President Donald Trump is losing patience with the Department of Homeland Security secretary for being "weak and off-message," according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
White House insiders told the Journal that Trump is "increasingly frustrated" with DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin because of a series of "off-message remarks" that have angered the president's outside allies.
Trump tapped Mullin, a former Oklahoma senator, to replace Kristi Noem after he fired her in March. Trump told advisors that he was tired of the infighting at DHS under Noem, but insiders tell The Journal that he has no plans to fire Mullin, who's only four months into the job.
Still, "the president is souring on him, viewing Mullin as 'weak and off message,'" insiders told The Journal, with one senior Trump administration official confirming that the president is frustrated but doesn't plan to fire him.
The frustration reached its peak in August, when Mullin told a meeting of the National Governors Association that the narrative that immigrants steal American jobs is "true in some industries, it's not true for all industries" and suggested that immigration could be a way to make up for a dwindling labor force.
Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer reacted to Mullin's comments by writing on social media that he has "done absolutely nothing to increase the rate of mass deportations," according to The Journal, which noted that Loomer regularly has the president's ear.
Mullin was also out of step with the president after two fatal shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine and Texas, and a senior administration official told The Journal that the president was "annoyed" and didn't know ahead of time about the policy change that halted most vehicle stops by federal immigration officials.
Trump was also angered by Mullin's suggestion of cancelling the Fourth of July fireworks show on the National Mall due to severe weather, insiders told The Journal.
However, a DHS spokeswoman told The Journal that the administration is "one team, and we have one fight," while a White House spokeswoman said Trump "has confidence in his cabinet to carry out the agenda the American people voted for."