Homeland Security agents are largely ready for new leadership after President Donald Trump ousted Kristi Noem as their boss on Thursday.
One Border Patrol official said Noem&#8217;s ousting &#8220;was bound to happen,&#8221; citing her handling of immigration raids in Minneapolis.
Noem received backlash for labeling Alex Pretti, the anti-ICE activist who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis, as a domestic terrorist before a federal investigation concluded.
The agent also cited scrutiny Noem received for a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4444838/dhs-officials-point-fingers-delay-border-wall-construction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> delay in border wall construction and an internal campaign the secretary reportedly spearheaded to oust Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.
Scott is highly respected among federal law enforcement officials and previously served as the national chief of Border Patrol.
&#8220;It was a questionable pick to begin with, no experience in the space,&#8221; the agent said. &#8220;What a train wreck.&#8221;
&#8220;Between the Minneapolis debacle, the slowdown on approving wall contracts, the suspected affair, and the attempt to oust Rodney, one of the most respected chiefs, she needed to go. What a disaster of a secretary,&#8221; the agent added.
One Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer said the news of Noem&#8217;s departure was &#8220;not surprising&#8221; after Trump replaced Noem&#8217;s ally and top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who was leading aggressive immigration raids in Minneapolis, after the Pretti shooting.
Trump swiftly sent in White House border czar Tom Homan, who shifted to conducting more targeted arrests in the Twin Cities, while brokering agreements with local law enforcement to work with ICE.
&#8220;After she was pulled from Minneapolis and replaced by Homan, I saw the writing on the wall,&#8221; the officer said.
A Border Patrol agent echoed that sentiment, saying Noem wasn&#8217;t &#8220;listening to Homan and Scott.&#8221; The agent said she also &#8220;threw Bovino to the wolves.&#8221;
Trump announced Noem&#8217;s demotion in a Truth Social post, saying he will replace her with Republican Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, a staunch ally of the president. Noem&#8217;s firing came after she blamed Trump during a heated Congressional hearing for questionable $200 million TV ad contracts that promoted deportations and border security.
Hours before announcing the leadership change, Trump told Reuters that he had no knowledge of the expensive contracts.
Noem testified that the contracts “went out to a competitive bid and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.”
But the contracts were awarded using “other than full and open competition” to a company formed days before, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/docs-show-dhs-specifically-steered-200m-ad-contracts-raising-questions-about-noems-testimony?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Docs+Show+DHS+Specifically+Steered+%24200M+Ad+Contracts%2C+Raising+Questions+About+Noem%E2%80%99s+Testimony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to records obtained by The Daily Wire</a>. That company then subcontracted the work to a group run by the husband of Noem&#8217;s former spokeswoman.
Now, Mullin will have to earn the trust of career law enforcement officials at the Department of Homeland Security who took issue with Noem over her lack of experience in the space.
Mullin doesn&#8217;t have law enforcement experience either, but is a businessman, rancher, and MMA fighter, according to his official bio.
Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who has been calling on Noem to resign for weeks, said Mullin &#8220;is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation.&#8221;
&#8220;Another big positive: he likes dogs,&#8221; he added, referring to Noem&#8217;s book where she admitted to shooting her dog for misbehaving during a hunting outing.
Noem will finish out her term as secretary through the end of the month before Mullin takes over and begins a confirmation process, Trump said.
While Mullin has been characterized as a hawk on cracking down on illegal immigration and supporting Trump&#8217;s mass deportation campaign, he received a C+ for his record on restricting legal immigration by the conservative immigration group <a href="https://www.numbersusa.com/grades/11605" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NumbersUSA</a>.
Mullin has yet to support legislation requiring employers to use the E-Verify immigration status check, according to the conservative organization.
He has also yet to join in on legislation to end chain migration, end birthright citizenship, and limit the number of foreign workers in the United States.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Testifies During House Judiciary Committee Hearing

