Updated March 7, 2026 at 8:27 AM MST
President Trump announced Thursday that he has chosen Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security.
If confirmed, Mullin would replace Kristi Noem, who has led the agency through a broad and controversial crackdown on immigration in the country. Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social.
"Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security," Trump wrote.
In a statement posted to X, Mullin said serving Oklahoma in Congress "has been the greatest honor and privilege," and he expressed appreciation for the nomination.
"It's just pretty humbling when you start thinking about it," he told reporters. "A little kid from Westville, Oklahoma gets to serve in the president's cabinet. That's pretty neat."
Mullin is a relatively new face in the senate who has established himself as a close ally of Trump.
Mullin has served in Congress since 2013
Mullin was first elected to the House in 2012. A decade later he won a special election to finish the term of former Sen. James Inhofe, a fellow Republican who resigned due to health issues.
The first-term senator, who is known for bouncing a ball as he moves through the Capitol, has been a reliable defender of President Trump in Congress, including on immigration enforcement tactics and this week, backing the president's strikes against Iran.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, he voted against certifying election results and amplified Trump's debunked claims about fraud. He also was praised for helping Capitol Police barricade doors during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In the Senate, Mullin serves on several committees, including Appropriations, Armed Services, Indian Affairs and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
During one committee hearing in 2023, Mullin garnered attention for challenging a union president to a fight. They have since become friends.
In his role on the Appropriations Committee, he helps write and negotiate federal funding, including the ongoing talks to fund the agency he has been tapped to lead.
Mullin was previously a contractor, a talk show host and a mixed martial arts fighter
Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee nation. He is the first tribal citizen in the Senate since Ben Nighthorse Campbell left office in 2005.
Mullin has a background in construction and ranching. He even hosted a home improvement show on talk radio before coming to Congress.
Mullin went to college on a wrestling scholarship, but left without graduating when his dad got sick to save the family company, Mullin Plumbing.
He later earned an associates degree in construction technology – and went on to operate several businesses, including a steakhouse. He is also a former MMA fighter and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Mullin is taking over a department that is currently shut down
In addition to immigration and border enforcement, DHS oversees the Coast Guard, airport security, disaster response and cybersecurity.
The department has been operating without annual appropriations funding since Feb. 14 as Democrats push for changes to how immigration officers operate after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
"If they have real concerns, I'm going to listen to them," Mullin told reporters on Thursday. "I'm going to see if it's practical. But nothing is going to prevent me from doing my job. I'm going to enforce the policies and the law that Congress has passed and I'm going to protect our homeland."
"There's an opportunity to build off successes and there's opportunities to build off things that maybe didn't go quite as planned."
During the record-long government shutdown last fall, Mullin was among a small bipartisan group of lawmakers trying to negotiate a path to reopen the government, though he got some attention online for declining to indulge in the Thai food served at one negotiating session over dinner.
"We don't always agree, but we can be friends," Mullin told NPR last fall. "We don't always agree, but we can be friends. That's the benefit right now because we trust each other, so we can have candid conversations."
Colleagues say Mullin's strength as a negotiator stems in part from his relationship across the Capitol with his former colleagues in the House and having the ear of the White House.
Trump picked Mullin, but he still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump says Mullin will start in the new role on March 31, but that depends on how quickly Congress moves to confirm him.
Mullin will need to first appear before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Mullin has clashed with the committee's chair, Rand Paul, R-Ky., according to news reports, but senators often experience smoother confirmations because they are being voted on by their colleagues
Sometimes they garner healthy bipartisan support, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio did. But some Democrats are already saying they will not support Mullin amid the ongoing clash with the administration over federal immigration enforcement tactics.
"We're going to try to earn everybody's vote," Mullin told reporters Thursday. "Yes, I'm a Republican, yes, I'm conservative. But the Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody safe."
After the crisis in Minneapolis, many Republican senators trained their criticism on Noem, saying change was needed at the top, so many of them may see Mullin as a steadier hand they can trust.
Mullin told reporters on Thursday that he was informed about the selection shortly before Trump made it public. "I've got to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting the call today," he said.
What will happen to Mullin's seat in the Senate?
Mullin was up for reelection this year. Oklahoma law says Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is charged with picking a replacement to serve through Jan. 2027.
There is still time for candidates to declare to run for a full term, and several politicians, including two House Republicans, have been mentioned as possible contenders.
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