Senate votes to advance Mullin's nomination to lead DHS
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin at his confirmation hearing to be Homeland Security secretary on March 18. Photo: Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images
The Senate voted 54-37 on Sunday to advance Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Why it matters: Mullin is on track to be confirmed this week to succeed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary when Noem steps down at the end of the month.
- Mullin, a first-term senator, won approval from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday in a narrow, 8-7 vote, despite opposition from the panel's chairman, Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
- Paul did not vote Sunday. Had he voted "no" on the floor, he would have been the first senator in nearly four decades to oppose a fellow senator nominated by a president of his own party.
- Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), the only Democrat to vote in favor of Mullin's nomination in committee, voted "yes" again, along with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). Otherwise, the vote split along party lines.
State of play: Sunday's procedural floor vote followed a vitriolic hearing on Wednesday that opened with Paul challenging Mullin to "tell me to my face" why Paul deserved an assault that left him with broken ribs.
- "You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me the assault was justified," Paul said, referring to comments Mullin made to constituents, where he also called Paul a "freakin' snake."
- "And while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues," Paul added.
- Democrats also expressed concerns about whether Mullin was temperamentally suited to the job, as well as questioning his experience.
Between the lines: While it's unusual for a Cabinet nominee to advance to a floor vote without support from the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction, Paul didn't take the extra step of blocking or delaying a committee vote.
Zoom in: Mullin's hearing also shed no new light on how to end the DHS shutdown, now in its second month.
- Democrats remain dug in on demands for statutory changes to ICE and Border Patrol.
- "I don't think his nomination increases the likelihood of a compromise, because he stood pretty firm against the kinds of reforms that Americans are demanding," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), told Axios' Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam.
- Negotiations continued Sunday at the Capitol, with few signs of progress toward a deal.
What we're watching: Trump said Sunday in a post on Truth Social that he would send ICE agents to U.S. airports — starting on Monday — to assist TSA officers who've been working without pay.
- "THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB," Trump said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
