WASHINGTON, D.C. (KGUN) — Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) pressed Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) Wednesday during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing that examined Mullin’s nomination to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security, zeroing in on recent turmoil inside the department after the firing of Kristi Noem and the deployment of Homeland Security investigators to probe the 2020 election.
VIDEO: Watch Sen. Gallego question Sen. Mullin:
Mullin appeared before HSGAC as Democrats, including Sens. John Fetterman and Richard Blumenthal and Republicans Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. James Lankford, watched and questioned the nominee. The committee said it could hold a business meeting to vote on Mullin’s nomination as early as Thursday, March 19.
With Arizona at the center of several election-related investigations, Gallego has publicly voiced strong views about Noem’s firing. Earlier this month, Gallego urged scrutiny of the decision and its consequences for department leadership. At the hearing, he pressed Mullin on how he would restore professional standards, protect tribal sovereignty and ensure that Homeland Security’s law-enforcement resources are used for counter‑trafficking, counter‑smuggling and other national-security priorities rather than for politically fraught probes.
Related: Arizona lawmakers react sharply to Trump firing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
Gallego warned that recent border construction has proceeded with “very, very little to no tribal consultation,” singling out the Tohono O’odham Nation and sacred sites reportedly affected by new walls. He said tribal communities and existing DHS‑partner programs like Shadow Wolf were not consulted, noted the presence of burial sites and culturally important land in construction areas, and urged the administration to restore meaningful tribal consultation and respect for tribal sovereignty.
"I think it's important that we re-establish tribal sovereignty, and I hope because of your background you'll understand appreciate that," Gallego said to Mullin, who is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.
Mullin said he respects tribal sovereignty and pledged to work with tribal nations, suggesting there are alternatives to permanent physical barriers — including technology — that could secure the border while respecting tribal land. He stressed his personal ties and prior work with tribes, and emphasized that DHS should engage respectfully with tribal leaders and protect culturally sensitive sites.
Mullin, tapped by President Trump to replace Noem after her ouster earlier this month, was asked by Gallego and several senators about the reported diversion of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents from long‑running criminal probes to review the 2020 election. In response to questioning about whether HSI’s primary mission — including investigations into human trafficking and organized crime — was being undermined, Mullin said he was “not familiar with what the former Secretary did here,” and emphasized that his focus would be on restoring trust in elections and ensuring agency resources are applied appropriately.
Committee members also pressed Mullin on immigration enforcement and the appropriate role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and HSI investigators. Senators urged that agents be returned to long‑term investigations of trafficking, fraud and child exploitation rather than being redirected to politically sensitive probes. Mullin repeatedly emphasized the need to balance security priorities with professional standards and promised to work with local law enforcement.
“I’m not here to debate what happened in 2020,” Mullin told the committee. “I do know that there’s an opportunity to look at 2020 and make sure that anything that went wrong, we can fix moving forward, because what we wanted to make sure is that in the next election… the American people trust our election system. Trust is vitally, vitally important.”
Several senators raised concerns about command and control inside DHS under Noem’s tenure, and about whether political advisers outside the established chain of command were driving operations. That line of questioning featured prominently in a forceful exchange from Sen. Sheila Moody (R-FL), who urged respect for rank-and-file law enforcement while arguing the department must be held to professional standards.
“It wrecks me to hear them refer to law enforcement in general… as breaking into people’s homes and shooting Americans,” Moody said, describing the importance of public trust in law enforcement. She later praised Mullin personally, saying she could think of “no better person” to lead the department in a crisis and recounting his willingness to help colleagues in the Senate. Moody asked Mullin to explain how his “passion and zeal” would translate to running DHS in what she described as an “unprecedented” time.
Mullin, at times evoking his personal story, said he would take responsibility for the department and emphasized the importance of a functioning chain of command. “The president has nominated me to be secretary of Homeland, and I’ll take full responsibility for that,” he told the committee. “Chain of command is important. I believe in empowering people to make decisions, but I will still be talking to the president on a regular basis…”
A U.S. senator from Oklahoma and a prominent Trump ally, Mullin was selected by the president to replace Noem after her abrupt firing earlier this month. Supporters at the hearing highlighted Mullin’s reputation as a hands-on lawmaker and his origins as a small‑town Oklahoman who left school to help with a family business, a background Moody described as emblematic of his character. Moody said Mullin is someone who “acts passionately and fiercely, fights for the people he loves and someone who loves this country.”
Republicans backing Mullin argued his personal story and reputation for loyalty and toughness make him suited to restore morale and rebuild public confidence in DHS. Democrats, while not uniformly opposed to the nominee, used their time to press for concrete commitments on civil‑liberties protections, proper use of investigative resources, and respectful engagement with tribal communities.
The hearing included exchanges across the aisle: Democrats sought assurances that Mullin would not politicize investigations and would ensure proper oversight, while Republicans emphasized restoring order and prosecutorial vigor. Senators John Fetterman and Richard Blumenthal were among the committee’s Democrats to question the nominee, as were Republicans Rand Paul, Josh Hawley and James Lankford.
What’s next
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee could vote on Mullin’s nomination as early as Thursday, March 19. If advanced, Mullin’s nomination would move to the full Senate for debate and a final confirmation vote.
