All posts tagged "markwayne mullin"

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."

DHS chief blames pepper-sprayed senator for being attacked during ICE facility visit

Department of Homeland Security leader Markwayne Mullin dodged responsibility for a senator being pepper-sprayed outside an immigration detention facility, saying it was the senator's own fault, according to reporting from inside a recent Cabinet meeting.

“Now you have one of the senators who complained because he got splattered with a pepper ball,” Mullin said, referring to Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.). “I’m sorry, you probably shouldn’t have been there.”

Earlier this week, Kim went to an immigration detention center in Newark to conduct a congressional oversight visit. A large crowd of protesters gathered around the facility in support of detainees who were on a hunger strike when law enforcement began using chemical munitions against them.

Kim reported that he was pepper-sprayed and also hit with a pepper ball, or a small projectile that releases a chemical irritant.

According to reporting by The New Republic, Mullin also downplayed the scale of the hunger strike as "a handful of individuals who were refusing to eat," the DHS chief reportedly said.

DHS chief plans to land wife cushy government job to save on airfare: insiders

The head of the Department of Homeland Security is trying to land his wife a plush government job, according to Washington insiders who spoke out in a new report on Wednesday.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, whom Trump appointed earlier this year, keeps suggesting that his wife, Christie Mullin, should have a job with his department, four insiders told The Daily Mail.

"He pitches the idea on the regular," a source revealed to The Daily Mail.

The Cabinet member frequently travels via a $70 million government jet to his Oklahoma ranch, and he wants his wife on the DHS payroll "so that he does not have to pay for her airline ticket when she flies," according to sources from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spoke to the outlet for the bombshell report.

"Mullin seems to think DHS requires less work than a senator, and it shows," a DHS source said. "Meanwhile, ICE has no direction."

He's supposedly looking to land his wife a contracting role with a Special Government Employee designation that would pay between $65 and $70 an hour, according to three people quoted by The Daily Mail. The designation would allow his wife to work up to 130 days a year as a consultant, advisor, or temporary employee, the Mail added.

Mullin's wife currently works as the chair of rural policy for the America First Policy Institute, according to the nonprofit think tank's website.

According to the Mail's sources, Mullin likes to leave Washington, D.C. on Thursday mornings and often doesn't return until Monday. They add that Mullin rushed out of D.C. "just hours" after the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack in April.

Trump DHS chief thumbs nose at security request from houses of worship after shooting

Trump's head of the Department of Homeland Security bluntly rebuffed requests from houses of worship for more security in the wake of a shooting.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Fox News that houses of worship should "hire their own security" while speaking about the mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Trump already has a "great team" heading federal law enforcement with him and FBI Director Kash Patel, Mullin insisted, refusing to fund more security for places of worship, according to reporting by The New Republic.

"We work together all the time to work with these religious establishments," Mullin said. "We've had FEMA grants they can use to help protect themselves."

He also shifted blame to the months-long DHS shutdown, according to The New Republic.

"Unfortunately, for the last 76 days, we were shut down," Mulin said. "We're just not getting those grants out, so they have to hire their own security."

According to The New Republic, FEMA has been fully funded since the beginning of the month.

"FEMA could have been funded far earlier if congressional Republicans agreed to separate ICE funding from the rest of DHS, which was discussed as early as February," the New Republic noted.