All posts tagged "markwayne mullin"

Trump 'increasingly frustrated' with his 'weak and off-message' DHS chief: WSJ

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."

DHS chief's election threats shut down as critics tell him he has 'zero power'

Online critics scoffed at threats from the head of the Department of Homeland Security that he would mandate election changes.

At a press conference where DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to jail state officials, he also said that he plans to make "mandatory" changes to elections, including having states "scrub" their voter rolls. Mullin's remarks came the day after Trump delivered a speech about supposed election security vulnerabilities.

While reactions were swift to his threat to jail state officials who don't cooperate, with blue states daring him to follow through, online critics pointed out that Mullin doesn't have any power to implement the sweeping election changes he planned to mandate.

"Yeah, no lil buddy," former GOP operative Rick Wilson responded on X. "That's not how this works."

"Someone should read the Constitution," wrote Melanie D'Arrigo, a former Democratic congressional candidate and the executive director of the Campaign for New York Health. "The executive Branch cannot mandate states to make changes to how they administer elections."

"Senate Republicans, this is the crap you pretend will not happen when Trump nominees sit in front of you and lie," complained Michael Steele, a political commentator and former chairman of the Republican National Committee. "And you know they are lying. The DHS secretary has NO role to play in our elections. You know that too. 'Mandatory' my a--!"

"Ha! No he's not," immigration attorney and policy analyst Aaron Reichlin-Melnick posted in response to Mullin's claims. "DHS has literally zero power to do this. The Trump admin has lost every single lawsuit on their efforts to get state voter data or change voter requirements. The power to administer elections is given to the states."

"This would be actual proof of rigging an election," commented disability rights advocate James Tate.

Susan Collins warned on Fox News that her votes are about to come back to haunt her

A Fox News co-host said Friday that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) could face a tough road in the upcoming elections to maintain her Senate seat in the fallout over the fatal ICE shooting in her state.

Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov pointed out that since Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner stepped down from the race amid allegations of sexual assault, it's opened up more questions and scrutiny over Collins' vote on ICE funding as potential Democratic hopefuls push their campaigns forward.

"There is a lot of energy right now in Maine, and it is blue energy in the Democratic sense," Tarlov said. "There is a reason that they are talking about the policies of Graham Platner because they were overwhelmingly popular with the primary electorate."

Now, it's been six years, and Collins has voted with Trump "95 percent of the time," Tarlov added.

"Right now Maine is in full crisis mode over this ICE murder from last week of Johan Guerrero," she said. "Everyone's talking about Susan Collins, one of the deciding votes for that extra $70 billion for ICE funding."

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's threats on Friday that federal immigration officials would ramp up street-level enforcement could also be problematic for Collins, Tarlov argued.

"We're going to be turning up the heat in the streets," she said. "Susan Collins doesn't want any heat up in the streets. Susan Collins is going to have a very difficult time hanging on if things like this are going on in her state, and if you can tie her directly to the funding."

"She's got to run even stronger than she did in 2020; this is a different environment, and it is a very anti-Trump environment, and she is tied with him with 95% of her votes," Tarlov added.

Jessica: Markwayne Mullin said we are going to be turning up the heat in the streets. Susan Collins doesn't want any heat up in the streets. Susan Collins is going to have a very difficult time hanging on if things like this are going on in her state. pic.twitter.com/vliXcyYGGc
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2026

New DHS boss begs airports to pull Kristi Noem's videos: report

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin can't seem to escape his predecessor Kristi Noem, according to a new HuffPost report published Monday.

In an email obtained by HuffPost, Mullin demanded that U.S. Customs and Border Protection pull any lingering PSA-style videos of Noem that are still running in airport security checkpoints or any areas of entry to the United States.

"If so, please kindly remove them as soon as possible and provide confirmation of removal," Mullin wrote.

The videos were apparently still running months after President Donald Trump fired her from the job.

Noem, former South Dakota governor, was the face of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies and was fired on March 5. She was replaced by Mullin, a former Republican senator and Trump ally.

"Noem was not averse to cameras while running DHS, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she left behind some videos to purge," HuffPost reported. "Travelers were often greeted by PSA-style recordings of the then-secretary when moving through customs or Transportation Security Administration checkpoints."

In October 2025, Noem blamed Democrats in a TSA spot for the government shutdown and snarled airport security lines and "ethics experts said she violated the Hatch Act by issuing such a partisan message in her official capacity. Some airports refused to air the spot."

Trump's decision to cut her from the top job apparently came after her testimony before Congress in early March. She had claimed under oath that the president had approved the government-funded $200 million advertisement campaign that showed her riding a horse in a cowboy hat at Mount Rushmore and "talking tough on immigration." A Republican consulting firm with “long-standing personal and business ties to Noem” had received a “secret payday” for its work on the agency's media campaign.

'Wow': CNN anchor shocked 'on a number of levels' by GOP's immigration meltdown

A CNN anchor was shocked by a montage of Republican outrage over the Supreme Court rebuffing their immigration demands.

Kasie Hunt opened her Tuesday episode of The Arena with a segment about the Supreme Court's 6-3 vote to block Trump from unilaterally ending birthright citizenship. The segment featured a clip with GOP reactions to the "stinging loss," as Hunt described it.

"This decision that John Roberts authored is bad on the level of Dred Scott, or Roe v. Wade," Fox News commentator Mollie Hemingway was shown saying.

"I adamantly disagree with the spirit of the Fourteenth Amendment," Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin was shown saying, also on Fox News.

"I'm very disappointed in the outcome," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the press in another clip.

