DHS Needs a Qualified Leader. Markwayne Mullin Is Not That Person

Markwayne Mullin ran a plumbing company and competed in MMA fights before entering politics. He has no military service, no law enforcement background, and no operational homeland security experience. Every previous DHS secretary, Republican or Democrat, came to the role with serious credentials: a federal prosecutor, a four-star general, a state attorney general, or a career homeland security official. Mullin never even served on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The agency he would lead has 240,000 employees and is responsible for counterterrorism, cybersecurity, border security, and disaster response. Political loyalty is not a qualification for that job. His conduct in office raises separate concerns. In November 2023, he challenged the Teamsters president to a fistfight during a Senate hearing. In August 2021, he threatened U.S. Embassy staff in Tajikistan during an unauthorized solo mission to Afghanistan that the Pentagon, State Department, and both party leaders opposed. The House Ethics Committee found he exceeded outside income limits by over $600,000 in a single year and ordered him to return $40,000 in improper payments. He repeatedly violated the STOCK Act in 2025, disclosing nearly $3.5 million in trades past their legal deadline. Three weeks before his nomination, he publicly called Senator Rand Paul “a freaking snake” and praised the neighbor who broke Paul’s ribs. Paul now chairs the committee that must confirm him. I’m asking you to vote against his confirmation and to demand a full public hearing that requires Mullin to answer specifically for his ethics record, his lack of security credentials, and his pattern of conduct that would disqualify most applicants from any federal law enforcement position, let alone the one overseeing all of them.