As Noem Speaks in Nashville, Senate Swarms Mullin
The remarkable split-screen underscored how abruptly Kristi Noem’s ouster as homeland security secretary had unfolded, even by the standards of President Trump’s fast-paced Washington.
by https://www.nytimes.com/by/catie-edmondson · NY TimesMinutes after President Trump posted on social media on Thursday that he was firing Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, she stepped onto the stage of a law enforcement conference in Nashville and began speaking as if she were still leading the department.
At the same time, hundreds of miles away on Capitol Hill, Republicans on the Senate floor were mobbing Senator Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, whom Mr. Trump had just appointed to succeed Ms. Noem, slapping his back and shaking his hand.
The remarkable split-screen underscored how abruptly Ms. Noem’s ouster had unfolded, even by the standards of Mr. Trump’s fast-paced Washington. The call Mr. Mullin had received from the White House earlier on Thursday with the news, he said, had come as “not a complete surprise, but it came as a little bit of a surprise.”
Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told reporters at the Capitol that he had just been eating lunch with Mr. Mullin. “He got up abruptly and left a full plate of food on the table,” Mr. Wicker said.
The scene on the Senate floor also reflected perhaps one of the biggest differences between Ms. Noem and Mr. Mullin. While a number of Republicans in the Congress reviled Ms. Noem — with some of them breaking their silence in recent weeks to publicly criticize her — Mr. Mullin is well-liked in the Senate, where lawmakers will soon be asked to vote to confirm him to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
In this case, Mr. Mullin’s congeniality may have made all the difference. Ms. Noem faced intense questioning this week from congressional Republicans — particularly Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana — about a $220 million advertising campaign in which she figured prominently, and Mr. Trump on Thursday contradicted her testimony that he had signed off on the campaign.
Two other Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, had earlier said that she should be fired.
Republican senators on Thursday evinced confidence that Mr. Mullin could easily be confirmed. One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has already said he would vote in favor of Mr. Mullin leading the department.
Madeleine Ngo contributed reporting.