Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was brought into the fold to try and take the heat off the Trump administration and its "scandal-soaked predecessor, Kristi Noem" — but that hasn't exactly panned out, an analyst reported on Thursday.
The Bulwark's Andrew Egger wrote that Mullin appears to have followed in Noem's footsteps, and he might not have considered one question: "What if he turned out to be exactly the same?"
"Markwayne Mullin was brought in to stop the scandals and boost DHS morale. He’s not off to a great start," Egger wrote.
Reports have surfaced this week that Mullin has been pushing to get his wife on the agency's payroll and flying on the same $70 million luxury jet that Noem used, traveling to his home state of Oklahoma and often working there instead of Washington, D.C. He's also pushed the "jaw-dropping" idea that the Trump administration should halt flights into blue cities, something the travel industry has warned could have "devastating consequences," Egger wrote.
He even blamed a Democratic lawmaker for getting pepper-sprayed outside an ICE detention center, claiming it was the senator's own fault.
Mullin might not be that different from Noem, and it's likely he has the same motivations, Egger explained.
"The fact that Mullin keeps pitching the plan anyway shows how perverse the incentive structures remain for Trump’s underlings," Egger wrote. "You might think that Mullin, who was explicitly brought into DHS to stop the endless parade of scandals that followed Noem, would spend a bit more time working the kinks out of his plans before introducing them to the world.
"But that’s not how it works in Trump’s orbit: The only way to win currency with the emperor is to roll the ball forward in directions you think he’ll personally like, and to be seen doing so on TV if you can swing it. Trump hates blue cities and loves punishing them in performative ways. So forget the law, forget what’s fair, forget the economy, forget winning back disaffected voters, forget good policy — Markwayne’s going to dance for him the only way he likes."