What Could Go Wrong? An Election Denier Is About to Run Homeland Security

It’s T-1 day before the Senate votes on whether Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla)—the freak who fingered his colleagues’ nostrils (and those of their spouses’) on a trip to Israel in 2023 while they were asleep—replaces Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, and 0% of the things he said during his three-hour hearing on Wednesday indicate he’d be a better fit. Well, minus the fact that he doesn’t have a history of murdering his dog.

Mullin, a five-term representative who joined the upper chamber in 2023, ticks all the MAGA boxes and then some. He’s got an abysmal anti-abortion record and, during a Senate debate, argued abortions should be banned in all circumstances—even in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger. He also once floated the idea of executing journalists who publish stories he dislikes, and in February, tried to wrestle a sign from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) during Trump’s State of the Union address that said: “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES.”

He’s also a *drum roll*… prominent election denier! 

At one point, Mullin was grilled by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) about his history of denying the 2021 presidential election, or the very thing that catapulted him into MAGA stardom. As a then-House member, he was one of the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to object to the election results. 

“Who won the 2020 election?” Slotkin asked him, point-blank. 

“Ma’am, we know that President Joe Biden was sworn into office. He was the president for the last four years,” Mullin replied—refusing to admit that Biden did, indeed, win the presidential election. When Slotkin geared up for a reply, she was interrupted.

“That’s not—,” to which Mullin burst out, “I do believe my job as Department of Homeland Security secretary will be to make sure that we assure that the elections are fair and people can trust them.” Sure. Because everyone wants an election denier in charge.

When Slotkin asked whether he’d station ICE agents at the polls in 2026, he replied, “Only if there is a specific threat—not for intimidation.” So far, the only election threat is coming from the GOP itself, as the Senate on Wednesday begins debating Trump’s beloved SAVE America Act—which will make it harder for millions of Americans to vote, and which Trump has said will “guarantee the midterms.”

In other parts of his hearing, Mullin seemed to backtrack on a couple of things, like calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” after he was shot and killed by federal agents in February. “I went out there too fast, I was responding immediately without the facts,” he said. “That’s my fault. That won’t happen as Secretary.” He didn’t say whether he’d issue an apology to Pretti’s family, though. 

Speaking of “without the facts,” Mullin himself has a terrifying track record of taking the incendiary route for no reason other than following through on his own animus. In 2019, after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) criticized the first Trump administration for cracking down on immigration so hard that people were afraid to seek out abortions, he said on social media, “Let me get this straight, we need to ensure ‘illegal’ immigrants have access to abortion? This is crazy on so many levels.” To use his own words, having this guy run the Department of Homeland Security is crazy on so many levels. 

Otherwise, Mullin’s hearing was a series of events confirming how little he actually knows about U.S. laws, at one point stressing to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that “dueling with two consenting adults” is still legal. (Well, if he insists…)

Paul, who’s been critical of Mullin ever since the latter called him a “freaking snake” in February after Paul tried to block a funding bill, got the opening statement on Wednesday. And he used it to point to the fact that just a few months ago, Mullin said he understood why a neighbor attacked Paul in 2017—an event that left him with broken ribs and serious injuries. 

“Tell it to my face,” Paul said in his opening statement, “Tell the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung. And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to [lead the DHS].” 

Mullin replied, “I don’t believe in political violence.” To which a literal reminder sat right behind him—the union leader he infamously challenged to a fist fight on the Senate floor in 2023. Apparently, the two men have worked out their differences. “As you can notice, over my shoulder here is my good friend,” Mullin said, nodding to him. “We talk all the time.” 

But despite the risk of Mullin losing Paul’s vote, Sen. Majority Leader told reporters on Wednesday he’s still confident Mullin will be confirmed by the rest of the Senate—especially with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) looking set to get on his hands and knees for the man. Mullin’s confirmation vote is scheduled for Thursday, in which he will need a simple majority vote of 51. (The GOP has a 53-45 Senate majority.)

“I’m not gonna be the smartest guy in any room I walk into,” Mullin admitted at one point during his hearing. Fantastic. Put this guy in charge of the U.S. security. 

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