DHS Rank And File Aren’t So Sad To See Noem Go

Rank And File At DHS Aren't So Sad To See Noem Go And Here's What Could Change

Department of Homeland Security

Kristi Noem

Markwayne Mullin

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he planned to replace current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) — and while the impact of that shake-up will certainly be felt across the administration and the Senate, it also marks a clear departure from the frequent personnel shakeups of Trump&#8217;s first term.
By this point in Trump’s first administration, more than half a dozen <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/politics/trump-admin-departures-trnd/#:~:text=Trump%20was%20irked%20by%20reports,Secretary%20of%20Labor%20%7C%20Trump%20appointee">major players</a> had already been summarily dismissed — from an adviser and a deputy chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary and even Secretary of State. And although a few of those who got the presidential boot were holdovers from former President Barack Obama&#8217;s administration, a fair few were people Trump had believed were the right fit for his administration — until they weren&#8217;t.
It was no surprise, for example, that Trump would fire Deputy Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youre-fired-trump-sacks-acting-attorney-general-ben-shapiro">Sally Yates</a> — an Obama appointee — in the first ten days of his administration. General Michael Flynn lasted three weeks before he was fired as National Security Advisor. Obama&#8217;s Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, resigned by mid-April, and in early May, Trump fired FBI Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-fires-fbi-director-comey-ben-shapiro">James Comey</a>.
But by mid-July, the president was already on his second White House Press Secretary after Sean Spicer resigned, and by the end of the month, the tenure of other staffers was being measured in &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/legend-scaramucci-fired-white-house-after-week-ben-shapiro">Scaramuccis</a>&#8221; after Anthony Scaramucci only lasted ten days as White House Communications Director. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was also fired before the end of July, and advisors Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka were gone before the end of August.
The first cabinet member to go was Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who resigned from his post in late September. And by the end of March 2018, two more cabinet members were out — Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-rex-tillerson-out-secretary-state-amanda-prestigiacomo">Rex Tillerson</a> and Secretary of Veterans Affairs <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-ousts-scandal-plagued-veterans-ryan-saavedra">David Shulkin</a> — along with a laundry list of lower-level staffers.
Trump almost constantly faced attacks and leaks from staff on their way out the door. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/omarosa-former-star-apprentice-leave-white-house-joseph-curl">Omarosa Manigault Newman</a>, for example, was fired in December of 2017 — and within a year, she&#8217;d released a tell-all book and made a slew of accusations against the man who first made her a star on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;The Apprentice.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnbcs-kernen-torches-scaramucci-over-trump-takes-do-you-ever-eat-any-crow">Scaramucci</a> also turned on Trump after he was fired, referring to his former boss — and former friend — as an &#8220;orange wrecking ball,&#8221; and said in 2019 that Trump was suffering from &#8220;early stage fascism.&#8221; Tillerson was slightly more measured in his criticisms of the president, calling him &#8220;undisciplined&#8221; and claiming that he &#8220;disregards briefing reports.&#8221;
After screening more strictly for loyalty his second time around, Trump&#8217;s staff retention has been markedly higher.
Noem is just the second big name in the second Trump administration to be removed from her post — the first being former National Security Adviser <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flurry-of-reports-claim-mike-waltz-out-as-national-security-adviser">Michael Waltz</a> — and neither of the two have been asked or ordered to leave the administration entirely. Waltz has since been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/curveball-amid-rumors-that-mike-waltz-was-fired-trump-gives-him-another-top-admin-post">appointed</a> to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations, and Noem <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-fires-dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-announces-replacement">will become</a> Trump&#8217;s Special Envoy for &#8220;The Shield of the Americas,&#8221; a western hemisphere security initiative that is set to be unveiled in the coming days.

