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  "path": "/politics/2026/03/05/markwayne-mullin-new-dhs-director-department-of-homeland-security",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-05T20:51:56.907Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Trump's pick to replace Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, is, like Noem, a vocal advocate for the president's immigration policies.</p><p>Mullin, who served in the House for years before being elected to the Senate in November 2022, is one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill and has been a frequent intermediary between the White House and congressional Republicans.</p><p>He has often leaned on his longstanding House ties, working with his former colleagues there as the GOP hashed out the party’s sweeping tax and border security law last year.</p><p>His selection still must be approved by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.</p><p>Voting in the Senate just after <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2026/03/05/trump-fires-noem-dhs-ice-border-patrol-markwayne-mullin\" >Trump announced he had fired Noem,</a> DHS announcement, Mullin said he has “no idea” how quickly his nomination will move. He also said that he spoke to Trump just before the announcement went out.</p><p>“The president and I are good friends. So we look forward to working closer with the White House, and obviously I’m gonna be over there a lot more,” he said.</p><p>Mullin would take over the third-largest department in government that has responsibility for carrying out Trump’s hardline immigration agenda.</p><p>And he takes the office at a pivotal time for that agenda. Immigration enforcement during the first year of Trump’s administration was largely defined by high-profile, made-for-social-media operations with flashy names that were often led by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who reported directly to Noem.</p><p>Noem herself often went out on those operations, riding along with officers when they went out to make arrests.</p><p>Mullin told reporters at the Capitol he would get DHS “focused on protecting the homeland.”</p><p>“Whether you support me or don’t support me, I’m going to be laser-focused on getting that done,” he added.</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2026/03/05/trump-fires-noem-dhs-ice-border-patrol-markwayne-mullin\" >Trump fires Kristi Noem, Pritzker says ‘don’t let the door hit you on the way out’</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p></p>",
  "title": "Who is Markwayne Mullin, Trump choice to replace Noem at DHS",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-05T20:55:22.504Z"
}