All posts tagged "markwayne mullin"

Markwayne Mullin won't reveal rent from 'crash pad' roommate who oversees him: report

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin won't disclose what his congressional roommate pays to live in the Capitol Hill home Mullin owns.

According to a Thursday article by The Daily Mail, Mullin has shared the house with Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) for three years. Smith, who is unmarried, confirmed the arrangement to The Daily Mail during an interview in late July.

The house is a classic brick row that sits a short walk from the Capitol and is priced at $1.8 million, according to The Daily Mail.

A representative for Mullin told The Daily Mail that the secretary acts as Smith's landlord, having bought the house in 2023, but declined to say how much the congressman hands over each month. The Daily Mail reported that it could not find any public record of any rent transaction for the specific property, and Smith's office did not respond to its request for comment.

A House ethics rule bars members from accepting a gift worth more than $100 from a single source in a year, The Daily Mail noted. Rent charged below market value would likely count as a gift, The Daily Mail added.

The financial disclosures that The Daily Mail did unearth from Mullin Realty LLC revealed that the secretary's residential real estate is valued between $1 million and $5 million and generates $50,000 to $100,000 in rental income. The company owns more than 40 properties across Washington, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Smith's own disclosure reports list no specific rental payments to Mullin, according to The Daily Mail.

Smith also chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees portions of the Department of Homeland Security that Mullin runs. Sources who spoke to The Daily Mail described the setup as unusual for a cabinet official.

"It's strange that a cabinet secretary still has a roommate," an anonymous source familiar with the arrangement told The Daily Mail. "Maybe it's because he is so rarely in DC since he flies home so often. He literally uses it as a crash pad. People pass in and out."

Another source close to Mullin described the steady stream of visitors as well.

"People are all always going in and out of that place, for work, for fun," the source told The Daily Mail. "It's like a college dorm."

A third source doubted anyone else that senior in the Trump administration lives this way, telling The Daily Mail, "I think he is the only cabinet-level member with this kind of setup."

Mockery as Trump DHS chief's attack on Dem playbook backfires: 'How stupid can one be?'

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin faced mockery after he attacked the supposed Democratic strategy with accusations that critics said described the Republican playbook.

On Tuesday, Mullin appeared on Newsmax and described how he believes Democrats will take over America and turn it into a communist country.

"The only way you can take a republic country like the United States and turn it into a communist country is by causing chaos on purpose and then saying, 'Hey, look, government is a mess,'" Mullin said. "'You need us, the communist country, to rule you.' It's insane."

For online critics, the strategy that Mullin was describing sounded familiar, but not because it reminded them of what Democrats are doing.

"Sounds exactly like what this administration is doing," Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall noted in a post on X.

"Ummmm, sir...." wrote national opinion columnist Sophia Nelson.

"How stupid can one be?" asked former tennis professional turned political commentator Martina Navratilova. "Yeah, this stupid."

"Communist dictators attack the free press - fake news. They put unqualified family friends in government jobs. They meddle in elections. Cult of personality. Demand price control," listed Canadian activist Marlene Robertson. "Sounds like communism is already alive and kicking under Trump."

Immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick pointed to a post by former Border Patrol sector chief Greg Bovino in which he touts President Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations and a supporter agrees by calling for "chaos" mass deportation. Bovino responded to that supporter calling for the "chaos mass deportations" by saying, "Exactly. Or all is lost."

"Re: 'chaos,' here's Gregory Bovino, who was a top official at DHS elevated by the Trump admin until earlier this year, proudly agreeing with a statement that what the country needs is 'chaos mass deportations,'" Reichlin-Melnick wrote.

The Homeland Dems account posted, "Purposely inflicting as much chaos as possible on the country has been Trump's entire personality since he's been President."

DHS chief turns agency seal toward war in 'very creepy' new seal: analysis

The Department of Homeland Security is redesigning its official seal so the national eagle turns toward war rather than peace, alarming critics.

In a Tuesday report, journalist Ken Klippenstein flagged the change after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the switch in a weekend Fox News interview.

On the current seal, the eagle faces the olive branch clutched in one talon. Mullin now wants it to face the arrows gripped in the other, and he said the new posture is deliberate.

"We're actually changing our seal to make it look towards the arrows because...when it looks towards the arrows is when it means we're at war," Mullin told Fox News. He said Homeland Security is at war every day against bad actors trying to hurt American communities, according to Klippenstein.

"So in other words, the United States is at war here at home — but Iran somehow isn’t a war. What?" Klippenstein wrote, referring to a reluctance by some in the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, to call the war in Iran a war. "There's something very creepy about our government seeing America as a battlefield in ways it doesn't even see overseas."

Klippenstein noted that no federal agency has depicted the eagle in a wartime stance since World War II. He added that even the seals adopted after the September 11 attacks kept the bird facing the olive branch. President Harry Truman codified the peacetime design in 1945 to signal a new era of peace after Japan surrendered, according to Klippenstein.

Immigration policy analyst Aaron Reichlin-Melnick was similarly alarmed by the redesign and added context by pointing out recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency overseen by DHS.

"The Trump admin declares war on American communities," Reichlin-Melnick wrote on X. "Secretary Mullin says DHS is 'at war,' so he's changing The Great Seal. This comes after dozens of people died in ICE custody and ICE officers have shot and killed multiple people this year, including two American citizens."

Klippenstein tied the seal change to a wide federal effort to surveil and prosecute Americans over their speech. He pointed to a Trump memorandum signed last September that orders agencies to disrupt organized political violence. He wrote that FBI officials have described repurposing tactics once aimed at Iran and turning them on domestic targets.

Trump DHS chief ripped by legal expert for on-camera crime: 'Go back to plumbing school'

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin should "go back to plumbing school," a legal expert said, warning that his own on-camera words are a crime.

In a Monday episode of the "Legal AF" podcast, lawyer and legal analyst Michael Popok unloaded on Mullin after the secretary suggested federal agents could turn up where people cast their ballots. Popok said Mullin, or "somebody," needs a lesson in "18 United States Code 592" and "593," the statutes that govern "armed forces or troops at polling places."

Popok said Mullin gave away far more than he realized when he floated sending agents to serve a warrant.

"No, you can't," Popok said. "And you just conceded that you're willing to commit a crime punishable by five years in prison."

In a clip Popok played, Mullin laid out when his agents might show up.

"The only reason why we would be at polling places if there is a threat to that polling place or we're serving a warrant on someone that we have been actively tracking down," Mullin said.

Mullin insisted any operation would be "specifically for immigration and custom enforcement," and "not because of suspicion of a voter."

Popok said the excuse does not hold because the law reaches armed federal officers no matter the stated reason. He read from the statute directly.

"This prevents and makes it a federal crime for an Army or Navy officer or another person in the civil, military or naval service of the United States to order, bring, keep, or control troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held," Popok said. "[A] person that orders that is five years imprisoned if convicted."

"That would cover Homeland Security," he added. "They're not armed forces per se, but they would be armed troops at the polls."

Popok mocked Mullin's resumé, saying he "had been a plumber or a small homebuilder, and that was his credentials to become the head of Homeland Security." Popok called the wider administration "comprised of dingbats and idiots" and said Mullin is "about as smart as his predecessor," a jab at former Secretary Kristi Noem.

State attorneys general "know these rules like the back of their hand" and "are ready" to race into court, Popok warned. He closed with a warning aimed straight at the secretary.

"He should be put on notice that if he does that, he'll not only go to jail, but he will be impeached as soon as the new Congress takes control," Popok said. "Markwayne Mullin should go back to plumbing school."

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