President Donald J. Trump and Kristi Noem

What Noem Ouster Says About Trump Administration 2.0

Donald Trump

James Comey

Politics

Rex Tillerson

Trump Administration

With Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) being President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Mullin’s seat will presumably be vacated soon.
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt will have the opportunity to appoint a replacement until the November general election, since Mullin was already up for reelection this year.
“Markwayne Mullin has been a fighter for Oklahoma and will fight to keep our nation secure. There isn’t a better choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security,” Stitt said in a statement on Thursday. Mullin&#8217;s nomination was triggered by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem being moved to a special envoy role, as the secretary is currently facing several controversies, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-fires-dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-announces-replacement?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Fires+DHS+Secretary+Kristi+Noem%2C+Announces+Replacement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
“Oklahoma has been an example to the nation for smart immigration enforcement, and Markwayne will bring that common sense to DHS. I will be looking to appoint a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump and protect Oklahomans’ way of life,” he continued.
No shortlist of names has emerged as of late Thursday afternoon.
Those who want to run for a full six-year term cannot be considered for the appointment, as appointees are legally unable to run for the seat due to state law, <a href="https://x.com/reesejgorman/status/2029631710950736153?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NOTUS</a> reported. Reps. Stephanie Bice and Kevin Hern are reportedly considering campaigning for the seat, according to the <a href="https://www.notus.org/2026-election/oklahoma-republicans-markwayne-mullin-senate-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlet</a>.
Oklahoma is a deep red state with all five congressional seats held by Republicans, including Reps. Josh Brecheen, Frank Lucas, and Tom Cole.
The state government is also dominated by Republicans in the top offices, including Lt. Gov Matt Pinnell, Secretary of State Josh Cockroft, and Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
As for the general election for the seat, it is currently rated as “Solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report. Trump won the 2024 presidential election in Oklahoma with over 66% of the vote. Trump recently took aim at the Oklahoma governor over a disagreement about a National Governors Association event at the White House, as Stitt chairs the group.
When it comes to Mullin, Trump said that he “will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
Many Republicans spoke out in support of the DHS shuffle, including Trump-critic Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who said in a post that the Oklahoma senator will “restore competence” to the department that’s currently facing a lapse in funding. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) also indicated that he will support Mullin’s confirmation.

Homeland Security Shakeup Creates Major Opening For Deep-Red Senate Seat

2026 election

Congress

Elections

homeland security

Oklahoma

Republicans

Senate

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told reporters on Thursday that he called his wife and his dad after President Donald Trump asked him to take over at the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump announced on Truth Social that Mullin would take over for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem beginning on March 31, pending Mullin&#8217;s Senate confirmation. The Oklahoma senator told reporters on Capitol Hill that he received the call from Trump just minutes before Trump released his statement.
Mullin described the opportunity as exciting and humbling, adding, &#8220;I had to call my dad because, I mean, it happened quick, so I had to call my wife and call my dad both. It&#8217;s just really humbling when you stop and think about it. A little kid from Westville, Oklahoma, gets to serve in the president&#8217;s Cabinet. That&#8217;s pretty neat.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s major Cabinet shakeup comes after Noem has faced criticism over the Homeland Security Department&#8217;s response to the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Noem was also grilled by lawmakers in a Senate hearing earlier this week and said that Trump approved <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/docs-show-dhs-specifically-steered-200m-ad-contracts-raising-questions-about-noems-testimony?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Docs+Show+DHS+Specifically+Steered+%24200M+Ad+Contracts%2C+Raising+Questions+About+Noem%E2%80%99s+Testimony">questionable contracts</a> for advertisements starring the DHS secretary worth over $200 million. The president said on Thursday that Noem will be reassigned to help lead a new security initiative that is set to be announced on Saturday.
In his announcement, Trump said that Noem had served the administration &#8220;well and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!).&#8221; The president added, &#8220;I thank Kristi for her service at &#8216;Homeland.'&#8221;
Mullin, a close friend of Noem&#8217;s, told reporters that he hadn&#8217;t yet spoken to the ousted DHS secretary, but would soon.
&#8220;Our families are very close, and this happened very quick, so we&#8217;re going to go have a conversation with her in just a second,&#8221; he said.
Trump called Mullin a &#8220;warrior&#8221; and said the Oklahoman &#8220;will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.&#8221;
Mullin has served in the Senate since 2023 and was a member of the House for 10 years before that. He currently serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee. Mullin is also a former wrestler and professional mixed martial arts fighter who posted a 5-0 career record in MMA.

