Senate advances Markwayne Mullin's nomination for DHS secretary

Democrats outraged as Fetterman votes to advance Markwayne Mullin nomination

<p>Calls for Pennsylvania senator – Trump’s ‘favorite Democrat’ – to resign after casting decisive committee vote</p><p>Democrats reacted with outrage to their party colleague <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/john-fetterman-democrat-trump-progressive">John Fetterman</a>’s decision to advance the nomination of Republican US senator Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary.</p><p>Fetterman, the senior US senator from Pennsylvania, has in recent months <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/john-fetterman-democrat-trump-progressive">broken with the party</a> several times to support Republican proposals, and has routinely expressed staunch <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/05/john-fetterman-democrat-progressive-senator">support for Israel</a>. He cast the decisive committee vote on Thursday to advance Mullin’s nomination to succeed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us...

A look at Mullin's rise from MMA fighter to MAGA warrior and DHS nomination

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin will face his colleagues on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Homeland Security. His nomination comes after President Trump fired former DHS head Kristi Noem. Lisa Desjardins takes a look at how Mullin went from an MMA fighter to a MAGA warrior and how he might soon run DHS.

Democrats like Markwayne Mullin but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for him for DHS secretary - CNN

Sen. Markwayne Mullin's secret war zone past

<p>Sen. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/markwayne-mullin-homeland-security-secretary-nominee" target="_blank">Markwayne Mullin</a> (R-Okla.) has privately hinted to colleagues that he was involved in dangerous private security work in Middle East war zones before running for Congress in 2012, according to three people who have heard him discuss it.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> It's a mystery likely to come up Wednesday at his Senate confirmation hearing, where he will face colleagues as <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/kristi-noem-trump-fired-moved" target="_blank">President Trump's nominee</a> to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.</p><hr><ul><li>There's no public record of Mullin — a former professional mixed martial arts fighter who sold his family's plumbing business in 2021 — doing the kind of security work he has alluded to in private.</li><li>But to former colleagues in the House, and on several other occasions, Mullin has suggeste...

Watch live: House Democrats speak as DHS funding battle persists

House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) will speak with reporters Tuesday as negotiations over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remain stalled after a partial shutdown began over a month ago. Despite President Trump’s ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Democrats have remained adamant about their…

Senate Dem Leaders Are Trying to Sink Graham Platner. Voters Aren’t Convinced.

Despite his high-profile controversies, Platner is still popular with Mainers. But leadership isn’t budging from its centrist pick. The post Senate Dem Leaders Are Trying to Sink Graham Platner. Voters Aren’t Convinced. appeared first on The Intercept .