Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin Sworn In As DHS Secretary
Former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
According to AP News, the Senate confirmed Mullin on Monday evening in a 54-45 vote that fell along party lines. President Donald Trump swore Mullin in at the White House on Tuesday, where Mullin gave brief remarks. He said he had met with DHS employees who are currently working without pay “because of political politics.”
Political politics. I can only respond to that phrase with the Iron Man sigh because what does that even mean?
“I told them, as you’re fighting 365 days, understand I’ll be fighting 365 days beside you,” Mullin continued. “No one’s going to outwork me, and I’m not going to let any of them outwork me. The president has entrusted me with this, and failure is not an option.”
In a move that surprised pretty much no one, President Donald Trump fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this month after her poor handling of the agency led to bipartisan outrage. From what we know of Mullin, his appointment to DHS Secretary will probably be more of a lateral move than a marked improvement over Noem’s tenure. He was a staunch supporter of Trump’s immigration policies and is a very loyal Trump supporter. Personally, I’m incredibly curious about how he will approach FEMA.
Noem made several changes to FEMA policy that have significantly hampered the organization’s ability to respond to disasters. Most notably, she implemented a policy that required her personal signature for every FEMA expenditure over $100,000. This has led to a backlog of expenditure requests and has resulted in many states struggling to rebuild after experiencing climate disasters. As natural disasters worsen in intensity due to climate change, one of the biggest questions about Mullin’s appointment is whether he will continue the effort to dismantle FEMA or try to restore some normality.
Noem’s poor handling of ICE is both what led to her firing and the current DHS shutdown. As a result of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Nicole Good in Minneapolis by federal agents, Senate Democrats have refused to approve DHS funding unless reforms are implemented for how ICE agents conduct themselves.
The controversial changes suggested by Senate Democrats are banning masks for ICE agents, increasing training for new agents, and mandating bodycams for every agent. So basically the bare minimum. Senate Republicans have rebuffed any attempt at reforms. As a result, DHS employees have been without pay for nearly a month.
The impact of the shutdown is being felt the hardest at U.S. airports, where more and more TSA agents have been calling out or outright quitting. This has led to increasingly long lines at TSA checkpoints, with some wait times stretching up to six hours. Senate Republicans have introduced a spending bill that would restore DHS funding but is largely devoid of the reforms Democrats have pushed for.
Considering that the last government shutdown ended without Democrats securing any of the gains they sought regarding ACA subsidies, it would be a terrible look if they once again cave without getting anything they’ve demanded.
So Mullin is not exactly walking into a smooth-running operation, and it remains to be seen if he will actually be an improvement over Noem, or just more of the same. I mean, I’d say he couldn’t possibly be worse than Noem, but this is the Trump administration we’re talking about. They can always sink lower.
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