Tensions were running high Wednesday morning as President Donald Trump’s new pick to run the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faced his confirmation hearing. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was grilled by his Senate colleagues on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, facing a series of questions ranging from his views on the president’s promised deportation agenda to potential priority shifts for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to personal comments the Republican senator has made over the years. Here are some of the most critical exchanges.

Snake in the Grass?

Committee Chairman Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) started the hearing off questioning Mullin over past comments referring to Paul as a “freaking snake” and saying that he understood why Paul’s neighbor brutally attacked him in 2017. After detailing the damage he suffered from the attack, Paul challenged Mullin, “Tell it to my face if that’s what you believe, tell it to me today,” Paul said. “Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken, and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it — and, while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol Agents.”

“Sir, I think everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point,” Mullin responded. He defended his remarks based on difficult experiences he had working with Paul while Mullin was serving in the House of Representatives. “I could understand, because of the behavior that you were having, I could understand why your neighbor did what he did,” Mullin said. He also claimed that he had already addressed the comments with Paul shortly after he had made them and accused Paul of spending “millions” of dollars supporting primary challengers against Mullin, “because we just don’t get along.”

The Homeland Security secretary nominee clarified that while he said he “understood” why Paul was attacked, he did not outright endorse the attack. “As secretary of Homeland, I will be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma. It’s bigger than the partisan bickering we have, it’s bigger than the political differences that we have. The truth is, we have a job to do, and I don’t like to fail at anything at all.”

Mullin also criticized Paul for opposing his fellow Republicans on a number of key issues. “I work around this room to try to fix problems,” he said. “It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.”

Paul continued to criticize Mullin for his comments, as well as for other comments and actions which Paul characterized as indicative of a violent temperament, such as challenging another congressman to a fight. Mullin responded by citing the largely-obsolete practice of dueling and accusing Paul of engineering a “character assassination.”

Family Lessons

During his opening remarks, Mullin became visibly choked up describing his love for his wife, Christie. He recounted that he fell in love with her in eighth grade and knew then that he would marry her. “She didn’t know that yet. We had to work through that process,” he quipped. When she finally did agree to marry him, Mullin said, “I think she fell in love with my truck. My truck’s pretty cool.” He continued, “I still am humbled by the fact that we’ve gotten to enjoy this walk together. We’ve had God on our side and her right beside me.” Mullin also thanked his six children for their love and support.

“We have a saying in our family: ‘You’re never gonna change anything you’re willing to tolerate.’ That’s how we live our lives, and that’s how we move forward,” Mullin shared. “Regardless of what’s in front of us, we take it on as a family, and I’m not scared of a challenge. I am scared of failure. So I will work hard, each day,” he pledged. “I’ll work hard to make the 280,000 employees at DHS and the 22 agencies that [are] underneath me proud. I’ll show them somebody that no one will outwork.” Mullin said that he would like to secure the U.S. homeland and to give DHS employees “peace of mind” in doing their work. “My goal, in six months, is that we’re not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them.”

Mo’ Money

Senate Democrats have allowed DHS to go unfunded for over 32 days in an effort to protest the Trump administration’s handling of deportation operations. ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the two agencies chiefly responsible for the deportation tactics targeted by Democrats, have already been funded via the One Big Beautiful Bill, so that the Democrats’ refusal to fund DHS has left thousands of employees in Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other critical DHS components without funding to pay employees.

Mullin called on Democrats to agree to release funding to DHS, touting the goal as his first priority upon taking office. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) echoed the call, taking an opportunity to criticize his Democratic colleagues for allowing funding to lapse. He noted that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is one of the sub-agencies without federal funding. “We’ve defunded the agency that allows legal immigrants into this country?” he queried. “That is insane. Never get Democrats to talk about that.”

Moreno left the hearing less than an hour in, calling out Democrats for having “side conversations” while he was speaking and sharing that he was going to pay his respects to the families of U.S. servicemembers who have died. “You guys continue with political theater, personal attacks, whatever it is that you do. I know that is a good man,” he said, pointing to Mullin. “I will vote for you, our Republican colleagues will vote for you, you will get confirmed, you will do a great job, and you will make this country proud.”

Storms A’Brewin’?

Senate Democrats pointed to the use of aggressive tactics in ICE and CBP operations under outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as an example of poor leadership, pressing Mullin to commit to “restoring trust” in DHS, particularly sub-agencies involved in deportation operations. While acknowledging that he and his family are good friends with Noem and her family, Mullin pledged that his leadership of DHS would be different from Noem’s and that he would not necessarily pursue or enact the same policies.

Like Noem, Mullin had characterized Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents while interfering with ICE operations in Minneapolis earlier this year, as a “deranged individual” who was “obstructing federal law enforcement.” He moderated those comments on Wednesday, which he said “went out there too fast” and “probably should have been retracted.” He said that if a DHS investigation returned no evidence that Pretti had been a threat to federal agents then he would apologize for his comments. “I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault. That won’t happen as secretary.”

Mullin also vowed to grant Democratic lawmakers greater access to ICE detention facilities, emphasized the deportation of illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of crimes after illegally entering the U.S., and vowed to reverse a prior DHS policy that empowers ICE agents to enter third-party private homes without judicial warrants. (The Washington Stand’s explainer on ICE’s use of warrants can be found here.) While ICE is technically permitted to enter the home of an illegal immigrant to make an arrest equipped only with a warrant of removal, longstanding DHS practice has also required a warrant signed by a judge before allowing agents to enter private residences. Under Noem, that policy was reversed, allowing agents to enter private residences of illegal immigrants without judicial warrants. Mullin said that he would reverse that policy.

Mullin also said that he would “love to see ICE become a transport more than the frontline,” suggesting that the agency focus on apprehending illegal immigrants who have already been arrested and are being held in jails or prisons, rather than conduct raids or “roving” operations. He also touted border security as a top priority.

The remarks come amidst growing concern that the Trump administration may shift its focus away from the mass deportations promised to the voters who overwhelmingly reelected Trump in 2024 and focus instead only on deporting illegal immigrants who have been charged with or convicted of crimes after illegally entering the U.S. As The Washington Stand previously reported, a Harvard/Harris poll in October found that 56% of voters support “deporting all illegal aliens.” (Emphasis added.) February’s Harvard-Harris poll found that 75% of voters back the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants who are violent offenders, while nearly 60% back “deporting all immigrants who are here illegally.” (Emphasis added.)

Another recent poll, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, found that while two-thirds (66%) of likely midterm voters support the arrest and deportation of violent offenders, nearly 60% still support the mass deportation of all illegal immigrants, not just violent offenders. Notably, 87% of voters who backed Trump in 2024 — including 79% of Hispanic voters — expressed their support for a large-scale mass deportation campaign. The survey further found that increasing deportations will encourage voters to back Republican candidates in the midterms and will likely increase voter turnout. “Clearly, this accomplishment would energize Trump’s base to come out and vote Republican,” the polling firm wrote. A Cygnal survey from late January also found that 61% of voters support mass deportations, 73% consider entering the U.S. illegally to be a criminal act, and 54% support the conduct of ICE in arresting and deporting illegal immigrants.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote Thursday morning on whether or not to advance Mullin’s nomination to the full Senate, where he is expected to gain the support of most, if not all, Republicans. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has already said that he will vote with Republicans to confirm Mullin and encouraged other Democrats to do likewise, suggesting that Mullin will focus deportations solely on violent offenders. Prior to being advanced to the Senate, Mullin will face further questioning from the Homeland Security Committee regarding classified trips he took when serving in the House.