Homeland Security Secretary Markway Mullin is trying to bring his department out of the shadow of his divisive predecessor Kristi Noem, but he’s facing attacks from both sides of the aisle as he does so.
Less than a month into her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security, the former Republican lawmaker from Oklahoma has attempted to stabilize the department by getting rid of some of Noem’s management practices and reshaping its organizational chart. In the past week, he brought back a deputy who clashed with Noem Fired a Noem appointee Who was accused of incompetence.
Mullin also reversed a highly criticized Noem policy that required the Secretary to personally approve contracts worth more than $100,000. DHS also said it was revising its messaging strategy to “humanize” the department and introducing Mullin more regularly on cable news and social media to “directly communicate” what the department is doing.
To Mullin’s supporters, those steps — particularly reversing the contract review policy — are a sign that he is transforming the department. But his approach so far has drawn criticism from both Democrats, who say Mullin’s changes don’t go far enough, and from immigration hard-liners in President Donald Trump’s political base, who argue that Mullin’s rhetoric is undermining the president’s promise of immigration action.
“During this grace period, things have happened that are counter to the cause of mass deportations, and nothing that has happened is in favor of mass deportations,” said Mike Howell, who leads the far-right watchdog group Oversight Project. He said there was still confusion about Mullin’s stance.
Tensions reached a fever pitch this week when Mullin insisted in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Wednesday that America is “a country of immigrants” who want “legal immigration.” Prominent far-right activists, who support restricting both authorized and unauthorized immigration to the United States, criticized Mullin’s comments on social media. Some argued that the comments showed that Mullin was the wrong choice to lead DHS.
Far-right commentator Mike Cernovich wrote, “You were told it was a bad appointment.” x wednesday night.
The sharp reactions underscore what people close to the White House, administration officials and lawmakers believe is a central challenge for Mullin: how to shore up the department’s credibility while avoiding alienating any key constituencies in the president’s political base.
“Is this just an image issue, or is it also an image and policy issue? I think they’re trying to deal with all of this,” said a person close to the White House, who like others in this story was granted anonymity so they could speak freely about dynamics in the administration. “That will be his biggest challenge, dealing with what the base wants, as well as what donors and advisors want.”
Polling still shows that Americans disapprove of the president’s approach to immigration.
Mullin is also facing the complications of a week-long shutdown of the department due to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Legislation to end the shutdown is stalled. Republican leaders in Congress say they are planning a renewed effort to fund DHS next week, but it’s unclear whether enough Republicans and Democrats will ultimately vote to break the impasse.
Trump himself acknowledged the large order ahead of Mullin in remarks at the White House Easter Brunch in March, where he said he had removed Mullin from a safe seat in the Senate because of “three years of turmoil at DHS.”
DHS said in a statement that Mullin “has already delivered on President Trump’s mission to secure our borders, deport illegal alien criminals, and defend the homeland,” and said the secretary “looks forward to continuing to build on the Trump Administration’s historic victory to make America safe again.”
In addition to pressure from the right, Mullin is facing other pressure from Democrats who want to make immigration a noose for the Trump administration in the November midterms. Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) described Mullin’s contract changes at DHS as “largely superficial and cosmetic” and said he would like to see Mullin make more changes to the way immigration enforcement is conducted.
“I don’t see any fundamental change in the substance of the policies that are supposed to get us through the worst,” Blumenthal said. “He has not abandoned the core vision of this administration.”
Democrats continue to press Mullin for information about alleged corruption at DHS under Noem. Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to the department earlier this month seeking records about Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski’s conversations with two department contractors.
Texas Democrats, as well as some members of the House National Resources Committee, have called on Mullin to reconsider Customs and Border Protection’s move to install “smart border technology” in Big Bend National Park, an expanse of mountains and desert along the U.S. border with Mexico that is renowned for its unique fauna and flora.
Thursday night’s announcement that acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Todd Lyons will retire also serves as a test for Mullin, potentially allowing him and the president to change the trajectory of an agency that has been the center of criticism amid the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Most congressional Republicans say Mullin deserves credit for making needed changes that have already been made at the department.
“We have already seen a dramatic change in terms of the flow of money from FEMA,” Sen said. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who was one of Noem’s biggest foes in the Senate. He also highlighted the absence of major clashes between ICE agents and protesters as was seen in Minneapolis earlier this year.
“Those are all things that wouldn’t have happened without a change of leadership,” Tillis said. “I expect more, but I think people judge them too quickly, perhaps coming from people who have never run a large complex organization.”
Representative. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, also expressed confidence in Mullin. Garbarino said he was meeting with the secretary next week and praised the “great work” done so far, while also noting steps on contracts.
An administration official said that many procedural steps still need to be taken. Many holdovers from Noem’s tenure remain at DHS. And Mullin has not yet revised the mechanism for approving invoices, which has also slowed down the disbursement of funds. But the official said there is optimism, as Mullin has made it a priority to empower leaders of agencies under his department.
“There’s a lot more capable leadership right now,” the official said, “and it feels like you’re not going to be asked to do anything stupid.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill acknowledge that the window is limited.
“We have to give him time to get his feet on the ground,” the senator said. jim justice (RW.V.), noting that Mullin has been in office for only three weeks.
Justice further said: “Three months and a day, if we are spitting and everything else – different animals.”