A ‘Humbled’ Markwayne Mullin Reveals Who He Called First After He Was Tapped For DHS Secretary

Executive

In a huge victory for Oklahoma, Congress recently passed President Donald Trump’s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which, among many wins, will deliver the largest-ever tax cut for working and middle-class families, secure the border, and lower energy costs.
Unfortunately, Washington Democrats who are desperate to change the media narrative after a brutal 2024 election loss have made it their mission to lie about this bill and mislead American families — especially on Medicaid program improvements.
Democrats claim the bill guts the program. But in reality, Republicans voted to protect and strengthen Medicaid for those who need it most.
Medicaid’s long-term stability is at risk. During the Obama administration, Democrats expanded Medicaid eligibility to include able-bodied adults — adding 20 million able-bodied people to the program rolls between 2013 and 2021. Today, roughly 35 million Americans are living below the poverty line, while over 70 million people are on Medicaid. What’s worse, a stunning 36% of Medicaid spending is on able-bodied working-age adults — most of whom are not working.
What was first designed as a critical social safety net for America’s most vulnerable — including pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, and low-income seniors and families — has quickly ballooned into an unsustainable mess at risk of bankruptcy.
The Big, Beautiful Bill will protect Medicaid benefits for those who need them most and help move millions of able-bodied adults with no children from welfare to work — all while saving taxpayers billions of dollars. By the way, only in Washington is increasing current Medicaid spending levels by 20% over the next 10 years seen as a “cut.”
<div id="attachment_946503" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-946503" class="size-large wp-image-946503" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-864x576.jpg" alt="Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, bounces a ball after leaving the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. President Donald Trump worked the phones Monday and took to social media to try to sway Republican holdouts on his multi-trillion dollar tax bill, encountering conflicting demands from GOP senators even as he urged them to move swiftly. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
This bill includes popular Clinton-era work requirements for able-bodied adults ages 19-64 with no dependents, and includes exceptions for pregnant women, new mothers, and those facing short-term hardships. Under this commonsense law, eligible recipients must complete 20 hours of work, education, or volunteering per week to receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits.
To protect and sustain the Medicaid program, the only people who will see a change in coverage are illegal immigrants, those who are already ineligible for the program, and able-bodied adults ages 19-64 with dependents over 14 years old who choose not to work, volunteer, or go to school for just 20 hours per week.
Most Americans recognize that without commonsense reform, Medicaid would be at a higher risk of collapse. As promised, Republicans are getting the waste, fraud, and abuse out of Medicaid to protect the well-being of America’s most vulnerable. Despite the Democrats&#8217; gross lies, the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; will strengthen and protect the social safety net for every eligible American who needs it. In passing President Trump&#8217;s historic bill, Republicans are ensuring Medicaid can better serve the neediest Americans for generations to come.
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin represents the state of Oklahoma. He serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Republican Lawmakers Work To Pass Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” On Capitol Hill

