Mullin says they will need judicial warrants to enter homes

Senator Markway Mullin, the nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, said he would require judicial warrants for federal immigration agents to enter private homes or businesses, signaling a possible policy shift from his predecessor Kristi Noem.

Mullin, R-Okla., said when asked about the Interior Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo at his confirmation hearing Wednesday: “We will not enter a home or place of business without a judicial warrant, unless we are pursuing the person who entered the place of business or home.”

He also told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he does not plan to send DHS law enforcement to polling places, following President Donald Trump’s call last month to “nationalize” elections.

“The only reason my officers would be there is if there was a specific threat to them being there, not to intimidate,” Mullin said.

Mullin’s appearance on Wednesday was the first of two appearances before the panel this week Chaired by Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky. Trump earlier this month chose Mullin, a close congressional ally of the president, to lead DHS after firing Noem, who was embroiled in controversies.

The hearing began tensely when Paul called out Mullin for comments he made about Paul. In February, it was reported that Mullin called the Kentucky Republican a “weird snake” and suggested he understood why a neighbor of Paul’s attacked him in 2017.

Paul said, “I just wonder whether someone who applauds violence against his political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept the limits of appropriate use of force.”

Paul continued, “Tell me to my face why you think I deserve it.” “And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust an angry man to set a proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”

In response, Mullin did not offer any conciliatory tone.

Mullin told Paul, “We don’t get along. However, sir, that doesn’t stop me from doing my job at all.” “I may have different opinions with everyone in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland, I will protect everyone.”

Paul said, “The record should show, and I think will show, no lack of remorse, no apology, and no remorse for your support, you fully understand the violence inflicted on me.”

Republicans have an 8-7 edge in the committee and Mullin needs a simple majority to advance to the full Senate. According to MS Now, Paul told reporters after the hearing that he would not vote for Mullin. The “no” from Paul complicates his candidacy, although Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa. said that he will vote in support Mullin’s. The committee is scheduled to vote on Mullin’s nomination on Thursday.

Mullin is a conservative who has supported the Trump administration’s immigration policies. He is seeking to lead an agency that is currently shuttered due to Democratic concerns about immigration enforcement policies. Senate Democrats and the White House continue to negotiate a funding agreement for DHS.

A former MMA fighter, rancher and owner of his own plumbing business, Mullin came to the House in 2013 riding an anti-incumbency wave. He became a senator in 2023 and is known for building strong relationships with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Hill.

He was joined Wednesday by former Republican and Democratic House colleagues, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a moderate New Jersey Democrat.

Sitting directly behind Mullin was Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, the union leader with whom Mullin had a near-physical altercation during a Senate hearing in 2023. According to Mullin, the pair have since become friends.

“He’s a man who has the rare gift of bringing people together on both sides of the aisle,” said Senator James Lankford, R-Okla.

But those strong, bipartisan relationships didn’t shield Mullin from tough questions from the panel’s Democrats, who has been sharply critical of Trump’s mass deportation policies and liberal deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agents.

The committee’s top Democrat, Senator Gary Peters, D-Mich., questioned Mullin about his response to the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. Before the investigation began, Mullin accused Preeti, a federal employee ICU nurse, of “insane person,” echoing claims made by Noem shortly after the assassination.

Peters asked, “Can we expect this kind of quick response if you are confirmed as secretary?”

Mullins said, “Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn’t have said that and as secretary I wouldn’t say that. The investigation is ongoing.” “Sometimes I’m going to make a mistake and I take responsibility for it. That’s that I went out of there too fast.”

Peters also questioned Mullin, who has never served in the military, about recent comments he made after the start of the war in Iran.

Mullin told Fox News, “War is ugly. It stinks. And if anyone has ever been there and can smell and taste the war going on around you, and feel it in your nose and hear it, it’s something you’ll never forget. And it’s ugly.”

In response to Peters’ questions about his direct experience abroad, Mullin mentioned “classified” official trips while he was a member of the House.

“In 2015, I was asked to train with a very small contingency and go to a certain area,” Mullin said. “During that time, I was asked to meet certain training qualifications,” Mullin said.

“Where did you smell the war, sir?” Peters continued.

Mullin said he “never talked specifically” about the details of the trip. Paul and Peters requested a classified briefing after the hearing to learn more about the tenure abroad.

Some Democratic critics of DHS have said since Mullin’s approach that a change in leadership would not lead to much policy change as long as Trump’s deputy chief of staff and Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller remains in power. And when questioned about specific points of immigration policy, Mullin didn’t disagree too much with the administration.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Asked about ICE arrest quotas, Mullin said: “There is no quota set for me sir. … The President of the United States sets the policies and I will work with the President.”