Markwayne Mullin, Donald Trump’s pick to replace ousted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has been confirmed by the United States Senate.
The Republican Senator cleared the simple majority needed to be confirmed to his post. Notably, one of the votes came from himself.
Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico crossed party lines and sided with the majority of Republicans to approve the nomination, which was confirmed 54-45 on Monday evening.
However, Republican Senator Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, voted against the nominee due to their open hostility toward each other. Mullin had previously called Paul a ‘freaking snake’ – but later apologized.
Mullin now heads to a department that is the topic of much blame around the country as Americans face grueling waits due to TSA agents going without pay. ICE agents were deployed to several airports earlier on Monday to help curb the chaos.
And recent clashes between ICE agents tasked with enforcing Trump’s ‘mass deportations’ policy and protestors around the country resulted in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Senators remain at a standstill for a deal to fund the agency – which would require Democrat and Republican support – but there was hope Monday evening that a deal was struck with Trump after Senator Katie Britt told reporters after returning from the White House that there was a deal.
Ex-DHS Secretary Noem was spectacularly fired by Trump earlier this month after much scrutiny over her alleged affair with top staffer Corey Lewandowski, which both have denied, and other scandals.
Markwayne Mullin is sworn in during a hearing for the position of US Secretary of Homeland Security at the US Capitol, on March 18, 2026
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City
Trump fired Kristi Noem earlier this month
The ‘last straw’ came when Noem told Senator John Kennedy under oath that she’d been given Trump’s approval for a $220million taxpayer-funded campaign designed to boost her national profile.
Trump announced her exit on Truth Social moments before stating that little-known Senator Mullin of Oklahoma would be nominated to become the next DHS Secretary.
The President lauded Mullin for his Native American roots and claimed the Senator ‘will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security’ in the Truth Social post announcing his pick to replace Noem.
Mullin has been a staunch ally of Trump’s policies during his time in Congress, and has appeared frequently on cable TV defending the administration’s agenda. He has represented Oklahoma in the United States Senate since 2023, and previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023.
Senators held a hearing to confirm Mullin to the DHS post last Wednesday, and his nomination was advanced by a committee vote on Thursday after Pennsylvania’s Fetterman crossed party lines to support the nominee.
The Oklahoman is known for his unusual name, which is a combination of two monikers. The unique amalgamation has a deeply personal connection to his family, as he is named after his uncle Mark and Wayne – both of whom were childless, he once told Roll Call.
‘My father was the youngest boy of eight children, and he had two brothers who did not have any sons. And since I was the youngest of seven in my family, I was named after both of them,’ he said at the time.
Prior to entering politics, the Oklahoman had a brief stint as a mixed martial arts or MMA fighter. He left the sport in 2012 with an undefeated 5-0 record and was later inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.
The senator is known as a firebrand and even challenged the Teamsters president to a brawl during a Senate hearing in 2023.
‘This is the time, this is the place, you want to run your mouth, we can be consenting adults, we can finish it here,’ he said.
US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R) and wife Christie Mullin (L) arrive for a hearing for the position of US Secretary of Homeland Security at the US Capitol, Washington, DC, USA, 18 March 2026.
Mullin seen working out in a video posted to his Instagram page
‘Okay, that’s fine, that’s perfect,’ Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, replied.
‘You want to do it now?’ Mullin replied.
‘I’d love to do it now,’ O’Brien said, to which Mullin responded, ‘Well, stand your butt up then.’
‘Stand your butt up,’ O’Brien mimicked.
Mullin, however, did stand up, fists clenched, while fellow Senator Bernie Sanders admonished him and told him to ‘sit down.’
‘You’re a United States Senator, sit down,’ Sanders said.
O’Brien had taken to X prior to the hearing to challenge Mullin to a fight. He also called Mullin a ‘clown’ and a ‘fraud,’ which infuriated the former fighter.
Mullin attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship but later dropped out of school at the age of 20 after his father Jim fell ill and he needed to help with the family plumbing business.
Mullin would go back to school in 2018, eventually achieving an associate’s degree in applied science in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.
He is the only senator without a bachelor’s degree.
Mullin and his wife of nearly 30 years, Christie, would expand the family business into the largest in the region and also started other successful companies.
He and his wife have six children, including two adoptive twins, Ivy and Lynette.
Mullin with his children and President Donald Trump
Mullin with his family and Kristi Noem former DHS Secretary and South Dakota Governor
The Oklahoman, who was a business owner prior to serving in public office, had a multi-year ethics investigation into him, which resulted in the politician paying back $40,000 that was ‘mistakenly paid to him.’
He was accused of still being involved in the businesses. The committee ultimately decided he had made a ‘good faith effort’ to comply with the ethics rule.
Mullin also worked as a cow-calf rancher prior to becoming a representative.
He grew up on a farm in Westville, where his family still resides today.