How The One Big, Beautiful Bill Sustains And Saves Medicaid

John Thune

Medicaid

Opinion

President Trump

Tax Cuts

U.S. Senate

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said during an interview over the weekend that the U.S. told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before Russia invaded in 2022 that he needed to have negotiations with Russians to prevent a war from happening.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; when asked by host Kristen Welker if he would acknowledge that Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for starting the war in Ukraine.
&#8220;You know, I think what President Trump was meaning – not think, I know what he was meaning – is we gave Zelenskyy multiple warnings that there needed to be a negotiations before the war even started,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;And President Trump is absolutely correct. If he was in office, this war would have never, ever taken place.&#8221;
&#8220;What we&#8217;re trying to do and what President Trump is trying to do is end the killing,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s been going on for three years. The Biden administration turned a blind eye to it, and President Trump is the president that can end the war. There, fact – fact and simple.&#8221;
Welker then pressed Mullin over a tweet he posted back in February 2022 where he stated: &#8220;I strongly condemn the unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.&#8221;
&#8220;So just to be clear, Senator, do you still believe this was an unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine by Russia?&#8221; Mullin asked.
Mullin responded: &#8220;You know, what – what we believe is this war should have never taken place. And what we&#8217;re trying to do here is put President Trump in a good position to negotiate the end of the war. It&#8217;s the same way that – that Reagan worked with Gorbachev by trying to end the Cold War.&#8221;
&#8220;Trump is the president that&#8217;s going to be able to end the killings that should have never taken place and would have never taken place if he would have been in office instead of Joe Biden,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;The reason why is because President Trump leads peace through strength. What Biden led through is appeasement. And that doesn&#8217;t work on the world stage. And I do believe 100% that we don&#8217;t want to attack – back the president or this administration into a corner on saying things that might damage the ability for President Trump to negotiate the – an end to this war. And President Trump is a dealmaker. He will end this war.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The media doesn’t get it: We want to put President Trump in the best position to negotiate an end to this war and stop the killing. It’s the Art of the Deal ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/6ptrwxr2dI">pic.twitter.com/6ptrwxr2dI</a>
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMullin/status/1893687539443085535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2025</a></blockquote>

Sen. Markwayne Mullin

Markwayne Mullin: Zelensky Had ‘Multiple Warnings’ Before War Started To Have Negotiations

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a> that the Senate GOP &#8220;has not let up the pressure at all&#8221; on Democrats as Republicans ram President Donald Trump&#8217;s cabinet appointments through their confirmations.
Senate Republicans, with their 53-47 majority, have cleared nearly all of the president&#8217;s most controversial picks after Kash Patel was confirmed to be the next FBI director in a 51-49 vote on Thursday. Mullin, who has gone to bat for each of Trump&#8217;s cabinet picks, told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that the confirmation process had gone smoothly thanks to Republican leadership that is laser-focused on supporting Trump&#8217;s agenda.
&#8220;What you&#8217;ve seen is a new leader in the Senate with Leader [John] Thune. He is just 100 percent grinding the Democrats down from the get-go,&#8221; Mullin told Morning Wire.
&#8220;And so once the president got confirmed and sworn into office on the 20th, what we did is we immediately started the clock on these nominees, and [we] haven&#8217;t stopped,&#8221; he added.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON MORNING WIRE: 
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyzing-trumps-cabinet-with-senator-mullin-2-23-25/id1576594336?i=1000695241881" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
The Republican senator from Oklahoma explained that the party didn&#8217;t wait for Trump to be sworn in on January 20 to push his nominees through the confirmation process. Since the new Republican-controlled Senate began on January 3, the GOP immediately went to work putting pressure on Democrats to speed up confirmations.
Mullin said that Thune &#8220;has literally kept that clock running 24/7, seven days a week&#8221; on cabinet confirmations.
After a cabinet nominee gets reported out of committee, &#8220;there&#8217;s a 24-hour soak,&#8221; followed by a 30-hour debate, he explained, adding, &#8220;On directors, like Kash Patel, when you invoke cloture on them, you have a two-hour debate. So while you still have a 24-hour soak, you only have two hours of debate on that person. So you can move those faster.&#8221;
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&#8220;Even when we&#8217;re not here, the Democrats will negotiate and say, &#8216;If you don&#8217;t make us stay over on the weekend, we&#8217;ll allow the clocks to run consecutively, even though we&#8217;re not here.&#8217; So we&#8217;ll go ahead and invoke cloture on the next person,&#8221; Mullin told Morning Wire. &#8220;So when we get back here on Monday, we can confirm two people at once. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re so far ahead — because Leader Thune has not let up the pressure at all, not one bit on the Democrats.&#8221;
Asked about Republican legislative priorities in the weeks and months ahead, Mullin — a member of the Senate GOP Deputy Whip team — said his &#8220;biggest focus&#8221; is &#8220;deregulation on the business sector.&#8221;
&#8220;The only way we bring down energy prices is you got to make it conducive that people can trust their investment, long-term investment and not just four years at a time,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;But most energy companies are investing 15 to 20 years at a time when they look at returns. So you got to have stability in the energy market. And that means you gotta have deregulation.&#8221;

