sounding out GOP senators in recent days about naming Mullin and made clear his anger at Noem for spending more than $200 million on an advertising campaign.
- "The president asked me what I thought about him, and I told him that I was very fond of Markwayne. I think he's smart," Kennedy said.
- In a contentious Tuesday hearing, Kennedy grilled Noem over a $200 million ad campaign that she said the president had authorized.
Sen Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) berated her for her overall performance and brought up an anecdote in her memoir where she bragged about killing a dog.
- "Senator Markwayne Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS," Tillis said Thursday on X.
- "Another big positive: he likes dogs."
