(WASHINGTON) — The Senate is set to vote to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday night.
The vote comes amid backlash over the immigration crackdown and deportations under DHS as well as the ongoing partial shutdown of the department.
A simple majority is needed to confirm Mullin for the job; he is expected to be approved.
Mullin, a first-term Republican senator and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, will take over DHS with little homeland security experience. During his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin said that he will work hard to earn the respect of people at the department.
“I’ll work beside them every single day to not just secure a homeland, to bring peace of mind and confidence to the agency. My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them, and we’re working with them,” Mullin said at his confirmation hearing.
Mullin’s confirmation vote comes during ongoing DHS partial shutdown — with employees of Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies under DHS not getting paid.
Travelers are experiencing long TSA lines at airports around the country during a busy spring travel season as TSA agents call out. Sunday set a new record with the highest call out rate from TSA officers since the partial government shutdown began at 11.76%, according to newly released data by the agency.
President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports starting on Monday to assist TSA officers.
Trump nominated Mullin to lead the agency earlier this month, after firing Secretary Kristi Noem. His decision came after a week of disastrous hearings on Capitol Hill for Noem and questions about her personal and professional relationships while leading DHS.
Noem has faced criticism over her handling of ICE operations in Minneapolis after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement. She was removed from leading operations in Minnesota following the scrutiny, and Border Czar Tom Homan was sent in to take over.
During his confirmation hearing, Mullin was asked about his response to the Good and Pretti shootings when he echoed initial statements from Noem and White House deputy chief Stephen Miller, calling Pretti “a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage.”
Noem later walked back her comments, claiming she did not have all of the facts at the time.
“I think I said this privately when we had a conversation. Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn’t have said that,” Mullin said to Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, adding he was “responding immediately without the facts.”
“That’s my fault. That won’t happen as secretary,” Mullin said.
Homan told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips on Monday that he is behind Mullin and looks forward to working with him as DHS secretary.
“We talk every day, if not several times a day. I think he’s the right guy, the right time and the right job,” Homan said. “I think he’s going to come in and you can work across the aisle, and I think, I think we got a lot of good things coming in the near future.”
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