Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin       03/24 06:02

   The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary late 
Monday, approving President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the embattled 
department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the 
administration's immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland 
security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trump's nominee to 
take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a 
public backlash over the administration's immigration enforcement and mass 
deportation operations.

   Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship 
with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as 
secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news. He 
takes over at a difficult time as Trump has ordered ICE agents to bolster 
airport security during a budget standoff in Congress. And he tangled with the 
Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullin's 
character and temperament during last week's combative confirmation hearing.

   Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45.

   Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since 
Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security 
Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are 
demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement 
operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year 
in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.

   MMA fighter takes on Homeland Security

   While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in 
Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family 
plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in 
immigration issues.

   A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led 
early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became close 
with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan 
Washington.

   It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and he's not expected to 
sway from the president's approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trump's 
immigration agenda and ICE officers before being tapped for the DHS job.

   "I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary 
of homeland I'll be protecting everybody," Mullin said during his confirmation 
hearing.

   Immigration enforcement at center of funding stalemate

   Mullin's first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the 
department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand tighter 
restraints. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear 
masks; refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals 
and other sensitive locations; wear body cameras; and obtain a judge's approval 
on warrants before entering people's homes or private spaces.

   At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself as a 
steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency -- an image that was challenged by 
the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. 
Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal executor of Trump's agenda.

   Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote, and again Monday. 
Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New 
Mexico joined the other Republicans in voting to confirm the nominee.

   "Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the 
No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will "serve with seriousness and 
character. He will be a leader who makes our country safer."

   Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the president's 
immigration agenda has fallen after a year of high-profile operations in 
multiple American cities. Under Noem's leadership, officers were accused of 
using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and 
bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.

   Mullin did walk back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, 
saying he was wrong to malign protester Alex Pretti after he was shot and 
killed by an ICE officer. He said that as secretary he would refrain from 
making judgments before an investigation is carried out.

   He shed light on other ways he might influence policy when it comes to 
immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to use a warrant 
signed by a judge -- not the administrative warrants now used by ICE officers 
-- to enter a house except in rare circumstances.

   He acknowledged the concerns some communities have over building massive ICE 
detention facilities in their neighborhoods and said cutting off federal funds 
to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that don't work with ICE would be a last 
resort.

   But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to 
how Trump's vision for immigration enforcement is carried out, and Mullin is 
expected to follow its lead. Trump faces a strong lobby within the GOP pushing 
him to make good on his promise to deport 1 million people a year.

   FEMA and federal disaster aid in flux

   Mullin will also have his hands full charting a new course at the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, which has come under scrutiny as it delivers 
disaster aid to parts of the country hard-hit by hurricanes and other natural 
disasters.

   A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, said Noem's policy of 
personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed disaster response, and the 
department still doesn't have a full-time administrator.

   Mullin presented a fresh approach on federal emergency management during his 
Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of eliminating FEMA and saying 
he would revoke Noem's contract approval rule.