How Republicans Quickly Confirmed Trump’s Cabinet: ‘Kept That Clock Running 24/7’

Cabinet

Morning Wire

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said over the weekend that America&#8217;s ballooning national debt was becoming a serious threat to U.S. national security.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; with Jonathan Karl when asked about Elon Musk&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cutting wasteful spending in other agencies and departments.
&#8220;We hate that anybody&#8217;s losing their job, but at the same time, we know that the debt that we have in this country is not manageable, and it&#8217;s becoming a national security risk, and we&#8217;re spending nearly a trillion dollars a year just in servicing the debt,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;That is scary. We&#8217;re spending more on interest payments than we are in our Defense Department now.&#8221;
&#8220;Anybody will tell you that is a road for disaster,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So any time you take over a situation like Elon Musk has had many opportunities and many experiences with taking over businesses, you had to start cutting some of the fat.&#8221;
&#8220;And unfortunately, the number one expense we have in the United States government right now is payroll, and when you start cutting departments, some people&#8217;s jobs are lost,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And it hurts us because we don&#8217;t want anybody to lose their job. But at the same time, we have to get it under control because if we don&#8217;t get our debt underneath control, it becomes a national security — can you imagine if we get downgraded?&#8221;
He said that if the U.S. gets its credit rating downgraded and the dollar starts losing its value that it could lead to disastrous economic outcomes for the country.
&#8220;Our buying power, the ability to invest into the country, the ability to invest in our military starts shrinking, and then we start losing the strength part when we start wanting to be at the negotiating table from peace through strength,&#8221; he continued.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
When asked about Elon Musk’s efforts to layoff federal employees, GOP Sen. Mullin tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> the move is necessary to control debt.
“It hurts us because we don&#8217;t want anybody to lose their job. But at the same time, we have to get it under control.” <a href="https://t.co/MbYZfpYm86">https://t.co/MbYZfpYm86</a> <a href="https://t.co/hzC1q8umzS">pic.twitter.com/hzC1q8umzS</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1891179764926369894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2025</a></blockquote>

I Am Vanessa Guillén Act

Senator Mullin: America’s National Debt A ‘National Security Risk’

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

National Debt

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said over the weekend that President Donald Trump was ready to start increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to force him to end his war in Ukraine.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview with ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; with Jonathan Karl when asked about an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that said Trump was the one who &#8220;wants a deal more,&#8221; implying that he was not arguing from a position of strength.
&#8220;Is President Trump poised to actually really turn the screws on Putin?&#8221; Karl asked.
&#8220;Absolutely because Putin knows the one person that can truly change the war is the United States,&#8221; Mullin responded. &#8220;If we went all in for Ukraine, if we went all in with the resources we have, from air superiority to – to the weapons that we can deploy to Ukraine, Putin knows at that point he would be in an extremely negative position.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that being the opportunity for President Trump to talk to Putin and say, listen, we want to end the war,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want to have to engage more. But we&#8217;re not going to allow you to move forward. So, let&#8217;s negotiate a peace deal here or you&#8217;re going to force our hand to be farther involved. That&#8217;s what peace through strength is. It&#8217;s negotiating peace, but using strength as a backup. If you make us do something, we will do it.&#8221;
&#8220;We did this in Syria when President Trump was in office in 2017,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;You saw that Putin went ahead and engaged with – with – with Syria. They used chemical weapons. And immediately what President Trump did is he bombed the airport and took over the air space that Russia was [in] control over, and he controlled the air space for the remainder of his presidency. So we had the ability to do it and Putin knows that.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin says Pres. Trump has the capability to apply pressure to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“President Trump wrote ‘The Art of the Deal.’ He knows how to negotiate.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ITK275Hp4z">https://t.co/ITK275Hp4z</a> <a href="https://t.co/jgFSRIifVO">pic.twitter.com/jgFSRIifVO</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1891177272700203042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2025</a></blockquote>

Markwayne Mullin: Putin Does Not Want To Mess With U.S.