"This is one quiver in the president's group of arrows removed from him," Judge Andrew Napolitano was shown saying.

"You've got the ultimate conclusion of the Bush Era, was this John Roberts [decision]," Steve Bannon said. "He gave it to you, baby, right between the eyes. How do you like it? Suck on that."

After that series of reactions, Hunt said, "Wow, on a number of levels," and later added while speaking to CNN legal analyst Elie Honig that it was "fairly remarkable to hear the Dred Scott case referenced in any positive way anywhere."

Markwayne Mullin mocked as he struggles to control temper: 'Too emotional for this job'

The internet was in a frenzy on Thursday after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lost his temper — while holding a pink stress ball — when he was grilled by a Democratic congresswoman.

Mullin interrupted ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and told her she should "be put in her place," exploding at the longtime lawmaker at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing where he was testifying on the Department of Homeland Security's budget.

Political commentators mocked Mullin's explosive reaction.

"Mullin seems to be too emotional for this job," Angry Staffer, political commentator and former White House staffer, wrote on X.

" Trump appointees have run roughshod over the committee process for 17 months. Regularly berating members and avoiding answering questions. It's really something to see a GOP chairman actually stand up for his branch of government, for once," CNN senior political reporter Aaron Blake wrote on X.

"Rosa DeLauro is a legend, a constant champion for children over her long career. Markwayne Mullin, on the other hand, will, with the rest of the infamous, need to lawyer up once power shifts and accountability finally comes," progressive political commentator Dean Barker wrote on Bluesky.

"Men are too emotional to handle the levers of government," Gabe Ortiz, writer for immigration advocacy group America's Voice, wrote on Bluesky.

"Mullin is obnoxious," attorney and former public defender Frank Amari wrote on Bluesky.

Mullin seems to be too emotional for this job https://t.co/nXBNg6xoTc
— Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) June 25, 2026

Ex-insider warns of 'dictatorial dementia' as Trump copes with his 'impending mortality'

A GOP analyst and former White House insider revealed that as President Donald Trump has shown signs of "dictatorial dementia," energetic "young henchmen" around him are in a hurry to reshape the government — even rushing to conduct mass firings.

Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark and a former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, described how 80-year-old Trump has surrounded himself with young men. Acting director of national intelligence Bill Pulte is 38 years old, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is 40, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel are all 46 years old. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is 51, and Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought is 50.

"A sense of impending mortality seems to be making our president even more unhinged than ever," Kristol wrote.

Kristol described how Trump might not have "the patience to carry out a thoroughgoing subversion of the rule of law, of our political and civil liberties, or of our elections," or the ability to enact a full authoritarian takeover.

"On the other hand, there’s no doubt he would like to see such a takeover," Kristol wrote.

"And he does have young men with a lean and hungry look in positions of authority and power in the executive branch who are committed to making his dream of power without limits a reality," Kristol wrote.

These men have something in common, Kristol explained.

"They’re young, but they’re as determined as the old man they work for not to hand their positions over to anyone other than fellow loyalists after their terms in office, if they intend to leave office at all," Kristol wrote. "They’re as determined as the old man they work for not to step aside from their powers and allow political opponents to look into what they have done. And like the old man they work for, they aren’t committed to the peaceful and democratic transfer of power after an election, or to the political norms or lawful procedures of a liberal democracy."

"None of these men should be in a position of power and authority in the government of the United States," Kristol added. "Yet here they are, hiring and firing at will, abusing their authority and politicizing their agencies in unprecedented ways."

Trump DHS chief torched after telling New Yorkers to 'wise up'

The head of the Department of Homeland Security is getting an earful after he told New Yorkers to "wise up."

During a press conference, Markwayne Mullin went after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his constituents.

"He and I don't get along," Mullin said about Mamdani. "It's shameful, and hopefully people in New York will wise up and get a true leader in there in a few years."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, fired back, writing, "Nothing like an Oklahoman with no ties to New York City trying to tell the city what to think about its highly popular mayor."

"New Yorkers definitely want a plumber from Oklahoma telling them what to do," journalist John Harwood wrote.

"The leader of American Gestapo is both dumb as a rock and purely evil," Norman Ornstein, a political scientist and contributing editor for The Atlantic, posted.

"It really is shameful that ol' Markwayne is so hateable that even he can't get along with someone as likeable as Mamdani," podcaster Roy Bellamy wrote. "Hopefully America will wise up and get true leaders in here in November and beyond."

"Does Donald Trump know that Markwayne is insulting his friend Mamdani?" asked author and editor Grant Stern, referring to reports that the two elected leaders are friendly.

"Any attacks on Mamdani from the admin appointees only make Trump's genuine affection for him even funnier," Max Steele, the senior director for communications for Everytown for Gun Safety, agreed.

Trump cabinet secretary given slush fund through new immigration bill: report

A Trump cabinet secretary will have a slush fund of his own after the House passed a funding bill for immigration enforcement, according to reporting by Politico.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will have $5 billion to "dole out at his discretion" after the House voted 214-212 to approve a $70 billion package, the report added.

The funding includes $65 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, adding to the $140 billion Republicans awarded to the two DHS agencies last year. The reconciliation package follows a congressional standoff that led to a months-long shutdown of DHS.

Politico noted that DHS agents, including ICE, are seeking judicial warrants to enter private residences and that Mullin refused to commit to following court orders. Immigration detention centers have also been accused of inhumane treatment, which Mullin dismissed, Politico added.

New DHS chief faceplants as he tries to 'win currency with the emperor': analyst

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."