Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested on Tuesday that “politicized” courts are the reason why he didn’t directly commit to obeying court rulings concerning the Department of Homeland Security.In his first congressional hearing as the new DHS chief, Mullin repeatedly said his department will “enforce the law” and is “never going to break the Constitution.” But when Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) pressed him on DHS abiding by court rulings, the secretary declined to provide a definitive answer.“If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that,” Mullin responded. “But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.”
When Murphy said the witness indicated DHS will not follow court orders, Mullin told the senator, “Don’t start putting words in my mouth. … You’re making an assumption on court orders I haven’t seen.”
Astounded by the response, Murphy said his Republican and Democratic colleagues on the Senate appropriations subcommittee presiding over the hearing “should be really, really freaked out.”
Mullin fired back, saying, “We should be really concerned about the rulings that come out of the courts and how often they get overturned.”