Ukraine

Vladimir Putin

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/markwayne-mullin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Markwayne Mullin</a> (R-OK) blew up Tuesday morning&#8217;s Armed Services Committee hearing, torching his colleagues — and taking some of the blast himself — for their hypocrisy as they criticized Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
Mullin argued that even as they sat in judgment of Hegseth — his qualifications to lead the Pentagon and his admitted struggles — many of them were ignoring their own failings while demanding that Hegseth meet the standards they themselves could not.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
MUST WATCH: Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkwayneMullin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkwayneMullin</a> just called out the hypocrisy of every single Democrat who have spent the hearing wagging their fingers at Pete Hegseth. <a href="https://t.co/jq8fvaHA42">pic.twitter.com/jq8fvaHA42</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879224487981486263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot about qualifications,&#8221; Mullin said, referencing his colleagues who had raised questions regarding whether or not Hegseth had the necessary experience to run the Pentagon. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side of the aisle, to be talking about his qualifications to not be able to lead — to be the Secretary of Defense, and yet, your qualifications aren&#8217;t any better.&#8221;
&#8220;You guys aren&#8217;t any more qualified to be a senator than I&#8217;m qualified to be the senator, except we&#8217;re lucky enough to be here,&#8221; Mullin continued, after which he read aloud the qualifications upon which a Defense Secretary was to be judged.
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&#8220;In general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;That&#8217;s it. And if you have served in the U.S. Army forces and have been in the service for — you have to be retired for at least seven years and Congress can waive that. And then there&#8217;s questions that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own secretary that you all voted for, Secretary Austin, we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that&#8217;s okay because that&#8217;s a Democrat Secretary of Defense. But we so quickly forget about that.&#8221;
Mullin then pivoted to questions raised by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) regarding Hegseth&#8217;s previous marital woes, adding, &#8220;And then Senator Kaine — I guess I&#8217;d better use &#8216;the Senator from Virginia&#8217; — starts bringing up the fact that &#8216;what if you showed up drunk to your job?'&#8221;
&#8220;How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?&#8221; Mullin asked after a brief pause, prompting laughter throughout the chamber.
&#8220;Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man&#8217;s made a mistake.&#8221;
&#8220;And you want to sit there and say that he&#8217;s not qualified?&#8221; Mullin kept at it. &#8220;Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We&#8217;ve all made mistakes. I&#8217;ve made mistakes.&#8221;
Mullin turned to Hegseth&#8217;s wife, Jennifer, crediting her with standing by her husband through difficulties.
&#8220;The only reason why I&#8217;m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too,&#8221; Mullin said to a few more laughs and a smattering of applause. &#8220;I have changed, but I&#8217;m not perfect — but I found somebody who thought I was perfect. And for whatever reason, you love Pete, and I don&#8217;t know why. But just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife&#8217;s had to forgive me more than once, too, and I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve had to forgive him, too. And so, thank you.&#8221;

Senator Mullin Blows Up Hegseth Committee Hearing, Tells Senators They’re Not Qualified To Judge

Senator Mullin Blows Up Hegseth Committee Hearing, Tells Senators They're Not Qualified To Judge

