Trump’s Homeland Security Pick, Markwayne Mullin, Strikes Softer Tone on Immigration

At his confirmation hearing, Markwayne Mullin said he would pull back on some contested policies but reaffirmed his support for President Trump’s immigration goals.

Senator Markwayne Mullin tried to strike a cooperative tone at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, suggesting that he would pull back on some of the aggressive immigration policies that drew concern from lawmakers from both parties.

Mr. Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, made clear that he would remain loyal to Mr. Trump and carry out his promise to crack down on illegal immigration and ramp up arrests if confirmed as homeland security secretary.

But he told senators on the Homeland Security Committee that under his leadership, immigration officers would generally no longer enter homes without a judicial warrant. He said the Homeland Security Department would foster closer relationships with jails, suggesting a move away from major urban sweeps like the recent one in Minneapolis.

And he said he regretted comments he made in the wake of Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting earlier this year in which he called him a “deranged individual.” The New York Times and others have concluded based on available video evidence that Mr. Pretti did not appear to pose a threat to officers at the time of his killing, and the incident is being investigated by federal agencies. Mr. Mullin said he should not have made such comments ahead of a formal investigation.

“Those words probably should have been retracted,” Mr. Mullin said. “I shouldn’t have said that and as secretary I wouldn’t.”

The committee is expected to vote on whether to advance Mr. Mullin’s nomination as early as Thursday.

The hearing came at a delicate time for the Department of Homeland Security, which has drawn scrutiny under the leadership of Kristi Noem for its heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics and its approach to spending. Polling has shown a drop in support for the agency after a year of sprawling operations in major American cities, and the shooting of Mr. Pretti and another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.

Mr. Mullin will have to thread the needle of following through on Mr. Trump’s promises of increased immigration enforcement while also repairing the agency’s image.

Few details were publicly known about Mr. Mullin’s detailed stances on immigration or D.H.S. policy, but in the hearing, he conspicuously deviated from some of the decisions made by the agency under Ms. Noem.

He said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would no longer enter homes without a judicial warrant, unless they were chasing someone.

“We will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant unless we’re pursuing an individual that runs into a place of business or a house,” Mr. Mullin said. Many ICE officials had been frustrated that they could not enter homes without judicial warrants, and said it stymied their ability to make arrests.

Trump administration officials had for months been defending their use of administrative warrants when entering homes to arrest undocumented immigrants.

In response to questions from Senator Andy Kim, Democrat of New Jersey, Mr. Mullin appeared to commit to undo a policy imposed by Ms. Noem. The policy required her office to review grants and contracts of at least $100,000, a level of scrutiny that Mr. Kim said has delayed the flow of disaster aid.

Mr. Mullin said he would “absolutely” revoke the policy. “That’s called micromanaging,” he said. “I’m not a micromanager.”

Mr. Mullin also said he wanted ICE to become a “transport” agency more focused on picking up individuals from jails rather than being on the front lines. He pledged to work with leaders of so-called sanctuary cities and hear their concerns, after previously backing the withdrawal of financial support from states and cities that avoid coordination with federal immigration law enforcement.

His comments stood in contrast to the tone adopted by Ms. Noem, who repeatedly attacked sanctuary cities and accused Democratic leaders of protecting violent criminals.

Mr. Mullin said D.H.S. would “hopefully work with them, and never work against them.” In the last year, the agency has conducted sweeping operations in major sanctuary locations, including Los Angeles, Chicago and, in recent months, Minneapolis.

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” he said. “My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them, and we’re working with them.”

Some senators questioned whether Mr. Mullin would set a good example for a department that has been under scrutiny for its officers’ use of force. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the committee’s chairman, blasted recent comments in which Mr. Mullin called Mr. Paul a “freaking snake.” He also castigated Mr. Mullin for remarks he made after a neighbor of Mr. Paul violently attacked him, causing the Kentucky lawmaker to be hospitalized.

Mr. Mullin acknowledged that he said he “understood” why Mr. Paul might have been attacked, but he declined to apologize.

“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Mr. Paul said, looking directly at Mr. Mullin, who sat stone-faced.

At another point, Mr. Paul pushed Mr. Mullin about an exchange he had with Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, during a Senate hearing in 2023. Video of the exchange, in which Mr. Mullin challenged Mr. O’Brien to a fistfight, went viral online.

“Do you think fighting as a resolution for political difference is a good example for the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol?” Mr. Paul asked.

In response, Mr. Mullin said Mr. O’Brien was sitting behind him.

“Both of us agreed we could have done things different; Sean is someone that has become a close friend,” he said. Mr. Mullin said he did not believe in political violence and accused Mr. Paul of “character assassination.”

Later, Mr. Paul raised the possibility of postponing the committee’s vote on Mr. Mullin’s nomination if he was not willing to discuss past international travel stints that Mr. Mullin claimed were classified.

Senator Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, pressed Mr. Mullin on vague statements that the senator has made about serving overseas and the smell of war, while suggesting he did not work under a branch of the U.S. military. After the hearing, Mr. Mullin and senators on the panel discussed the travel in a secure facility at the Capitol. Mr. Paul later said he planned to vote no on confirming Mr. Mullin.

If Mr. Paul maintains his opposition, Mr. Mullin would most likely need the support of one Democrat to advance his nomination out of committee. That backing may come from Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who said before the hearing that he supported confirming Mr. Mullin.

Most Republicans on the panel used their time to blast Democrats for blocking efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which saw its funding lapse more than a month ago. Democrats in Congress have refused to pass a spending bill without new restrictions on immigration officers, like barring agents from wearing masks. Although work deemed “essential” has continued, roughly 100,000 employees are reporting to their jobs without pay, leading some airport security officers to quit or not report to work.

Some lawmakers also questioned Mr. Mullin about how he would oversee the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ms. Noem’s handling of disaster relief funds angered even some Republicans, who criticized long delays in FEMA assistance.

Mr. Mullin also voiced support for the view held by Mr. Trump and Ms. Noem that FEMA should defer to states and communities and respond to fewer disasters, while saying he would “absolutely” revoke a grant-approval policy that had slowed the flow of disaster aid. FEMA needs to be “restructured, not eliminated,” Mr. Mullin said.

Scott Dance and Kate Kelly contributed reporting.

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