US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in Washington, DC, March 18, 2026. OLIVER CONTRERAS / AFP
The US Senate on Monday confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new chief of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency reeling from a partial government shutdown as it works to enforce President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.
Senators voted 54-45 for 48-year-old Republican Mullin, a former wrestler and martial arts fighter who previously served as a senator for Oklahoma.
Mullin replaces Kristi Noem as DHS head, after she was fired earlier this month in part for her handling of the recent large-scale operation against undocumented migrants in Minnesota, during which federal immigration agents shot dead two protesters who were US citizens.
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate last week, Mullin said one of his goals would be to steer DHS and its flash point Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency away from the spotlight.