Department of Defense

General

Military

Pete Hegseth

Partisan politics in Washington, D.C., apparently stops at the weight room.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma says he got to know Tulsi Gabbard at the gym when they both served in the House of Representatives. At the time, Mullin was still a Republican and Gabbard was a Democrat, but the respect they built for each other in the weightroom bridged the political divide. 
The pair have remained close friends ever since. Mullin is now a senator and Gabbard, who joined the Republican Party in October, is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence. 
As a senator, Mullin is in a key position to help boost his friend into the position of director of national intelligence, a role that Gabbard is well-qualified to hold, Mullin says in a new video alongside Gabbard.
“You know, Tulsi has been getting unfairly tagged as someone not qualified to be the director of national intelligence, and I laugh because if you know this girl, first of all, she&#8217;s extremely intimidating. [She] used to work out with me every single morning, and she ran us into the ground,” Mullin said, recalling their days in the gym.
“When you start looking at her background, she served four terms in the United States House of Representatives – I don&#8217;t know if that&#8217;s a bragging point, but we&#8217;ll still talk about it – twenty-two years in the service, combat veteran, lieutenant colonel right now, and she&#8217;s currently over the reserve unit in Oklahoma and Missouri. I don&#8217;t know what [other] qualifications you need,” Mullin said. 
“I mean, you&#8217;re not Pete Buttigieg,” Mullin said, referring to the former mayor of Southbend, Indiana, who was vaulted into heading the Department of Transportation during the Biden administration despite having no relevant past experience in a transportation-related role.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
GOP Senator <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkwayneMullin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkwayneMullin</a> says he became friends with Tulsi Gabbard when she was a Democrat—they went to the gym every morning together
In a video, he tells her that questions about her qualifications are absurd: “I mean, you’re not Pete Buttigieg” <a href="https://t.co/Qunu1Fwmjc">pic.twitter.com/Qunu1Fwmjc</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1877492971571929385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gabbard has seen some headwinds in the Senate. The Trump transition team earlier this week <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sad-to-see-trump-team-says-dems-playing-politics-with-key-national-security-admin-post">accused</a> Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee of obstructing Gabbard’s nomination.

Markwayne Mullin, Tulsi Gabbard

GOP Senator Blasts Questions About Tulsi Gabbard’s Qualifications: She’s ‘Not Pete Buttigieg’

Tulsi Gabbard

Washington D.C.

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/markwayne-mullin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Markwayne Mullin</a> (R-OK) said during an interview over the weekend that &#8220;criminal&#8221; activity from the Biden administration related to its withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021 should be investigated by the incoming Trump administration.
Mullin made the remarks during a Sunday interview with CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper when asked about President Joe Biden issuing blanket pardons for individuals so the Department of Justice cannot prosecute them in the future.
&#8220;As far as weaponizing the DOJ and going after political opponents, the only party that&#8217;s ever done that is the Democrat Party,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;When President Trump was in office the first time as the 45th president, he didn&#8217;t go after the Clintons. He didn&#8217;t do this.&#8221;
&#8220;When they went after classified documents, they obviously treated President Trump much different than they did President Biden,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And so who weaponizes them? Now, if they are afraid of that because they&#8217;re afraid the same tool they used against President Trump could be used against them, then, hey, President Biden has the right to do that. But I don&#8217;t think they have a reason to be afraid.&#8221;
He later added: &#8220;The first thing we need to do is hold people accountable from the Afghanistan withdrawal. That&#8217;s where they should be looking at, because I think there was real criminal activity that took place there, like, for instance, Ambassador Pommersheim telling me personally, when we were over there trying to get Americans out and my group trying to get Americans out, that he was told not to assist us in any way, not to assist us in any way from Washington, D.C.&#8221;
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&#8220;Who gave him that order that he wasn&#8217;t supposed to help me as a member of Congress at the time trying to get Americans out?&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We&#8217;re there on the ground pulling people across the Panjshir bridge into Tajikistan. He&#8217;s the ambassador of Tajikistan. And he was told by the State Department not to assist us in any way. That&#8217;s a criminal charge that should be investigated. Those things should be looked at.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
After Trump said members of the January 6 Committee “should go to jail,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMullin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenMullin</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a>, “I don&#8217;t think they have a reason to be afraid” but adds, “I think that investigation should be looked into if there was criminal activity that took place.” <a href="https://t.co/UVfgdzHzqx">pic.twitter.com/UVfgdzHzqx</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1865788224074928603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

Sen Mullin Calls For ‘Criminal’ Activity To Be Investigated From Biden’s Afghanistan Pullout

Afghanistan

Biden Administration

Crime

U.S.

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